Lisa Scallon principal of Immokalee Middle School in Naples welcomes astronaut Terry Virts to the school.

Lisa Scallon (far left), principal of Immokalee Middle School in Naples, Fla., welcomes astronaut Terry Virts to the school, which is part of NASA’s Explorer Schools (NES) Program. Immokalee and Pine Ridge Middle School are an NES team. Also seen are Lisa Malone (second from left), director, KSC’s External Relations and Business Development directorate, and Pam Biegert, chief of Educational Services at KSC, who both accompanied Center Director Jim Kennedy on the trip. Kennedy is visiting the school to share the for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. He is talking with students about our destiny as explorers, NASA’s stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space. NES establishes a three-year partnership annually between NASA and 50 NASA Explorer Schools teams, consisting of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities nationwide.