August 9, 2005
The Iowa Soybean Association and Iowa State University's NASA Food Technology Commercial Space Center will host astronaut Clayton Anderson at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 16.
"We are so excited that Clayton will be joining us for the Iowa State Fair," said Anthony Pometto, director of the NASA center at ISU. "We expect that he'll have some great stories to tell about working with NASA."
Anderson, a Nebraska native, graduated from Iowa State in 1983 with a master's degree in aerospace engineering and was hired by NASA's Johnson Space Center that same year. He currently is assigned as the flight engineer for the upcoming International Space Station Long Duration Expedition in 2006.
At 10 a.m., Anderson will join Pometto and Lester Wilson, an ISU professor of food science and human nutrition, for "Soybeans in Space" program on the AE Dairy stage. The program will include information about soy foods in space and current soy foods research. A highlight will be NASA's work on growing dwarf soybeans in space so astronauts can grow, harvest and produce their own food during longer missions, such as the 2010 mission to the moon. Other research, including the development of soy-based tortillas and soy oils low in saturated fats for healthier space foods, will be outlined.
At 1 p.m., Anderson will sign autographs and give a children's presentation in the Iowa Soybean Association Kid's Tent.
The events planned for Aug. 16 are part of Soybean Day at the Iowa State Fair. As an official sponsor of the fair, the Iowa Soybean Association will host two tents and three stage performances. Iowa State's NASA Food Technology Commercial Space Center and the Iowa Soybean Association invited Anderson and will host him during the one-day event.
For the past six years, the NASA Food Technology Commercial Space Center at Iowa State University has been working to lead a national effort in developing foods and food-processing technologies to enhance space missions and advance commercial food products. The center accomplishes this through cooperative efforts with NASA scientists and technologists, commercial companies and academic researchers. The Iowa Soybean Association has been a FTCSC commercial partner since February 2001.