Two days after he made history as the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station, astronaut Chris Hadfield took a break from his space duties to chat with schoolchildren and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Harper and his wife Laureen moderated a question-and-answer session between Hadfield and a group of kids at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa on Friday.
Harper began by telling Hadfield: “We’re all very proud of you here.”
The first question for the astronaut came from 14-year-old Emerson Bartel, who attended the event thanks to the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Bartel asked Hadfield if there is anything that makes him afraid or uncomfortable in space.
Hadfield replied that he’s only afraid when he’s unprepared and that’s why he makes sure he’s ready for any event – big or small.
Darcy McRae, 11, asked: “Does Canada look like you would expect it to from space?"
Hadfield told him that the ISS glides over Canada in a short period of time, but he’s always struck by how “enormous” and “rich” the country looks from above.
"I get to go from Vancouver Island and see the Arctic and see the Maritimes in 10 minutes, coast to coast," he said.
“It just warms my heart every time to see the potential of our country and to see the way that we live there together.”
Hadfield took control of the ISS on Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Earth in mid-May.
Hadfield has amassed a huge following on Twitter thanks to his stunning images of the Earth from space and daily dispatches about life as an astronaut. He currently has more than 530,000 Twitter followers.
