Cary resident Tony Rice is one of the 150 @NASA Twitter followers who made it possible.

He was chosen by lottery to attend the most recent "tweet-up" at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida timed to the Aug. 5 launch of the Juno probe. Rice said the event gave him access to scientists and behind-the-scenes tours that will help him to spread the word about the space program as he volunteers in the Cary area.

Now in his third year as a member of NASA's Solar System Ambassadors Program, Rice has volunteered at local schools and libraries to speak about space exploration and science topics. In an interview, the Cisco software engineer talked about his efforts.

Q: Have you always been interested in space exploration, and how did you get involved in the volunteering aspect?

A: I grew up in southern California not far from where the shuttle lands in bad weather - a big, dry lakebed. I remember hearing sonic booms while I was in school.

When my son was little, he got interested in astronomy and space. I started volunteering when he was in kindergarten, and then I applied for the Solar System Ambassadors Program. You go through a background check, and you put in a proposal of what you plan to do that year.

Q: You blog and you tweet - how important is social networking for the space program?

A: NASA is very good at social networking. I think this is their 23rd tweet-up. It allows people like me to have access to scientists and tours and share the information back in our own communities.

Q: There was so much excitement across the nation with the lunar landing. Since then, do you think NASA has to work harder to generate excitement and support for the space program?

A: I think that's a fair statement. The interest from the mainstream press is not the same as during the shuttle program when there are people aboard.

My reason for being involved is simply to get kids interested. I don't think that STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) topics get enough play at the elementary level.

I also think that there is a misunderstanding that NASA is going away. Only the shuttle has retired.

Q: What are the questions that come up the most when you are giving your own talks?

A: Kids love to ask about black holes - they are fascinated by them. They also ask if I've ever been to space. And maybe this is just a preteen boy thing, but many boys that age tend to ask about the disasters: Challenger, Columbia, Apollo I ... those are always a challenge to answer because I don't want to dwell on the negative.