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| | | | | | | | | What can you see, Umberto? | |
An email from space!
30 April 2001
Like everyone else on board the Shuttle Endeavour and the ISS, ESA astronaut
Umberto Guidoni has a busy schedule. But he has managed to find time for one
activity that isn't strictly mission-critical: answering emails from
Earth-bound space enthusiasts.
The emails - hundreds have been sent so far - come from all ages and scores
of nations, although Guidoni's native Italy heads the list. Guidoni could not
possibly respond to so many well-wishers, of course. ESA staff have been
selecting the best or most typical emails each day to send on to him.
They have also been filtering out the inevitable weirdos that the Internet
has always attracted - so Guidoni will not be pestered by threats from
self-proclaimed space aliens or libidinous suggestions from would-be
astronaut groupies. Even the weirdest of the weirdos, though, usually sends
best wishes for the mission's success - as do all the normal people.
| | Umberto Guidoni | |
The favourite request from Guidoni's electronic penpals - especially children
- is for descriptions of the view from space. One emailer wants to know if it
is possible to eat spaghetti in space, and another asks Guidoni whether the
Italian astronaut had any chance of a trip to Mars.
Perhaps the most touching is from a young girl who wonders whether she could
see her much-loved great-grandmother, "now in heaven" from space.
You can read the emails that were selected to be forwarded to the ISS and Umberto's replies at:
'Guidoni answers' on our special STS100 page.
Some of the other general questions on the mission have been answered in our discussion forum - where you can continue to post your queries. But no more marriage
proposals, please; and if you are the Grand Warlord of Arcturus IV, just keep your ideas to yourself.
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