Victorian school students are set to learn about space travel and exploration from a NASA astronaut in a special education program by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

NASA Astronaut Rex Walheim will visit ACMI and host a special education program for Victorian schools, scheduled to coincide with the launch of the centres new major exhibition Star Voyager: Exploring Space on Screen. The education event, Blast Off with NASA Astronaut Rex Walheim, will be held on Thursday 22 September from noon.

ACMI's Studio 1 will become a classroom with a difference for a live audience of 50 students and the event will also be beamed to all Victorian schools via the Department of Education's online Virtual Conference Centre (VCC). Thirty-two Victorian schools have already registered to take part.