Schools
NASA Astronaut Sheds Some Light on Space Travel
Capt. Morin reminds Rockaway Middle School students of the importance of math and science.
“Have you ever seen an alien?”
That was one of the questions posed by a Rockaway Middle School student during a June 7 visit to the school by NASA astronaut Capt. Lee Morin.
Morin served on the crew of STS-110 (2002) and has logged more than 259 hours in space, including more than 14 hours “spacewalking.”
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen hosted Morin’s visit to discuss his experiences as an astronaut and the contributions of space exploration to the advancement of math and science.
“We believe, as do your teachers, in the value of math and science,” Frelinghuysen told the assembly. “Nothing we could be doing today in terms of space exploration could be done without math and science.”
Morin described how “things that were only concepts or ideas when I was growing up havebecome reality.”
“Every step you are doing now in your education provides a foundation for your next step,” he continued.
He explained his involvement in building the station in space and told the students, “You are learning today the tools to be able to understand how to do this kind of work. Our country needs you to become scientists and engineers.”
Morin noted that in 10 minutes the space station travels 3,000 miles.
“You can see wonderful things, but you have to know your geography, because it’s not going to be there very long” at that speed, he added.
As for that question about aliens, he said, “No. Personally I don’t believe in them.”
He also responded to questions about how long it takes to travel from Earth to the space station (nine hours) and from the space station to the moon (four days).
