Their badge floated in space — now a Moon-bound astronaut answered their questions

Pupils at Ysgol Cemaes, a small primary school in Cemaes on the Welsh island of Anglesey, have a claim few schools on Earth can match: a badge designed by one of their own has floated in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station. The badge flew earlier this year — and on Wednesday the connection came full circle, when the children met NASA astronaut Frank Rubio by video call. Rubio spent 371 days aboard the station, far longer than planned after a fault with the spacecraft meant to bring his crew home, and he is now set to fly on Artemis III, the mission aiming to return humans to the Moon in 2027. The pupils quizzed him on living and working in space, and on the everyday puzzles of orbit: how you brush your teeth, where you sleep, and what happens if you feel ill. The school's space links were opened up by a former pupil, scientist Dr Melanie Coathup, who works closely with astronauts — and the class is already planning its next badge, due to fly next year.

SDG 4 · Quality education — Mechanism: community action