NASA astronaut to visit Russellville for solar eclipse festivities
A veteran NASA astronaut will be on hand in Russellville as part of the festivities surrounding the April 8 total solar eclipse, the city announced Tuesday.
Russellville’s Tourism & Visitors Center revealed that Mike Massimino, a veteran of two space shuttle missions, will visit the city.
Massimino can be seen in downtown Russellville at 10 a.m. the morning of the eclipse. There will be a Q&A session and photo opportunities.
According to NASA, Massimino flew on STS-109 aboard the shuttle Columbia in March 2002 and STS-125 on the Atlantis in May 2009, for a total of 571 hours and 47 minutes in space.
STS-109 set a record for spacewalk time at 35 hours and 55 minutes during 5 spacewalks. Massimino performed two spacewalks totaling 14 hours and 46 minutes.
On the 2009 mission, the New York native became the first person to send a tweet from outer space.
“Having an individual of Mike Massimino’s caliber join us is not just an honor; it’s a tangible representation of what can be achieved when we reach for the stars,” said Christie Graham, tourism director for Russellville, in a press release. “We invite everyone to join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Massimino is also the author of two books: 2016’s “Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe” and 2023’s “Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible.”
Massimino will be just one aspect of NASA’s presence in Russellville and Arkansas for the April 8 eclipse.
The Russellville Fire Department will host NASA’s local broadcast coverage of the eclipse from noon to 3 p.m. CT.
Representatives of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and the Arkansas Air
National Guard will also be present in the city.
On April 4, the Thursday before the eclipse, Arkansas Tech University will be hosting an event with NASA representatives.
They will be part of a presentation at the school that will include astronomers from France who are visiting for the eclipse and a representative from the Arkansas Air National Guard. Their panel discussion will begin at 1 p.m. in Witherspoon Auditorium at 407 West Q St.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Representatives from NASA will also be on the Hindsman Tower lawn from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. on April 4 with table displays and will be able to talk about the science behind the eclipse.
NASA reps will also speak on the eclipse from the Depot Park stage at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 5.
On April 7, NASA experts from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will provide a free eclipse presentation at the Russellville Soccer Complex from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. They will share updates on NASA’s heliophysics research and answer eclipse questions.
NASA will also have a presence in Hot Springs the weekend of the eclipse.
Nine scientists and educators from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be there on April 4.
They will host three presentations in the Bridge St. LIVE Entertainment District.
It will include activities and presentations about the eclipse, eclipse safety, heliophysics, space weather, exoplanet exploration and communication, the moon and climate change.
The presentations are scheduled for 6, 7 and 8 p.m.