The person who is recognized as the first to tweet from space will have another space-related assignment as the host of Science Channel’s coverage of the upcoming Great American Eclipse.
The channel announced today that former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino will host the coverage of the eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21.
Massimino, a veteran of two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope and four space walks, will also present the series “The Planets,” premiering Tuesday, Aug. 22.
“Mike Massimino is a true hero of space exploration, having risked his life to fix the Hubble Space Telescope,” said Marc Etkind, general manager of Science Channel. “His dedication to furthering our understanding of the universe makes him the perfect guide to take our viewers through the once-in-a-lifetime Great American Eclipse and to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in ‘The Planets.'”
The path of totality for the eclipse will stretch from Oregon to South Carolina, where Massimino will anchor the channel’s coverage from Charleston. The event marks the first time in 99 years that a total solar eclipse will span the continental United States.
For more about the eclipse and Science Channel’s coverage, along with “The Planets,” please click here to read the full announcement.
I’m afraid that the upcoming eclipse is not a once-in-a-lifetime event. That is because a couple of years later, another total eclipse will cut thru the U.S. from the southwest thru the northeast, with it creating an X at Carbondale, IL, with the upcoming eclipse. I’ll be attending the upcoming eclipse near Carbondale. With any luck, the skies will be clear. Do these writers ever check their facts.