Bill Nye revealed that while he is excited to join the cast of Dancing with the Stars to learn some new moves, one of his big motives is to educate the public about space. Nye will test his chemistry with rookie dance professional Tyne Stecklein.

“As unusual as this may seem, I believe we can broaden awareness of the Society and thereby humankind's exploration of the Cosmos one ballroom dance at a time,” Nye wrote in his blog.

Nye is excited to be involved in a show that meets such a wide audience, since he will be able to spread the marvel of space exploration to more people. "In order for us to carry out our mission to get the world — our world — excited about and supportive of space exploration, we need to engage people everywhere," Nye wrote. "The show is watched by millions."

Nye continues his efforts of raising awareness about the cut on NASA's space exploration budget. CNN interviewed “the science guy” last year, where he explained the importance of restoring the budget.

"Investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion… If we found life on Mars, or evidence of life on Mars, it would change the way everybody thinks about everything. It would change the way you think about your place in space."

As for the dance competition, the 57-year-old said he will have to work on his bad posture, which may lead to him being voted out of the running for the Mirror Ball trophy early. However, he remains positive. “But of course, I'm a competitive guy; I am in this to win. It will be a personal exploration; whenever we explore we make discoveries (like how to stand up straight at last),” he wrote.

Nye even told E! that being a science buff will come in handy on the show. "I became an engineer because I love physics, physics is the study of motion, and we're all moving when you dance," he wisely stated.

The science educator has some serious work to do to get in shape for the competition. He took to Twitter to announce his participation in the show, saying he “can already feel the burn.”

Nye follows in the footsteps of Buzz Aldrin, former American astronaut and fellow space man, who appeared on the show in 2010.

ABC's Dancing With the Stars Season 17 premieres on Monday, Sept. 16 at 8 p.m.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons