NASA ASTRONAUT TO GIVE PUBLIC LECTURES TO PROMOTE ASTRONOMY AND SUPPORT FOR THE SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY BID
An astronaut from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is to hold public lectures during a visit to South Africa from 8 to 15 November 2010. The astronaut, Dr Jeff Hoffman, will be accompanied by Dr Robert Williams, President of the International Astronomical Union, and Prof. Charles McGruder of Western Kentucky University.
They are visiting South Africa to increase awareness of science though astronomy. This is a timely visit considering that Africa is bidding to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope. If Africa wins the bid to host the SKA this would mean an investment of about $15 billion in Africa over 50 years. The majority of the investment would go to South Africa. As part of the bid, South Africa is building the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT), which will be a world class telescope in its own right.
Dr Hoffman, who became an astronaut in 1979, was assigned to the shuttle space flight missions to repair the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This is regarded as one of the most successful telescopes ever built in terms of recognition by the public. Dr Hoffman was also one of the four spacewalking astronauts for the first HST servicing mission in 1993. He last flew on the Shuttle Columbia. In his five space flights, Hoffman has logged more than 1 211 hours in space and travelled more than 34,6 million km.
Dr Williams is tasked with growing astronomy interest internationally, and arranges public lecture tours by NASA astronauts. Prof. McGruder is an astronomer who will give public lectures on the science of the SKA.
Lectures will be given in five South African cities (Pretoria, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Durban and Hermanus).
There will be a photo op with the Minister for Science and Technology, Mrs Naledi Pandor, in Cape Town on 9 November 2010 at 09:00 in the Minister's office, 10th Floor, 100 Plein Street.
ASTRONAUT SPEAKING TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA
9 November 17:00 – 18:30pm Public lecture at University of South Africa Pretoria UNISA
10 November 15:00 – 16:30pm Public lecture at University of the Free State Bloemfontein UFS/Boyden
11 November 15:00 – 16:30pm Public lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban UKZN
12 November 15:00 – 16:30pm Public lecture at National Institute of Higher Education Kimberley NIHE
13 November 15:00 – 16:30pm Public lecture at Hermanus Magnetic Observatory Hermanus HMO
Enquiries: Tommy Makhode
Science Communications
082 379 8268
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