Cohasset students recently got a learning experience that was truly out of this world.
Orbiting about 250 miles above the earth, the International Space Station is the host to a science laboratory where astronauts live and work.
A group of 15 students, including senior Charlie Donovan, got to ask questions to NASA Astronaut Stephen Bowen while he was aboard the station.
Bowen was born in Cohasset in 1964, and graduated from Cohasset High School in 1982. He’s a retired U.S. Navy captain, and the first submarine officer to be selected as an astronaut by NASA.
Leila Omran, an 11th-grader, asked Bowen about daily life and if the war in Ukraine had any impacts on exploration and research.
“That’s actually an interesting topic. The day to day, how we function in space has not changed. Basically, we’re in the same boat. We’ve got one vehicle, we’ve got one crew, we have to work together to keep this space station operating,” said Bowen. “It’s really sort of a bright spot in things that we’re all still able to communicate, work, and maintain this amazing laboratory in space.”
She also asked if his perspective changed when he returns home and looks up at the stars.
She says it was a unique learning experience.
Fourth grader, Nolan Barry, asked what a typical day was like aboard the space station.
Second-grader, Brian Frazier asked about jobs in space, and how they help us on Earth.
To date, Bowen has logged more than 40 days in space, including 47 hours and 18 minutes on seven spacewalks.
He served as Commander for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station in March.
WATD’s Will Gilson contributed to this report.
