A Nasa astronaut’s guide to the galaxy
Scientists inspire pupils to one day become reseachers in space
TOP SCIENTISTSfromNasa had one message for about 500 Kraaifontein pupils yesterday: the answers to some of the world’s biggest questions are floating out in space, and you could be the one to find them.
Nasa’s chief scientist, Dr Ellen Stofan, and Nasa astronaut Dr Catherine “Cady” Coleman addressed Grade 11 and 12 pupils at Masibambane Secondary School yesterday, as part of an international effort to inspire young people – particularly young women – to get interested in the technology, science, engineering and maths fields.
Coleman’s introduction to the stage set off an excited hum through the packed hall. Calling outer space a “wild and different place”, she described what it’s like to wear 150kg spacesuits, take off in a rocketship, exercise upside-down, and fly through the galaxy at nearly 25 000km/h, circling the planet 16 times a day.
“We didn’t even know each other and I was taking your picture,” she told the pupils, saying she used to photograph Cape Town from the window of her spacecraft.
Coleman said being an astronaut didn’t require genius, only hard work. She said at Nasa or in any space programme, everyone hada job, and the most important thing was to study what was important to you.
Pupils’ curiosities spanned the spectrum from practical to philosophical: How do you go to the bathroom on a spaceship? How much money does an astronaut really make? What does rain look like from above? Do you pass heaven on the way to space, or is it deeper in the abyss?
“I wish I could go there, to space, so I could experience it,” Grade 12 pupil Busisiwe Stemmer said. “I want to fly.”
Stofan said studying other planets was crucial to understanding our own, and could lead to discoveries like alien life forms, causes of climate change, and disease cures.
She paused, “And anybody want to go to Mars?”
A smattering of hesitant hands crept up.
“Well, by about the 2030s we’ll be there,” said Stofan. “And we need everyone – not just the guys, not just the Americans.”
The US Consulate in Cape Town sponsored the scientists’ eight-day tour in South Africa, which included a stop at Scifest Africa in Grahamstown at the weekend. US Consul General Teddy Taylor attended the assembly yesterday.
In her 22-year career, Coleman has completed three missions, lived six months on the International Space Station, clocked 4 330 hours in space, and travelled 149 668 992km in and around the universe. “If you are out there trying to understand what you’re good at and what you bring to the table, then you are getting ready to come with us,” she said.