Astronauts enlighten students from deep in space

A group of US students was given a glimpse into the lives and work of Chinese astronauts on Saturday.

Floating hundreds of kilometers above the Earth in an orbiting space station, three Chinese astronauts, along with former NASA astronauts and aerospace experts on the ground, answered questions from US students.

There was a lot of curiosity about the Chinese space station and astronauts' experiments in space, so the Chinese embassy decided to put together a Q&A session with the Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, said Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the US.

More than 300 students from 20 schools across 13 states sent the embassy their questions, which were then delivered to the three Chinese astronauts on the Tiangong space station. Their prerecorded responses to some of the questions were shared with students, parents and teachers, who joined the event either in person at the Chinese embassy in Washington or through teleconferencing.

The students' questions encompassed a wide range of topics, from whether it is possible to grow certain types of bacteria on the moon or Mars to how the astronauts prepared themselves for the journey. Skyla Winters, a student from Lone Peak Elementary School in Utah, wanted to know what happens if the astronauts run out of water in space.

"The water on the space station comes from the Earth," Yi said. "However, all the water we use is recycled." Sweat, urine and water particles in their breath are all collected and recycled through the station's water circulation system, he said.

Zoey Cardamone, a student at Yinghua Academy, a full immersion Mandarin Chinese K-8 school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, asked what things astronauts want to bring back home with them.

"I will bring back some meaningful personal items, such as my drawings and calligraphy that I did in space, as well as photos of my daughter and my toy calf," Wang said.

People across the world have a responsibility for protecting the planet, Qin said.

Donald A. Thomas, an engineer and former NASA astronaut who completed four space shuttle missions in the 1990s, was a guest speaker at the event. He told of looking out the window of the space shuttle during his first flight and seeing Earth.

That experience "changes your view of your place on planet Earth", he said.

"It doesn't matter what cities, states, countries, continents (you are in), language (you speak), religions (you adhere to). None of that matters; we are all earthlings here." The embassy event would help new friendships to form and promote understanding, he said.

Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of the company SpaceX, who appeared in a prerecorded video message, told attendees that he thinks the possibilities for collaboration in space "are amazing".

Shenzhou 13, the Chinese craft that carried the three astronauts into space, was launched last October. After a six-month mission in orbit, the three are due to be back to Earth in about a week, the embassy said.