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'The Virtual Astronaut’ launches with live space explorer event series

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The Virtual Astronaut, from uniphi space agency, a division of uniphi good, LLC, is a new series of live-streamed events with veteran space explorers. (Image credit: uniphi space agency)

You can now attend a full lineup of live astronaut talks and "meet and greet" opportunities —  all without having to leave your home.

"The Virtual Astronaut," from uniphi space agency, founders of National Astronaut Day, is a new ticketed live event series offering unique takes on what it is like to leave Earth and live and work in space.

"Each individual event discussion is selected by and personally crafted by astronauts, and will cover a wide range of topics including significant space exploration milestones, mainstream culture celebrations and trends, STEM and STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering — Art — and Mathematics] education topics and individual astronaut memories and experiences from space, all with an 'up close and personal' astronaut perspective," uniphi space agency said in a statement released on Wednesday (Sept. 9).

Related: Astronauts offer advice on keeping calm (and carrying on) amid coronavirus outbreak

Access to each live talk costs $20. Attendees can also choose to add on a "Astronaut Meet 'N'  Greet" package for an additional $75, which includes one-on-one time with the astronaut t" at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Sept. 15. Like the book, the talk will be filled with "weird science, wild facts and outrageous true stories from life in space."  

The Virtual Astronaut is set to launch with space shuttle and space station veteran Clayton "AstroClay" Anderson celebrating the release of his new children's book, "Letters from Space" at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Sept. 15. Like the book, the talk will be filled with "weird science, wild facts and outrageous true stories from life in space." 

Logo for The Virtual Astronaut. (Image credit: uniphi space agency)

Additional scheduled Virtual Astronaut events include:

  • The story of "Too Tall" and "Too Small" by astronaut Wendy Lawrence at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Sept. 25. In support of Higher Orbits.
  • An astronaut's guide to coaching at 17,500 miles per hour by Steve Smith at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Oct. 6, National Coaches Day. In benefit of Positive Coaching Alliance.
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion as the building blocks of the U.S. space program by Danny Olivas and additional guests to be announced at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Oct. 14. In support of El Paso Matters.
  • Building the International Space Station with Pam Melroy at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Oct. 24, the 20th anniversary of her landing as pilot of the STS-92 space shuttle mission. In support of the Association of Space Explorers.
  • Spooky space stories and astronaut costumes with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Oct. 27. In support of the Challenger Learning Center.
  • 20 years of a continuous human occupancy on the International Space Station, a special panel with former ISS residents spanning the two decades of humans in space, at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) on Oct. 30, the last day there were no people off the planet. Presented in partnership with collectSPACE.com.
  • Voting from space with Leroy Chiao, the first American astronaut to vote in a presidential election from orbit, at 7 p.m. EST (0000 GMT Nov. 3) on Nov. 2. In support of the Houston Association for Space and Science Education (HASSE).

More Virtual Astronaut events are planned with Greg Chamitoff, Frank Culbertson, Jack Fischer, Susan Helms, Greg H. Johnson, Mark Polansky, Garrett Reisman and Steve Swanson.

To celebrate the launch of The Virtual Astronaut, uniphi space agency created a special playlist of astronaut-curated songs.  (Image credit: uniphi space agency)

To celebrate the series' launch, a special Spotify music playlist, "Astronaut Space Jams: Soundtrack of Space," was created featuring songs chosen personally by the astronauts, plus other space-inspired favorites. Each track recalls a specific memory, evokes an emotion or directly reflects a personal astronaut moment in time and space. 

The playlist and more details about The Virtual Astronaut series, including the opportunity to reserve your space, can now be found at TheVirtualAstronaut.com.

Space.com is proud to serve as the official media partner for uniphi space agency's The Virtual Astronaut series. 

Robert Pearlman is a Space.com contributing writer and the editor of collectSPACE.com, a Space.com partner site and the leading space history news publication. Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. 

Editor's note: This article and its headline were updated to clarify the for profit-status of the events, rather than directly benefiting charities.

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Robert Z. Pearlman
Robert Z. Pearlman
collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.