On the 28th of November, Europe’s largest online portal and ESA will produce the first-ever space Web video chat when ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter responds to questions via the Internet live from the International Space Station.

In a unique media tie-up, Germany’s leading Internet service provider, T-Online, and ESA will conduct a live space video chat via the Internet on 28 November 2006, starting at 21:15 (CET).

The event will enable German-speaking space enthusiasts to communicate with ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter - from Germany - via the Web direct from the ISS, 400 km above the Earth where Reiter is now in the closing stages of the historic Astrolab Mission.

Chat participants will receive first-hand information from Reiter on the status of his mission and how he lives, works and conducts scientific investigations in a weightless environment.

During the event, questions submitted from the public via the Web will be relayed directly to Reiter on board the ISS by a moderator. Reiter will answer in real time, while flying over Russia at a speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour.

The chat is being organized at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (ESA/EAC) in Cologne, Germany, in partnership with T-Online. A direct link (in German) to the chat can be found here.

[tags]ESA, Thomas Reiter, talk to astronaut, European Astronaut Centre, T-Online, International Space Station[/tags]