Earlier this week, a fourth-grade science teacher from Karachi spoke to her students about space and everything that lies far and beyond the earth. Aimun Faisal encouraged her students to look beyond the horizon and send their questions to astronauts at NASA and other administrations around the world. After doing so, she took to Twitter and shared some questions together with a picture of six of her students, while tagging NASA and its sister accounts.
“These fourth graders have some questions for you,” she wrote, while sharing the tweet.
These fourth graders have some questions for you.@NASA @Space_Station @NASAEarth @NASA_Johnson @NASA_Astronauts @NASAKennedy @MarkRober @DestinSandlin @TheSpaceGal @neiltyson
(Please share) pic.twitter.com/TiV0WCD1vG
— Aimun (@bluemagicboxes) October 14, 2020
Attached was a letter which outlined the questions asked by all the students, together with their names next to the question they each wanted to ask.
“Dear NASA, we are students of grade 4 in The Cornerstone School in Karachi, Pakistan. We read all about you in our books and are fascinated by your adventures in space. We really admire your work and we have some questions for you, please reply when you have time,” the letter said.
Moving on, the letter then included questions from six of the students, Alisha, Minahil, Haniyah, Mahrukh, Anabiya and Rayyan. What appears to be an ordinary tweet from an ordinary teacher, started making rounds on social media, with many retweeting her original tweet and tagging several other accounts.
#Grade4HasQuestions soon became a trend on Twitter and many decided to join the cause until a response was received from a Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield. He responded to young Mahrukh’s question, “How do you feel when you get blasted off in a space shuttle?” To which Hadfield, who has been to space thrice, responded, “Mahrukh – I flew in the Space Shuttle twice. You feel violently shaken, squished, super-focused, excited, and lucky.”
Mahrukh – I flew in the Space Shuttle twice. You feel violently shaken, squished, super-focused, excited and lucky. https://t.co/156xQxW3J3
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) October 14, 2020
He also went on to respond to Rayyan’s question of whether astronauts get scared of their space shuttles getting lost. “Rayyan – I wasn’t scared we’d get lost. We had the Earth nearby and used the stars to steer. I felt especially comforted when I flew over the home.” He also shared a picture he had taken of Karachi. “Can you find your school?” Hadfield questioned.
Rayyan – I wasn't scared we'd get lost. We had the Earth nearby, and used the stars to steer. I felt especially comforted when I flew over home. Here's a photo I took of Karachi – can you find your school? https://t.co/QBgI7W7weC pic.twitter.com/qrUYHr8GqY
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) October 14, 2020
Emmy-nominated host/scientist, Emily Calandrelli also responded to some of the questions the children had. Alisha had asked a question about the type of fuel rockets use, to which Emily responded, “Alisha – All different types! Some popular rockets that you’ll see will use a fuel + an oxidizer. For example, something called RP-1 and then liquid oxygen. These are combined together and then *ignited* and burned to create a big (controlled) explosion that moves the rocket!” she wrote. Not only were the children’s queries being answered, but the whole Twitter community managed to learn a thing or two about rockets and outer space.
These fourth graders have some questions for you.@NASA @Space_Station @NASAEarth @NASA_Johnson @NASA_Astronauts @NASAKennedy @MarkRober @DestinSandlin @TheSpaceGal @neiltyson
(Please share) pic.twitter.com/TiV0WCD1vG
— Aimun (@bluemagicboxes) October 14, 2020
Minahil, another student, questioned about the requirements for getting into NASA and Candarelli shared a detailed response. “NASA needs all types of people for their missions! Mostly scientists and engineers (so studying a STEM degree is a good idea!) but also IT people, human resources specialists, accountants, technicians, writers, etc! But remember you will probably need to be a US citizen.”
Minahil – NASA needs all types of people for their missions! Mostly scientists and engineers (so studying a STEM degree is a good idea!) but also IT people, human resources specialists, accountants, technicians, writers, etc! But remember you will probably need to be a US citizen
— Emily Calandrelli (@TheSpaceGal) October 14, 2020
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Aimun took to Twitter once again today and shared how she printed out all the responses and will be handing each of the students the answer to their questions. Many took to Twitter to laud Aimun’s efforts and had also asked to see the reactions of the students as well.
The NASA Saga
Chapter 2: The Reactions.
Today at 11.00 clock grade 4 received the response to their letters from NASA.
(Homegirl is NOT an arts teacher, so run with this please!) pic.twitter.com/Ouc9zfnLIw
— Aimun (@bluemagicboxes) October 15, 2020
