National Geographic, NASA Count Down to Epic 'Live from Space' TV Special on Friday

International Space Station as seen from NASA space shuttle.

This image from a NASA space shuttle mission shows the International Space Station in orbit. The space station is the size of a football field and home to six astronauts. Image taken: Feb. 10, 2010. (Image credit: NASA)

Astronauts on the International Space Station are going to beam into homes around the world during a live TV event this week.

"Live from Space" — a live look at life onboard the space station — is set to air on the National Geographic Channel Friday (March 14). The two-hour broadcast will feature NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata speaking about their experiences living and working in space on an international team.

Wakata and Mastracchio will guide the audience through a tour of the space station and answer questions about everything ranging from sleeping to working out on the orbiting outpost. Journalist Soledad O'Brien will host the program from NASA's Mission Control in Houston with astronaut Mike Massimino also contributes during the broadcast. "Live from Space" will feature other, prerecorded video of the space station as well. [See amazing photos taken by Koichi Wakata]

"In their own words, learn how they sleep upside down, stay fit, maintain personal hygiene and, of course, (that question everyone is curious about), how they use the toilet," National Geographic Channel officials said in a statement. "To top it all off, we'll see incredible shots of our planet, from sunset and sunrise, to city lights and green aurora, to lightning storms and shooting stars."

Viewers can also use the "Live from Space" website to enhance the experience of watching the program, according to National Geographic officials. As the station orbits Earth during the broadcast, the website will track it, displaying special information about the countries below the path of the station.

Sunlight glints off the International Space Station.

The "Live from Space" program comes on the heels of the premiere of "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey," another National Geographic Channel-affiliated show that focuses on the wonders of the universe. While "Cosmos" premiered on FOX Sunday (March 9), it also aired the following day in a premiere on National Geographic.

National Geographic Channel will air the "Live from Space" broadcast in 170 different countries on March 14 at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 March 15 GMT). Check local listings.

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Miriam Kramer joined Space.com as a Staff Writer in December 2012. Since then, she has floated in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight, felt the pull of 4-Gs in a trainer aircraft and watched rockets soar into space from Florida and Virginia. She also served as Space.com's lead space entertainment reporter, and enjoys all aspects of space news, astronomy and commercial spaceflight. Miriam has also presented space stories during live interviews with Fox News and other TV and radio outlets. She originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee where she and her family would take trips to dark spots on the outskirts of town to watch meteor showers every year. She loves to travel and one day hopes to see the northern lights in person. Miriam is currently a space reporter with Axios, writing the Axios Space newsletter. You can follow Miriam on Twitter.