PESHTIGO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It was an exciting day at Peshtigo Elementary School.
NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei took questions from the International Space Station on what it’s like to be in space.
And there’s a family connection to the area that makes it all worthwhile. One of the Peshtigo teachers, Jodi Van Vooren, is Vande Hei’s cousin.
“I thought about it the first time that he went to the space station,” said Van Vooren.
She’s tried having Mark speak to the schools students before to no avail.
But that’s not the case anymore.
“About a month ago I opened my email, and there was an email from NASA. And it just said that he picked us to do a live event with, so I was quite excited.”
Then came the hard part of picking which students would be asking questions.
Fifth grader Easton Baty was one of the lucky ones.
“How do you get into the space station?”
As there’s a brief pause for the signal to get sent back down the earthlings.
“Very carefully is the simple answer,” Vande Hei responded.
Others, like fifth grader Dominic Suave, understand how special the opportunity was.
“I’ve never talked to an astronaut. I mean, I haven’t been at NASA. They can recruit me if they want.”
And with Vande Hei celebrating his birthday from the ISS, students serenaded him with a chorus of Happy Birthday To You from earth.
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