Space Station Astronaut to Observe Earth Hour

Space station flight engineer Andre Kuipers will be in a unique position to observe Earth Hour, a public awareness project that asks people to turn off their lights for one hour at an appointed day and time.

Kuipers, a European Space Agency astronaut currently serving aboard the orbiting outpost, will share photos and live commentary about Earth Hour from his vantage point 240 miles above the planet. The goal of the project is to raise awareness of the need for people to be conscious of and to mitigate their impacts on the environment.

Earth Hour, which grew out of a 2007 event in Sydney, Australia, last year had participants from 135 countries. This year the designated hour is 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. -- whatever time zone you're in -- on March 31.