TOPEKA (KSNT) - Students and staff at the University of Kansas (KU) will get to chat with a local celebrity floating in space next month.
KU announced on Thursday, Jan. 25 that Loral O'Hara, who is currently serving as a NASA astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS), will be taking part in a live Q&A session with people down on Earth at 2 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2024. O'Hara, who is a KU alumni member, began her six-month journey through space in September last year.
O'Hara is part of the 70-member crew on the ISS that has been researching a variety of important topics such as cancer treatments, space manufacturing techniques and heart health. O'Hara is set to return to Earth in mid-March later this year.
The upcoming discussion will be moderated by Professor of Aerospace Engineering Rick Hale who taught O'Hara while she was attending classes at KU. The entire Q&A session will last 25 minutes.
“Having a former student in such a high visibility position, when the odds of achieving such a position are so limited, is a tangible reinforcement to the professional development plans of current and future aerospace engineering students,” Hale said. “Loral’s professional development path is a testament to what can be achieved with a long-term vision and focus. The opportunity for students to interact with her in real time makes the experience more real and brings the community closer.”
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 10: Thirteen members of the first class of astronaut candidates, including Sugar Land native, Loral O'Hara, six from right, under the Artemis program pose for a photograph during their graduation ceremony at the Johnson Space Center on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in Houston. After completing more than two years of training, the astronauts are now eligible for assignments, including going to the International Space Station, Artemis missions to the Moon and missions to Mars. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 10: Astronaut Loral O'Hara, a Sugar Land native, answers questions from the press after her graduation ceremony at the Johnson Space Center on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in Houston. After completing more than two years of training, the 13 member first class of astronauts to graduate under the Artemis program are now eligible for assignments, including going to the International Space Station, Artemis missions to the Moon and missions to Mars.
(Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
(From L) US NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, members of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 70-71 main crew, board a bus for the pre-launch preparations in the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 15, 2023. The trio is scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft later on September 15. (Photo by VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - The Soyuz-2.1a rocket booster with the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft is set at the launch pad at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 12, 2023. The crew of Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and US astronaut Loral O'Hara is scheduled to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on September 15. (Photo by Andrey BORODULIN / AFP) (Photo by ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images)
(From L) US NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, members of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 70-71 main crew, walk to report to the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos during the pre-launch preparations in the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 15, 2023. The trio of US NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub is scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft later on September 15. (Photo by VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(bottom-top) Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and US NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, members of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 70-71 main crew, board the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft ahead of the launch in the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 15, 2023. The trio of US NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub is scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft later on September 15. (Photo by MAXIM SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MAXIM SHIPENKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
BAIKONUR, KAZAKHSTAN - SEPTEMBER 15: The Soyuz MS-24 rocket is seen in this 90-second exposure as it launches with Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 15, 2023 in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send the trio on a mission to the International Space Station. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
O'Hara graduated from KU in 2006 with a degree in aerospace engineering and was later selected to become a part of the 2017 NASA astronaut class. She is the fourth KU graduate to travel to space, following in the footsteps of Joe Engle, Ron Evans and Steve Hawley.
To tune in to the Q&A session, use this link. You can keep track of the ISS's progress by clicking here.
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