President Trump to make special long-distance call to record breaking NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump will make a special long-distance call to NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson on Monday, April 24 from the Oval Office.

The special call from Earth to space is to personally congratulate Peggy Whitson for her record-breaking stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

President Trump will be joined by daughter Ivanka Trump and NASA astronaut Kate Rubinsfor the 20-minute call which will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency’s website and Facebook page at 10 a.m. EDT.

The call will be made available to schools, museums, and other organizations across the nation and globally.

According to NASA, the Department of Education and the US space agency are working together, on behalf of the White House, to encourage classrooms throughout America to tune-in to the historic event. They also are making available for voluntary use STEM on Station educational materials that may be helpful to further engage students in the classroom. STEM on Station is comprised of education activities that follow astronauts as they demonstrate STEM concepts such as Newton’s Laws of Motion, surface tension and advances in technology.

Commander of the station’s Expedition 51 crew, Whitson will officially set the U.S. record Monday for most cumulative days in space, surpassing NASA astronaut Jeff Williams’ record of 534 days, as per reports.

Peggy Whitson is the first woman to command the space station twice and also holds the record for most spacewalks conducted by a female astronaut.

Whitson will be joined for President Trump’s call by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, who is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting laboratory Thursday, April 20.

She arrived at the International Space Station on November 19, 2016.