A live television event will take place between the and the Cork Institute of Technology’s new science centre, , in Cork.
NASA has confirmed that the event will take place on Monday, February the 4th, for ten minutes from 12.45 – 12.55
The background is as follows: astronaut , who is currently living aboard the station, is a . He fell in love here and married an Irish woman, Jane Egan of the prominent Cork City family of opticians. Tani had a bereavement recently when his mother was .
This event will be a celebration of Dan Tani's links with Ireland, and Cork in particular, and was devised by Leo Enright and his astronaut friends at NASA and Blackrock Castle Observatory as a morale boost for the man, who's been stuck aboard the station since technical problems grounded the Space Shuttle.
The format will be as follows:
Invited guests, including Dan's in-laws, Mary and Larry Egan, will gather at the Castle (21st century technology in a 16th century location), a spectacular setting on the Lee. We will also have traditional musicians, local schoolchildren and surprise guests.
The ten-minute event will be unlike anything NASA have ever been involved in before, as we propose to basically have a party. Tani's in-laws will speak with him, followed by schoolchildren, and we will round off with songs and dance.
It will be screened on RTE’s 6.01 News and live on lunch time radio. The event can also be viewed live on .