Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield was in
orbit commanding the ISS during the NASA
Social, but one of the attendees made
certain a small cardboard likeness of him
was present on the ground for the event.
Photo: Nicole Solomon
to talk with three of the six current
crew members — NASA astronauts
Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn,
and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian
Space Agency — and, in-person,
astronaut Don Petit; NASA Associate
Administrator for Human Exploration
and Operations, Bill Gerstenmaier;
Director of NASA’s Space Life
and Physical Sciences Research
and Application Division, Marshall
Porterfield; and NASA Associate
Space Station Program Scientist,
Tara Ruttley. All were a huge hit with
those in attendance.
Blogger Jamie Rich commented,
“NASA Socials are a blast! You
get access to the coolest stuff —
astronauts, scientists, and engineers.
Even if you’re a not a space geek
like me, it’s super fun.”
Rich (@jamerz3294) also asked
the first question for his nephew,
Thomas: “How much time does the
International Space Station take
to perform a collision avoidance
maneuver?” The answer: the ISS can
now do a reboost to avoid space
debris in just six to seven hours.
Other questions ran the gamut
from how much oxygen is used
daily, to unintended scientific
discoveries, how weightlessness
affects the body, how the
astronauts utilize math in their
work, and the condition of the
32 fish flown to the ISS last year.
When one young woman asked,
“When do you think fat people
will be able to go to space?” the
astronauts diplomatically stated
that “hopefully soon everyone
will be able to get this incredible
experience we are lucky enough
to be part of.”
As eager as the attendees were
to devour the information being
presented, the NASA employees
were just as eager to share their
experiences, and do their best to
answer the myriad of questions
thrown their way.
“Generally, what we do is kind
of out there and out of reach for
most people,” said Don Petit. “But
to interact with them first hand, to
have them communicating with the
ISS, to see the looks on their faces as
they were doing so…it’s invigorating
for the people on the gr ound and in
space alike.”
When
asked
about
the
communication challenges NASA
faces with the public, Bob Jacobs
said candidly, “I think we need to
do a much better job talking about
the relevance of the work going on
in space. The crew is working on vital
research that impacts us here on
Earth and will help inform our future
beyond low-Earth orbit. People
who claim to be ‘green’ should
closely study the space station. We
recycle everything. But we have
to talk about why we’re up there
and what the research we’re doing
means. The International Space
Station is a model for international
cooperation. When you think about
all the agreements, the nations
involved, and the technology
innovation needed to bring it all
During a NASA Social event in the nation’s
capital, 150 social media followers went on
a tour of the Smithsonian Institution’s Air
and Space Museum. Photo: Nicole Solomon
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