July 2, 2009

Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100 katherine trinidad@nasa gov

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 nicole cloutier-1@nasa gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-121

NASA ASTRONAUT STARTS AGENCY'S FIRST BILINGUAL TWITTER

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-121 NASA ASTRONAUT STARTS AGENCY'S FIRST BILINGUAL TWITTER HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, set to fly aboard space shuttle Discovery in August, is providing insights about his training on Twitter in both English and Spanish It will be the agency's first bilingual Twitter

Hernandez, who considers Stockton, Calif , his hometown, grew up in a migrant farming family, travelling each year between Mexico and California He did not learn English until the age of 12

Hernandez, whose Twitter account is astro_jose, can be followed at:

http://www twitter com/astro_jose

"I was inspired to pursue a dream to one day work in space while listening to the radio news about space exploration while working in the fields of northern California," Hernandez said "I hope to spread that excitement about space, science and engineering and inspire others to follow their dreams by sharing my activities and interacting with my followers on Twitter "

Selected as an astronaut by NASA in May 2004, Hernandez will make his first spaceflight on the STS-128 shuttle mission that will continue assembly of the International Space Station During the mission, he will oversee the transfer of supplies and equipment between the shuttle and station, assist with robotics operations and serve as a flight engineer in the shuttle cockpit during launch and landing It will be the first shuttle mission to feature two Latino astronauts Danny Olivas, who also is of Mexican descent, is among Hernandez's six crewmates

For Hernandez's complete biography, visit:

http://www jsc nasa gov/Bios/htmlbios/hernandez-jm html

For more information about the STS-128 mission, visit:

http://www nasa gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts128

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

For a list of NASA missions providing updates on social media Web sites, visit:

http://www nasa gov/collaborate

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/[list]/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]