On Thursday, May 5, students at Timber Ridge Middle School will join with more than 500 other schools around the world by signing Student Signatures in Space® posters to celebrate “Space Day 2005!” Student Signatures in Space (S3) provides elementary and middle school students the opportunity to send their digitized signatures into space and feel a personal involvement with the crew and the mission. Jointly sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin Corporation, S3 is one program of the award-winning Space Dayeducationalinitiative.

“Student Signatures in Space is a lot of fun for kids as well as teachers, but more importantly, it sparks student interest in the space program, creates a connection to math and science studies, and brings it all home on a personal level,” said April Tensen, coordinator of the S3 program.

Science teacher, Steve Hanson stated, “ This experience is a guarantee that the students’ signatures will go somewhere that nobody here has been!”

The space shuttle mission to carry this year’s signatures will be selected after NASA returns to flight this spring. After the signatures return from space, the poster will be returned to Timber Ridge along with a flight certificate and picture of the crew that carried the signatures into space. Since the program began in 1997, more than 2.5 million student signatures have flown in space.

There is no cost to schools participating in Student Signatures in Space. However, because of space constraints on each mission, participation is limited to approximately 500 schools each year. Schools are limited to participating once every six years. Lockheed Martin is the founding sponsor of Space Day.

More than 75 organizations also participate as Space Day Partners and Associates. The mission of Space Day is to use space-related activities to inspire and prepare youth for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Throughout the year, millions of students, teachers, parents and space enthusiasts participate in Space Day educational programs and celebrations across North America . The national Space Day celebration is set for Thursday, May 5, at the National Air and Space Museum ’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. More information about Space Day is available online at www.spaceday.org.