NASA is taking Twitch viewers into space–and maybe to the moon?

NASA wants more people–especially young people who could participate in future missions–to know how cool space is.

So, to connect with them, it’s hosting a series of events from the International Space Station–all of which will be broadcast live on Twitch, where chatters can talk directly with astronauts living about the station.

NASA has a Twitch channel (with 1.3 million followers!) and has streamed there before, offering real-time peeks into things like launches and maneuvers, plus educational clips. But, as it said in a press release, this new series of streams are the first NASA events “developed specifically for the agency’s Twitch platform.”

During the Feb. 12 stream, viewers will hear from NASA astronauts Don Pettit (a chemical engineer who’s currently aboard the ISS) and Matt Dominick (a U.S. Navy test pilot who recently flew on NASA’s Crew-8 mission, which landed on the ISS in March 2024 and spent 235 days in space).

NASA says Pettit and Dominick will talk about daily life aboard ISS and what sorts of microgravity experiments the astronauts are conducting. “Additionally, the event will highlight ways for Twitch users to engage with NASA, including citizen science projects and science, technology, engineering, and math programs designed to inspire the Artemis Generation,” it said.

“Artemis Generation” refers to the generation of aspiring astronauts who could be part of NASA’s Artemis missions

, which are scheduled throughout the latter half of the 2020s and into the 2030s. They’re intended to further explore the moon and the potential for human life on Mars.

It sounds like the event will be part presentation and part Twitch stream, meaning viewers will be able to chat with the astronauts and ask questions, the same way they would with any content creator streaming on the platform.

Interestingly, NASA said it got the idea for these streams by talking to creators at TwitchCon.

“This Twitch event from space is the first of many,” Brittany Brown, Director of NASA’s Office of Communications Digital and Technology Division, said in a statement. “We spoke with digital creators at TwitchCon about their desire for streams designed with their communities in mind, and we listened.”

Considering science education is one of the top content genres in digital video (creators like Veritasium consistently make some of the most-watched videos on YouTube), we’re not surprised NASA is using Twitch to connect with its next generation of space explorers. We’re keen to see what events it develops for its digital audience–and whether those events will spur more interest in NASA jobs.

The stream with Pettit and Dominick will launch Feb. 12 at 11:45 a.m. on NASA’s Twitch channel.