ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli shareed his amazing experience in space with people all over the planet.

As one of the three dimensions of his mission, he found time in his busy agenda to promote two exciting educational activities.

Mission-X: Train Like an Astronaut

Astronauts need to stay fit on the ground and in space, and Paolo undertook years of preparation and physical training to travel to the International Space Station. ESA and several space organisations are using the example of space explorers to promote regular exercise and healthy nutrition among young people worldwide.

The European astronaut was an ambassador of Mission-X: Train Like an Astronaut, an educational programme for primary school pupils. Children performed physical exercises and classroom lessons to compete with teams throughout the world and become as fit as Paolo.

Would you like to try? Have a look to this site! www.trainlikeanastronaut.org

Greenhouse in Space

Schoolchildren aged 12–14 years were invited to join the Greenhouse in Space activity. The European astronaut attempted to grow both a flowering plant and a lettuce and followed their germination and growth cycles over a two-month period in space, while at the same time students on the ground begin their own experiment and compared their results with Paolo’s experiment.

When the astronaut watered the seeds for the first time, students all over Europe had a chance to participate and some lucky ones were able to ask him questions directly.

Greenhouse in Space aimed to teach children about the life cycle of a plant and encourage students to make scientific observations on the germination of each seed both on ground and on the International Space Station.