PITTSFIELD -- In late November, Stephen Bowen was concentrating on walking in space when he got the call: Take a look down at Earth.

The sun was setting over New England. As Bowen looked down at home, his sister and other family members were outside, looking up, and they could see a bright "star" in the twilight sky.

That star was the space shuttle Endeavour, on a mission to help expand the International Space Station, and Bowen was space-walking on it.

"It was really a different perspective on things," Bowen said in an interview. "When it gets dark (down on Earth), your eyes need to adjust and you miss the first transition. I think it was one of the really interesting moments."

Bowen, a NASA astronaut, is scheduled to share his experiences in space on Tuesday with students and the public at Maine Central Institute's Wright Gym. He is speaking at MCI because his 15-year-old daughter, Gillian, is a student at the independent school and a dancer with the Bossov Ballet Theatre, which is based at the MCI campus.

Bowen said he plans to talk about the space mission and give a slide-show presentation with photos and video. Depending on "how long I babble on for," Bowen said he'd also answer questions.

Bowen was part of a seven-member NASA team, which launched Nov. 14 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and returned to Earth on Nov. 30. Gillian and her family traveled down to Florida to watch the launch.

The team's mission, called STS-126, was to prepare the space station so it can sustain a crew of six people. The first module for the space station launched into space 10 years ago.

Highlights of the nearly 16-day mission included expanding the living quarters of the space station to eventually house six-member crews and three spacewalks from Bowen. The space shuttle completed 250 orbits in more than 6 million miles.

Since arriving back to Earth, Bowen and his team have been given medical testing and gone through nearly weeks of mission debriefing with NASA officials.

"You tell them what happened, what you thought.... it was all new, so we had questions for them," Bowen said. "It's a good opportunity to gather stuff while it's still fresh."

Next mission: The astronauts go on tour. They'll be delivering presentations across the country and holding other public appearances, such as marching in the presidential inauguration parade and attending a USO tour in Afghanistan, Bowen said.

Bowen's talk at MCI will be his first public-relations event since returning from his mission.

"I enjoy talking to students," Bowen said. "Some of the best questions come from students, so hopefully they'll get to ask some."

After the publicity traveling is finished, Bowen returns to his "regular" duties at the astronaut office, which include technical analysis and training programs.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253, 487-3288

smonroe@centralmaine.com