A Cosmic Classroom
Astronauts Teach Kids About Life, the Universe and Everything

By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 17, 2007

Kids, even in space you have to brush your teeth.

That's what teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan was doing yesterday morning, 225 miles from Earth, as she and other crew members floated inside the space shuttle Endeavour. In Old Town Alexandria, elementary and middle school students watched, transfixed by the dreaminess of her movements.

In space there are no sinks, so astronauts have to spit into a small towel. Morgan adjusted her collar and then, with astronaut Benjamin Drew, began a video conversation with 23 participants in a camp at the Challenger Learning Center for Space Science Education.

It is one of more than 50 such centers founded by relatives of astronauts who died in 1986 in the Challenger disaster.

The chat, moderated by the Challenger commander's widow, June Scobee Rodgers, came as NASA officials decided not to repair a gouge in the shuttle's thermal protection system, Reuters reported. Officials have said that the seven-member crew is not in danger and that the shuttle can withstand reentry Wednesday.

Morgan, 55, who was born in California, was the backup for Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher NASA chose to send into space, who died aboard Challenger. On Aug. 8, after 21 years of waiting, Morgan entered orbit on a mission to the international space station.

There, she confronted some of the universe's deepest mysteries, some put to her by students such as Sarah Nakata of Indiana.

"If an Olympic-sized swimming pool could be built in space, would you be able to swim faster on Earth or in space, and where would you burn the most calories?"

It turns out that a celestial swimming pool is not practical. To demonstrate why, Morgan and Drew pulled out a bag of water and squeezed enough out from a straw to form a big ball that floated in front of their faces. When Morgan put out her hand, the ball hit it, then broke into floating pieces. Drew opened his mouth like a giant fish and took in a bite-size water orb.

Which brought up another question: "What is your favorite space food?"

Answer: m&m's. Morgan held a bag of them, let a blue one float into Drew's mouth. "One of our favorite things to eat," she said.

Washing a face in space is easy, Morgan said, rubbing soapy water on hers. Coiffure is another story: In pictures of Morgan on Earth, her brown hair is neatly groomed and falls below her chin. In space, it took on a wildness reminiscent of Roseanne Roseannadanna's on Saturday Night Live.

"Can you see constellations in space?" one student asked. (When the space station lights are turned off, astronauts see the Milky Way.) "How and where do you sleep?" another asked. (Drew demonstrated getting into a vertical sleeping bag and zipping it up.)

Asked how it felt to enter space for the first time, Morgan declared it "absolutely wonderful, and I imagine that going into space for the hundredth time is also wonderful." Laughing as she rotated to one side, she added, "You can be upside down in one module like this and still feel like you're right-side up."

Asked whether she had had a special teacher or mentor, Morgan replied: "That was the Challenger crew. They were my teachers, and I believe they're teaching us today, too."

Some adults applauded. Cheryl McNair, whose husband, Ron McNair, died in the Challenger accident, later said, "My husband believed greatly in education and inspiring children to learn and explore and do the best they can, so this is a continuation to motivate them to achieve."

Afterward, students gathered in a simulated module of the space station, where earlier in the week they had gone on mock missions to the moon and other space destinations.

"It just totally blew my mind that we were able to talk to someone who was . . . miles above us," said Charlotte Torres, 11, an incoming sixth-grader at Hammond Middle School in Alexandria, who added that she would like to explore Mars someday.

Sally Little, 12, of Woodbridge, said: "I thought it was really cool that they wanted to talk to us. They have a million better things to be doing, and yet they chose to talk to us about what life in space is like."

Three former astronauts were also on hand at the learning center to answer questions, including Joe Allen, who recalled his attempt to drink cocoa in space. The cocoa bounced down his chin and into his shirt, he said. "And my experiment proved that I was sticky for a week."