NASA Astronauts Take Missouri Students’ Questions Live

Missouri students will soon put their questions straight to orbit as NASA connects them live with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

NASA says astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will answer prerecorded questions from students focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Earth-to-space call is scheduled to begin at 10:50 a.m. EDT on Thursday, April 30, and the agency plans to stream it live on its Learn With NASA YouTube channel. The event turns a routine school day into a direct line to one of the most demanding laboratories in the world.

For students, this is more than a livestream — it is a rare chance to hear how science works from people living and working in space.

The format matters as much as the spectacle. By centering student questions, NASA shifts the focus from abstract space exploration to the practical curiosity that drives it. Students do not just watch astronauts float through a broadcast; they hear how people in orbit think through science, solve problems, and work across disciplines. That kind of access can make STEM fields feel immediate instead of distant.

The event also fits NASA’s broader push to bring space science into classrooms without requiring schools to travel, pay, or compete for scarce in-person opportunities. A live digital stream opens the door to far more viewers than the students asking the original questions, and it gives teachers a ready-made moment to connect lessons on physics, engineering, and spaceflight to real-world work happening above Earth.

What happens next is simple but significant: students ask, astronauts answer, and a national audience can watch curiosity move across 250 miles of space in real time. For NASA, that helps build the next generation of scientists and engineers. For schools, it offers a reminder that inspiration often starts with a question asked at exactly the right moment.