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Former Astronaut Scott Parazynski is the first astronaut to summit Mt. Everest

Scott Parazynski Interviewed by Miles O’Brien days prior to his successful bid for the summit of Mt. Everest

Nepal, May 20, 2009 – According to An Astronaut Atop Everest, Scott Parazynski is the first astronaut to summit Mt. Everest.

Scott Parazynski whose flown in space five times and tried last year to climb Mt. Everest before an injury forced him to give up his bid, today successfully summited Mt. Everest becoming the first astronaut to do so. Parazynski summited today at 6:15 p.m. eastern time, 4:00 a.m. Nepal time.

Parazynzki's adventure started on March 22nd when he left Houston starting his trek to Nepal and eventually the summit of Everest. For nearly two months he prepared for this day. Climbing Everest takes quite a lot of preparation. He left Camp IV, called the South Col, at an elevation of 7,920 meters (26,000 ft) and trekked to the summit in just over 8 hours. The summit at 8,848 meters (29,029 ft). One unique item Parazynski brought with him to the summit were some small moon rocks collected from Apollo 11. Parazynski stayed at the summit for approximately 15 minutes and started his descent back down Everest.

Discovery Channel along with the Everest climbers and crew members are proud to present what is probably the first and only footage of a successful summit attempt so close to the actual climb. Click here to see the movies.

Scott Parazynski, The first Astronaut to Stand Atop Mt. Everest

Parazynski Holds Apollo 11 Moon Rocks atop Everest with the Moon High Above

EVEREST BASE CAMP, NEPAL - Challenger Center for Space Science Education has added a new member to its Board of Directors: former Astronaut Scott Parazynski, MD.  Dr. Parazynski was informed of his election at Everest Base Camp in Nepal where he was preparing to make a bid for the summit of Mt. Everest.  Dr. Parazynski who climbed to the peak of Mt. Everest on May 20, 2009, is the first human to stand on the highest point on our planet and to orbit our planet in space.

Student Questions for Scott

Challenger Learning Center students were asked to send questions for Dr. Parazynski about his ascent of Mount Everest and life as an astronaut. Dr. Parazynski answered these questions in a live broadcast from Mt. Everest. To read the students questions and watch his replies, click here.

Dr. Parazynski has been joined at Everest Base Camp by fellow Challenger Center board member Keith Cowing who formally welcomed him to the Board of Directors. Together, Mr. Cowing, Dr. Parazynski, are representing the Challenger Center and its network of 46 Challenger Learning Centers and will conduct education and public outreach activities from Mt. Everest over the next month. Another Challenger Center board member, Miles O’Brien, based in New York City is providing the main stateside support for Cowing and Parazynski.

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Challenger Center Chairman of the Board, former astronaut William Readdy said, “Dr. Parazynski has made significant research contributions to the space program and to science education, and we are very fortunate to have him join Challenger Center’s Board of Directors.”

The first stop for Scott this year was Kathmandu, then Everest Base Camp. At Everest he is spending the next several weeks working his way progressively higher on the slopes of Mount Everest, with the goal of standing on its summit in the 2nd or 3rd week of May. Scott hopes that teachers and students will follow his adventures, enabled by base camp and stateside teammates Keith Cowing and Miles O'Brien. To help students to get engaged in the expedition, Scott plans to post responses to student questions, photos, videos, and scientific experiment information on his blogs.  You can follow Mr. Cowing and Dr. Parazynski’s educational activities online at http://onorbit.com/everest. 

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The expedition will also be documented on the Discovery Channel for which Scott will serve as the climbing team doctor. He also plans to conduct biological and geological research high on the mountain for colleagues at NASA and perform some field testing of hardware, including a prototype lunar geological hammer and a hydration system he developed at NASA.  Scott will also be using a SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker that will track his movements throughout his trip. By visiting an online resource, students can see where Scott is on the mountain each day, all the way to the very summit. Scott plans to return to the U.S. in late May.

Dr. June Scobee Rodgers, Founding Chairman of Challenger Center applauds Dr. Parazynski’s efforts at climbing Mt. Everest and hosted an interview with Dr. Parazynski prior to his first attempt last year to climb Mt. Everest.

Check out Challenger Center’s Dr. June Scobee Rodgers interview from last year with Dr. Scott Parazynski at our podcast page and a video version on our YouTube channel.

YouTube Video Scott Parazynski Interview

Audio Podcast Interview (Part 1 of 3)

Audio Podcast Interview (Part 2 of 3)

Audio Podcast Interview (Part 3 of 3)

Connect with astronaut Scott Parazynski's return expedition to Mt. Everest and learn some Earth Science in the process.

Check out this link to some quick background on how Plate Tectonics formed the Himalayas.

India, China and Himalayas from Space

Mt. Everest from Space

Additional Information

For more information on Challenger Learning Center programs, please contact a Learning Center Coordinator via e-mail at info@challenger.org; by telephone at (877) 443-5701 or (816) 471-7770; or by completing the Feedback Form.