Anne Arundel Students Chat With Astronauts On Space Station

EDGEWATER, MD — Students from five Anne Arundel County schools got an out-of-this-world experience Thursday morning by participating in a video conference with NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel took questions from students gathered at South River High School.

In a 25-minute session, students asked the two spacefarers about life on the space station and the future of space exploration.

Besides the view out the window, one difference between life on the space station and Earth is "keeping track of stuff that doesn't sit down," Arnold said. With no gravity, personal items on the ISS tend to float away, he said.

About the length of a football field, the International Space Station orbits the Earth at an altitude of around 254 miles and a top speed of 17,150 mph, or nearly 5 miles per second. It's larger than a six-bedroom house and powered by an acre of solar panels that generate 84 kilowatts, according to NASA figures.

Thursday's event involved about 200 students from South River and North County high schools, along with three middle schools — Central, Lindale and Old Mill South, according to Bob Mosier, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

The two astronauts told the students about various experiments and other projects on board the ISS, as well as the experience of walking in space. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Preparing for a spacewalk takes lots of work, Arnold said, but once outside the space station, he got a spectacular view of Earth when he looked down. He saw Patagonia, in the southern part of South America, floating past him, "an image I will not soon forget."

The state of Maryland also is highly visible from space because the astronauts said they can easily spot the Chesapeake Bay.

As the video feed ended, Arnold showed the students a South River T-shirt that he was wearing under his uniform.

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