Fourth-grader Meets Taikonauts at Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.!
Fourth-grader Ayhan Ulusemre '30 was recently invited to attend an exclusive event at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., where Elon Musk and members of NASA were in attendance. Over 300 American students from 20 schools in 13 states submitted questions to three Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station, and Ayhan was one of the eight students whose question was chosen to be shared and answered by them.
In Mandarin, Ayhan asked his question, “Can you jump very high?" and one of the astronauts answered with her whole body floating up silently to the station’s ceiling, replying, “In a weightless environment…I can jump as high as possible!”
Ayhan followed up by asking, "How do you eat in space?" The astronaut answered, "we need to immobilize all the food in advance to prevent it from flying around." She stated that they minimized conversations while eating to avoid splashing food and polluting the cabin environment.
Watch Ayhan & others interact with the Taikonauts below!
Featured guest Dr. Donald Thomas, a former NASA astronaut, was a guest speaker at the event. "Cities, states, countries, continents, languages, and religions no longer matter as we are all earthlings here," said Thomas, adding that the embassy event helps form new friendships and understanding, despite the cultural differences.
Elon Musk also made an appearance with a video message telling attendees, "I look forward to humanity working together to form a self-sustaining civilization on Mars and other planets, which I think will be very important for the long-term prosperity and survival of life as we know it."
Watch Ayhan & others interact with the Taikonauts below!
