Astro Don Pettit Explains Water Recycling at NASA Social (VIDEO)

How do astronauts get clean, potable water on the International Space Station, especially on long duration stays? The answer is kind of gross and the way astronaut Don Pettit tells it, definitely funny. Pettit shared this story with us at #NASASocial yesterday in Washington. Jack thought it was great!

Questions for NASA & CSA Astronauts from Sydenham Community School

Jack promised his classmates he would relay their questions to NASA.  The NASA Social team has graciously said they will try to make sure each gets an answer! Today during the event Jack did actually get to ask a question of astronaut Don Pettit on behalf of his friend and classmate Ginny, who wondered, "Do solids stay solid in space?"

Here are the rest of the questions from Jack's class:

Are you afraid your air will fall out of its place or you will run out of air
when you are in space? ~ Haylie

How big are the rooms? Is everything attached to the wall? ~ Alyssa

Is it fun out there? ~ Nolan

How heavy is the space equipment? (space suits?) ~ Georgia

How much do you eat per day? What is your favourite thing to do in
space? How did you get there? Do you like it in space? ~ Tianna

How do you get in the space station? ~ Teddy

How many times do you go around the earth in one day? ~ Émilie

Have you ever gone to the moon? How big is the space station? ~ Alexis

How fast do you go to get to space? How do you get off Earth? How
many planets can you see?

Are there any animals in space? Which planet is the coldest and which
planet is the hottest? How long does it take the earth to go around the
sun? How do you celebrate celebrations? How many planets are there
in space? How do you get off Earth if you don’t have a rocket? How is
it in space?

Are you close to the moon? When do you have for dinner on the space
station? Is there a telephone? ~ Ezra

How do you talk to each other if you are from different countries?

How many months have you been there? ~ Genevieve

Thank you for answering our questions…merci bien!

Your friends in Grade 2/3 Kosempel, École Sydenham Community School, Owen Sound, Ontario

Jack will share more of his trip... right now he's pretty tired out from a big day :) Thank you so much to the NASA Social team for arranging this event and inviting us to Washington!

Jack Says Hi from Washington!

Mon Salut les amis dans la classe de Mme Kosempel et tous les élèves de l'école Sydenham! Nous venons tout juste débarqué à Washington après un voyage en avion turbulent.  Dans l'avion, nous avons pu voir le Pentagone et Washington Monument, ainsi qu'un aperçu de la Maison Blanche!

Demain, nous visite au siège de la NASA et discuter avec trois astronautes dont le Canadien Chris Hadfield. J'espère que vous aimez ma vidéo, nous reviendrons vous voir bientôt!

Hi my friends in Mrs. Kosempel's class and all the students of Sydenham School! We just landed in Washington after a turbulent plane ride. On the plane, we got to see the Pentagon and Washington Monument, plus a glimpse of the White House!

Tomorrow, we visit NASA Headquarters and will chat with three astronauts including Canadian Chris Hadfield. I hope you like my video, we will see you soon!

~ Jack

Chris Hadfield: Space Toilets

Me and all my friends want to know about how astronauts go to the bathroom in space when there is no gravity. My moms friend sent us a video of Chris Hadfield telling us what space toilets are and now I am laughing at shooting stars.




~Jack

Jack's Spaceship Packing List

From Universe Today

If I was going on a trip into space, I would make sure to pack

• 1 to  5 space suits
• 1 portapotty
• 1 checker board
• 5 TVs
• 4 xboxes
• 10 giraffes
• 6 elephants
• 1000 packages of pancakes
• 900000 books about space
• 40 ipod touches
• 1 roving vehicle

annnnddddd 3 computers with minecraft. 

~Jack

Question for Chris Hadfield: How Do You Open the Portal to an Alternate Universe?

In just one week, Jack and I will be on our way to Buffalo for an early morning flight to Washington, DC to NASA Headquarters for a special social media event. Over dinner, he and his younger brother pondered the questions they'd ask Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, given the chance.

Don't get me wrong, he's excited about speaking to ALL the astronauts. The opportunity to connect with one of our national heroes from the CSA, however, has his wee head spinning.

The conversation actually started earlier in the day, when I picked them up at school. Jack's teacher and classmates at Sydenham Community School are ecstatic he is going to NASA Headquarters and will have the chance to chat with real, live astronauts on the International Space Station. They plan on tuning in to NASA TV in the classroom next Wednesday morning to follow along.

We promised to relay their questions, as much as we can, and will post them here on Jack's blog before we leave next week. After the questions we entertained at dinner, I can't wait to see what the class might come up with!

Here are the questions my Kindergarten and Grade Two sons would ask Chris Hadfield, given the chance:

1. Top of the list, absolutely burning question: Do you know how to open the portal to an alternate universe?
2. How do you make such good music all the way up in space?
3. Do you think some day we'll be able to have space pets?
4. Why didn't you put the heat-resistant shield you used on (not suite sure what he's referring to but it's from his National Geographic Space book) on your shuttle so you could fly closer to the sun? - That's my Jack. I asked if he's going to ask them questions or try to tell them how it's done ;)

NASA's superstar social team have promised to send more details about our special day next week. They've also given us the thumbs up to blogging about our adventure; stay tuned to Jack's blogs for his rendition of the trip. I'll be writing about NASA's "Science on the International Space Station - Gateway to the Universe" social event at my agency's Online Marketing Blog, SearchEngineWatch.com and SocialMediaWeek.org, so watch for plenty of stories and pics! 

Until we get there, I'm loving how inspired and crazy the kids are over this. Thank you so much to the NASA Social team for setting this up!

~Miranda

Jack's Wishlist: "Moving Beyond Earth" at the Smithsonian

Our NASA adventure is just 9 days away and Jack is busy looking up activities he'd like to participate in while we're in Washington. This one is definitely on the list: "Moving Beyond Earth" at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

NASA has partnered with the Smithsonian for a special tour in the afternoon on the 20th, so we'll be visiting along with the rest of the Science on the ISS participants.

"Moving Beyond Earth" has some incredibly cool interactive displays Jack can't wait to experience, like the Google Earth Station. He also found this video of a fly-around of the International Space Station and wants to share it with his friends. Hopefully he'll see more like this when we visit next week!

Is there something you think Jack and his mom shouldn't miss in Washington in the NASA Headquarters area? Let us know in the comments!

~Miranda