Reading from Space

Once upon a time, when NASA's shuttles were still flying, an astronaut read a children's story from space. That was the start of a new programme called Story Time from Space. Its goal is to get children excited about science. The latest bundle of picture books for the programme rocketed away from Earth on December 6, 2015. The books arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) only three days after that. All the new books were about space and astronauts. The astronauts video themselves reading those books. NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata read stories from the station's observation tower while watching the Earth from the windows of the space station. Then these videos are shared online for children to watch.

The delivery, planned for December, was delayed a year because of the Virginia launch explosion. Another launch failed because of the rockets. Other times, there was bad weather. "One of the big takeaways from spaceflight is that it takes a fair amount of patience and effort to make these things happen," said Drew. He was the first astronaut to read a story from space. In 2011, he read Max Goes to the Moon, which was written by a space scientist called Jeffrey Bennett. It's about a dog that travels to space.

Now, there's a cool plot twist to the tale of the Story Time from Space project. Two of the seven picture books sent to the ISS in December, Mousetronaut and Mousetronaut Goes to Mars, were written by Mark Kelly, a former astronaut. Mark’s twin brother Scott Kelly who is also an astronaut, is spending a year aboard the ISS. Scott is planning to read his brother's books on camera before returning to Earth. "It is such a neat opportunity." said Patricia Tribe, the creator of Story Time.

Other books were sent to the ISS, but for one young boy, there's no question about which is the most interesting. Seven-year-old Roraigh Curran of England won a contest by London-based Lost My Name books. His prize was a personalized copy of The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home, sent to the ISS for a reading. The book shows satellite views of Roraigh's hometown, his street, and his house. It shows stars in the sky that spell out his name, which is Roraigh's favorite part. At school, he's already known as "The Space Boy."

"It's amazing," Roraigh said about the book. "I just like the fact that it's all about me!"

Since it began, Story Time from Space has received positive feedback. Parents love it, kids love it, and NASA loves it, too.

Through his books, Bennett says he seeks to share his love of science and learning. He also wants to encourage children to dream about ways to make the world a better place. The Story Time project allows them to hear his stories read from space, Bennett said via email last week. "For me, this is a dream come true."