Gifford - Wednesday July 6, 2022: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station fielded questions Wednesday from students at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center in Vero Beach. The elementary school aged children asked a wide range of questions about life aboard the orbital research laboratory.
“This is mission control Houston please call station for a voice check," ask Houston control.
“We hear you loud and clear," came back the answer from Astronaut Jessica Watkins, who was circling 248 miles above the earth aboard the International Space Station. She is a geologist, an aquanaut and a former international rugby player, as well as being the first Black woman on an International Space Station long-term mission.
She was ready and waiting for questions.
4th Grader Caleb Baker: "Hi My name is Caleb Baker. My question is what equipment do you use to breath in space?”
Watkins: “When we go out on our space walks, we have our space suits. And the back-pack on the back of those suits contains the life support systems for us. It contains the oxygen that we have to breath as well as mechanism for scrubbing out the CO2 that we breath.”
The questions went on for about 20 minutes. And Watkins was joined in answering them by fellow astronaut Bob Hines.
3rd Grader Adriana Cortez: “Hi my name is Adriana Cortez. My question is how do plants grow in space?
Hines: “As you know there is no gravity in space, and so you can’t just pour water on the plants. And we’ve learned that plants don’t necessarily need gravity to know which way to grow, but they do grow their roots towards the water supply.”
The students’ questions were pre-recorded but the astronaut responses were live and beamed down from the Space Station to a big screen set up in the gym at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center.
1st Grader Aiden Robinson: “Hi. My name is Aiden Robinson. My question is what type of food do you eat while in space?
Hines: “Right here I have a container of pasta and turkey. Its hard like a brick. And then what we have to do is we go up to a special machine that injects water into a straw and then we mix it up.”
Out of hundreds that applied from across the country, the Gifford Youth Achievement Center in Vero Beach was one of just 10 schools chosen by NASA to take part in Wednesday’s astronaut Q and A.