HU students to hear lecture on life in space from Italian astronaut on space station

Israel will connect in a live broadcast to the international space station for the first time on Thursday.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Flight engineer Luca Parmitano 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Flight engineer Luca Parmitano 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel will for the first time connect in a live broadcast Thursday to the international space station; the event was initiated by the Israel Space Agency and the Hebrew University (HU).
The broadcast will take place in real time specially to Israel from the space station and include a lecture by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, who is part of the mission for the European Space Agency. On the other side, at the Wise Auditorium on HU’s Givat Ram campus, high school pupils and university students will hear and watch his lecture on life in the space station. The young Israelis will be able to ask questions of Parmitano during the broadcast.
On June 5, 2013, the European Space Agency sent off an ATV (automated transfer vehicle) that brings supplies to the space station, which is named for Albert Einstein. The vehicle is one of the biggest and most complex built in Europe and carries the heaviest supplies sent to space so far that is supposed to be enough for six months. Some of the material sent on the vehicle were documents written by Jewish physicist that came from the Einstein Archives of HU. The copies will be signed by Parmitano and returned to Earth.
Two years ago, the European agency asked the Israel Space Agency for permission to name the space station after Einstein. The ISA turned to HU, which has the rights to the use of Einstein’s name, images and materials. HU agreed to the request without asking for the usual royalties.
The Italian astronaut was dispatched to space for a 166-day mission, during which he will perform some 20 scientific experiments. Every day he takes photos of various parts of Earth and updates his fans regularly via Twitter and his blog.
In addition to the broadcast to Israel, it will also be transmitted live to Italy and Germany, and the astronaut will lecture on robotics in space and satellite technologies to scientists in the three countries. The Binat Computer Communications company in Israel will make the connection possible.