Astronaut’s System for Tracking and Requesting Appearances (ASTRA).

This collection of information supports the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, to enable NASA astronaut appearances before a variety of groups to inform the general public about the U.S. space program. Typically, presentations are made to high schools and universities, community organizations, businesses and associations, or military organizations. In order to reach as many people as possible, NASA offers three options to choose from in requesting an astronaut appearance: 1) An in person astronaut appearance whereby the astronaut travels to the appearance location. 2) A virtual appearance utilizing virtual telecommunications tools to connect an astronaut via video conference with your organization. 3) A recorded greeting arranged in advance to be used during a specified event. The NASA Astronaut Appearance Office (AAO) located at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas is responsible for vetting, processing, and coordinating logistics for Astronaut appearances. This information will be used by the NASA AAO and Legal and HR personnel in the vetting, coordinating, scheduling and authorization processes to work with requestors to facilitate the appearance logistics. Records of appearances, including the information associated with the requestor and points of contact are maintained by the AAO for a minimum of five (5) years.