The one-hour session in the evening was joined by nearly 200 students enrolled from kindergarten to Year 13 (Grade 12). Greenfield, who served as head teacher in an international space school in Houston for 15 years, said he had previously organised similar meet-an-astronaut sessions for students.

“The students were very eager, and their questions ranged from how an astronaut copes with being away from family, to what they eat, to even what experiments are carried out in space. Students also learnt how space missions are testing out the mRNA technology used for COVID-19 vaccines,” Greenfield said.

Camellia Rashad, 10, a Ukrainian-Egyptian student enrolled in Year 5 (Grade 4), said the session had rekindled her fascination for astronomy. “I loved hearing how astronauts learn to be doctors. I have recently thought that I would study to be a bioengineer, but now I’m thinking I can pursue bioengineering to help astronauts,” Rashad said.

Dheer Baldua, a Year 11 (Grade 10) student from India, was captivated by Fincke’s account of how a piece of space debris had nearly necessitated an evacuation from the International Space Station. “I am passionate about the aerospace industry, so the session catered to my interests,” he said.