While there are many ways to ‘engage an expert’ I’ll just cover two things that are pretty easy to do and keep costs low.
The first is ‘Ask an Astronaut’ which I discovered recently. The second, I’ve known about for many years. Perhaps you know about the NASA Speakers Bureau too.
To Ask an Astronaut about human spaceflight, start at the Kennedy Space Center website and you’ll see:
“Our resident Astronaut Encounter astronauts at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex enjoy answering your questions about human spaceflight. This feature provides you with the opportunity to email your questions relating to space exploration, before or after your visit to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Please allow up to five business days for a reply. Only questions relating to human spaceflight will be answered.” ~Ask an Astronaut
Click the button below that to activate an Outlook email or hover over the button and look in the lower left corner for the address, if you don’t have Outlook. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time if that is critical and stick to the topic they will answer to get what you want.
The NASA Speakers Bureau is system wide in the United States, though Speakers Bureau Coordinator Cheryl “McCallum said that Glenn’s Speakers Bureau enjoys the largest active membership across the agency. In fact, NASA’s Strategic Communications Office has held up Glenn as an example of “best practices” for innovative outreach methods on several occasions.” ~NASA Speakers Bureau Article
That explains why I know about this so well – I was born & raised in Ohio and I was a volunteer at NASA Lewis (now Glenn). I probably heard NASA Bureau Speakers in grade school and I definitely learned some of the inner workings while I was a volunteer.
Be sure to browse around the suite of sites and plan well in advanced, just know that “The Speakers Bureau is a free service as a part of our public communication and outreach programs. Our audiences include pre-school to college classes, libraries and museums, scouts, professional and technical organizations, and community groups.” ~About the NASA Speakers Bureau
Getting an astronaut speaker is handled separately, you want to begin with Astronaut Appearance Request Guidelines. You probably want to ensure a bigger, mature audience for a request like this too. Read everything carefully and follow their rules, be persistent and you will probably hear from an astronaut in the corps.
Whether you want a simple answer to a question or professional speakers for a series of meetings or something in between, experts on space related topics are available to you, you just have to ask!
There are very likely many other resources out there as well, it’s only a matter of seeking them sometimes.
NOTES:
*Internet access for ‘Ask an Astronaut’ and for the Speakers Bureau request form
*Open to anyone who can ask
*No to low cost
Sources
*http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/Ask-an-Astronaut.aspx
*http://www.nasa.gov/about/speakers/
*http://www.nasa.gov/about/speakers/nasa-speakers-about.html
*http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/news/AF/2007/May07_SpeakersBureau.html
*http://www.nasa.gov/about/speakers/nasa-speakers-howto.html
*http://www.nasa.gov/about/speakers/astronautappearances.html
