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Monday, 18 October 2010

More than 700 school students and their teachers had the opportunity to meet Australia’s only astronaut, Dr Andy Thomas, at two special UWA events in September.

Dr Thomas, who was born in Adelaide, captivated audiences with his firsthand experience of the thrill of being launched into space at hypersonic speeds, life on an international space station, and the challenges of living in zero gravity.

He was brought to Perth by the Fogarty Foundation , in collaboration with The University of Western Australia, the SPICE program , Aspire UWA , ICRAR and Scitech .

Dr Thomas told how he managed to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, and gave a first-hand insight into some down-to-earth aspects of life in space.

“If you want to wake up in the same place, you have to strap your sleeping bag to the floor,” said Dr Thomas, who has completed four space missions, including 20 weeks on board the Russian MIR space station.

Despite having to learn the Russian language, training and working as a cosmonaut was a highlight of Dr Thomas’ career.

When given a chance to question Dr Thomas, the students wanted to know everything from the daily challenges of eating and working in space to bigger questions about the future goals of space exploration and the dangers posed by space debris.

And it wasn’t only the students who were excited and inspired by their meeting with Dr Thomas.

“I’ve met space royalty,” beamed Richard Kardol, a science teacher from Northam Senior High School, who was looking forward to taking back all he learned about space travel to his rural classroom.

By providing a range of stimulating experiences, the SPICE Program aims to enthuse teachers and their students about science. Working with UWA research groups, such as the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), the SPICE Program provides local and regional teachers with a range of science-based learning resources and access to UWA scientists.

Aspire UWA works with schools, communities and educational organisations to raise aspirations among high school students in communities typically under-represented in higher education.

Visit the Science for the Community section of our website for more information on science outreach activities for high schools and the general public and to view our Science for the Community calendar.

Written by Lara de la Harpe, UWA science communication program.

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