Astronaut says space is the place for gifted pupils
▶ Nasa veteran delivers inspiring message to Emirati pupils at Dubai event
A group of 20 gifted Emirati pupils have been urged to consider a career in space by an astronaut who has circled Earth more than 700 times.
The message from former Nasa astronaut Dr Donald Thomas was delivered to youngsters at the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Centre for Giftedness and Creativity in Dubai, which is attended by pupils with high IQs in Grades 4 to 12.
Dr Thomas, a veteran of four space flights, said hope and patience were needed for their careers. He spoke a week after the search was launched for the first four UAE astronauts.
“One of the most important messages I want to pass on to them is to work hard, do your best and follow your dream,” Dr Thomas said in Dubai yesterday.
“I’m going through what it’s like up in space in zero gravity, how do we eat and sleep.
“Some things are more difficult – the toilet is more complicated, there are switches and dials so it takes a few more minutes but other things are easy – lifting a desk can be done with one finger. It’s all worth it.”
He also spoke about Nasa’s plans for space travel.
“We’re building a new rocket called space launch system,” Dr Thomas said. “It’s the biggest, most powerful rocket ever built and it’ll have the capability to go to the Moon, asteroids and then on to Mars.
“It’s the type of rocket this generation will be riding on.
“This group is the Mars generation. They will be the first ones to set foot on Mars and we’re likely to land there in 20 to 25 years from now, so it’ll be someone in their age range on those missions.”
Dr Thomas retains boundless enthusiasm about space travel.
“I’m excited about the Mars orbiter the UAE is building for the 50th anniversary,” he said. “It’s an incredible achievement, and I have no doubt that they can do it because I look at this great city and everything they’ve accomplished. There are also plans for a Mars base in 100 years.”
He said the biggest challenge for pupils was distraction.
Maitha Junaibi, 13, from the Applied Technology High School in Abu Dhabi, was fascinated by the talk.
“He spoke about how long it takes, months and years, so I’m thinking to study more at home instead of playing,” Maitha said.
“Being an astronaut is not like any other job because it’s not one subject – you have to study science, mathematics and physics. The most interesting thing is that you can fly with no gravity, it’s so cool and I really want to try it and lift up the UAE’s name.”
Aysha Dahmani, a pupil at the Sumaya bint Khayat School in Ajman, said she watched space-related shows from a young age.
“I want to be an astronaut one day and I hope to go to Mars and represent the UAE,” Aysha said. “I want to be friends with people who want to be astronauts, so this class is great.
“My parents are very supportive and I just hope I won’t be expected to remove my abaya in space.”
Mariam Omar, from the Dubai National School, said space was the future for humankind.
“I’d like to be as astronaut, although dreams change,” Mariam said.
“It would be nice to explore outside the Earth and the UAE is going to send the first probe to Mars so the country is helping us to express our talent.”
The selected pupils had to undergo IQ and creativity tests.
“We are building a special programme for them – whether robots, Mars and space or maths,” the centre’s Huda Al Hammadi said. “We’re hoping one of them will be an astronaut in the future.”
The pupils’ special programmes run alongside school, during weekends and holidays.
“They’ll plan a full journey as if they are going from Earth to Mars,” Ms Al Hammadi said.
“They will build a small rocket simulating Nasa, and they will launch it on December 27 in the desert to see where it reaches.”