Earth as viewed by Endeavour's astronauts. Photo Credit/NASA TV
The Endeavour astronauts made Sunday night a special occasion for students at the Mesa Verde Elementary School in Tucson, Ariz., who assembled to visit with two of the six space travelers parked at the International Space Station.
“It’s great to have you here aboard the space shuttle Endeavour with us,” shuttle commander Mark Kelly greeted them over a NASA video and audio satellite link.
In all 400 students, teachers and school officials assembled at the school attended by Christina Taylor Green, a third grader and one of six people killed during a Jan. 8 shooting spree at a Tucson community gathering sponsored by Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords, Kelly’s wife, was among 13 others who were gravely wounded at the shopping center event.
What inspired Kelly, a U. S. Navy captain and test pilot who grew up in New Jersey, to become an astronaut, the students wondered.
Mark Kelly and Mesa Verde Elementary School yearbook Photo Credit/NASA photo
“Over the last four months, I’ve come to admire your classmate, Christina Green, very much,” said Kelly. “I’ve learned a lot about her. And when I was Christina’s age is when Apollo astronauts were first walking on the moon. I remember watching that on TV and thinking, you know, if I worked really, really hard in school, and focused and concentrated, that maybe some day I would have the opportunity to fly in space.”
Kelly offered the names of Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the first and last Americans who walked on the moon, as role models.
Endeavour astronaut, Mike Fincke joined Kelly for the opportunity to field some questions as well. Fincke, who had just completed a difficult eight hour spacewalk outside the space station earlier in the day, spoke about the view from space.
“Just yesterday, I was outside the space station and i could see stars, I could see the moon. But the most exiting thing I have seen while I was up here — We have such a beautiful amazing wonderful planet. From space we can see all the continents. We can see rivers, even cities and roads. It’s really amazing.”
Kelly, who held a Mesa Verde yearbook up for the students to see, promised the book will be signed by each of the astronauts on his mission and returned to the school as a momento of Sunday night’s talk.