'It’s a cool experience': North Bay students speak to astronaut in space
Grade 8 students at West Ferris Secondary School had an out-of-this-world experience Monday morning speaking with an astronaut who is currently orbiting Earth on board the International Space Station (ISS).
"It’s going to be fun talking to them. I’ll be nervous," said student Silvianna Stewart.
"But it’s a cool experience. I’m glad I get to enjoy it."
While waiting for the call to link up, the students only heard static. Then a successful linkup connected with the space station and on the other end of the line was Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is currently on board.
Using a relay station in Belgium to transmit the long-distance call, the contact lasted for about 15 minutes and students had a chance to ask questions about Wakata’s time in space and his daily trip around the Earth.
Grade 8 student Daoshil Patel is interested in science and space exploration. He had a chance to ask Wakata about his time as an astronaut.
"I’d want to feel how it would be on that kind of experience," Patel said.
"I will get to hear what it feels like to be an astronaut."
Wakata first became an astronaut in 1993. His first mission off-world occurred in 1996, on the Endeavour Space Shuttle. He is currently on his fifth mission in outer space.
"When you go on a spacewalk for six hours, you get really tired, especially through your head," Wakata told the students.
He explained more about the joy he gets looking out and seeing the planet, his role on board the space station, what his favourite memories are and what the food tastes like. In total, he has spent over a year in space.
"Today, I surpassed 400 days in space," he said.
Grade 8 science teacher Jason Henstridge has been teaching his students a little bit about gravity, velocity and the feeling you would have of floating in the atmosphere.
His fellow teacher Kelly Shulman made a proposal several years ago with the Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) and through that, the school was granted contact with the crew.
The ARISS program lets students around the world, experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station, hoping to inspire them to pursue interests in careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
"There are always a few students who get inspired by things like this," said Henstridge. "So we’re really excited to give them the opportunity to do that."
It was an out-of-this-world contact, a call thousands of kilometres away, that few will ever forget.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'