Aishwarya Manek of Sushila Birla Girls’ School felicitates Sunita Williams at Science City on Tuesday. “She gave me a warm smile and I would always remember what she said, that you always do not get what you want and we might have to make alternative choices,” beamed the Class XII student. Pictures by Pradip Sanyal

Astronaut Sunita Williams fielded questions from school students, talking about everything from her pet dog who she dearly misses when in space to what keeps the International Space Station, of which she is commander, protected. Young Metro presents excerpts from the interactive session at Science City auditorium on Tuesday

Srishti Samaddar Bhavan’s Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir

How does the International Space Station stay protected from asteroids and intergalactic missiles?

The outside of the spacecraft is white, right? So it actually has a lot of protective coating, layers... that keep it protected.

We are in close proximity of the earth and probably won’t get hit by a major asteroid. But the craft is hit with a lot of flying objects that cause damage because they hit the station at a very high speed. Though our space suits have 17 soft layers to protect us, our hands only have gloves. So they often get cut. We are careful and, on several occasions, we try to catch these flying missiles.

Sparsh Sharma South City International School

Akansha Roy Delhi Public School, New Town If you had to leave for an expedition in a hurry and could only take five things with you, what would those five things be? That’s interesting. Luckily for us, we have clothes there. So we don’t have to worry about clothes. Usually our food is there or somebody else’s food is there, so we don’t have to worry about food. I took some things last time that reminded me of home… some pictures of my family, my dog’s picture...I miss my dog. My father gave me a copy of the Upanishads, I would like to take that. And a necklace from my grandmother. Those are the first four. I am trying to think of other things…a packet of samosas would be great.

After being in space for such a long time, how much time does your body take to adjust to the gravity on earth?

I am normal now after a couple of months since I came back from the expedition.

We worked up there…we had a treadmill, bicycle…all of which kept us in good shape. One of the things to worry about is bone density and ... machines... keep the bone density at a pretty good level.

There is a fluid in your ears that keeps you balanced and in space that fluid spills out. But back on earth it regains its gravitational weight and the sense of balance comes back in two days.

Two days to get the balance back. Two weeks to get the physical tests done. Pulling back your head against gravity is also a task. So I was getting tired when I came back and slept 10 hours each day. Now I am back to normal. I think I look normal.

Tanya Adak Kendriya Vidyalaya, Salt Lake

Can you speak Hindi?

I cannot speak Hindi. I know namaste, samosa and a little bit of Gujarati.

Sreyoshi Acharjee Bhavan’s Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir

Did you feel the presence of God in space?

I saw the Northern Lights from space...from above. On earth you see it from below.... I thought “wow” there is so much of energy in this universe. Probably comes from solar activity. So how do you even touch or control such energy? We are pretty much lucky to be able to live in a planet like ours.

Nandana Bhattacharya Delhi Public School

What would you have become had you not been an astronaut?

I would have been a veterinarian. One of the reasons I didn’t become a veterinarian is because I was looking into what college I would go to. One was in New York City, which really scared me. I lived in Boston and there was always a rivalry between New York City and Boston. The other place where I got in was the naval academy and I chose the naval academy over going to New York City.

(I was) all set in my dreams to be a veterinarian.… I loved animals as a kid. But the navy has given me wonderful opportunities. Brother told me to be in the navy. It gave me wonderful opportunities to be in a ship, to be in a submarine, to fly. One other dream when I was growing up was to be a seventh grade science teacher.

Palak Gupta The Heritage School

You didn’t envision becoming an astronaut. So what made you become one?

I became an astronaut because it is a lot of fun. I didn’t get my first choice. There are always second choices. When I went to the navy, I became a diver, I became a pilot. I wanted to be jet pilot but I became a helicopter pilot. I learnt how to fix things in a helicopter. I liked camping, adventure and I liked flying in space.

That was the first time I thought being an astronaut was a possibility. I want to be an engineer and solve problems.

How did it feel to be in zero gravity?

It felt awesome. The space station is perhaps as big as the auditorium.... It’s a little bit like being a bird and also a fish. It reminded me of feeding fish…like monkeys swinging from one branch to another in a zoo.

Raika Saha Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan

It is said that the International Space Station can be viewed without a telescope. In which month and on which horizon can it be seen from Calcutta?

We maintain an orbit of 15 degrees above the equator and the earth rotates beneath us. ISS can be seen right before sunrise and right after sunset. Please refer to the Nasa website to find out the details.

Sritama Biswas Modern High School for Girls

Aren’t you scared when you go to space?

Actually I am a little bit worried talking to all of you, because I am facing so many questions.

Before going to space we train, we learn about the spacecraft, everything about the system, how it works. No anxiety about these things. It is only during take-off and there are five stages and the rocket shakes a lot. I was excited then and it takes just seven-and-a-half to eight minutes to get to space. You know you are in space when everything starts floating. In Soyuz I was very focussed, there were activities to do.

You donated your hair on space. Why not on earth?

I wanted to keep a long hair in space so that it looked like a lion’s mane. Once I was there and I had my mane, which I wanted to cut off because when you brush your hair a lot of hair falls off in the spacecraft.

CHIT CHAT

Youth meet

The British Council recently hosted a Youth Leadership Summit that brought together citizens, representatives of civil society organisations, academicians, students and others, showcasing achievements of communitybased organisations over the last three years. The two-day meet at HHI saw participants from different parts of the country.

Blood camps

South Point High School inaugurated its diamond jubilee celebrations with the first of a series of blood donation camps on April 1. Such camps will be organised throughout the year. The Interact Club of South Point High School and South Point Ex-Students’ Association are collaborating for this drive with Belle Vue Clinic blood bank.