OUTER HEBRIDES TO OUTER SPACE ; Astronaut's radio link to school
Posted on: Thursday, 18 March 2004, 06:00 CST
PUPILS in the Outer Hebrides yesterday made a historic contact with space.
They became the first in Scotland to link up with British astronaut Michael Foale as he circled 237 miles above them in the International Space Station.
The 186-pupil Back School on the Isle of Lewis spoke to their hero through a radio relay in Hawaii which came through a fax machine.
And during a nine-minute conversation, he told them he expected fossilised life to one day be found on Mars, man would land on the Red Planet in 15 years and that he thought about God a lot while in space.
The excited pupils managed to get answers to 19 questions such as what happens if you fall ill in space. Other subjects touched on included diet, weightlessness and Christmas.
As ISS Alpha sped along at 17,500mph, circling Earth 16 times a day, Foale revealed a few insights.
He told the kids: 'The stars look fantastic from space. You can see the colour of the stars much better.'
The space link came after a visit to the school last year by Foale, who is aboard the ISS with Russian Sasha Kaleri.
He chose Back Shool as his 'crew pick' and the 20 questions were whittled down from an original list of 200.
Headmaster John Maclean said Foale had transformed the school's interest in space.
He added: 'Umpteen pupils want to be astronauts now.'
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