Paterson students talk to astronaut on space station

[Buster's Uncle]

Paterson students talk to astronaut on space station
Darren Tobia, Paterson Press
The Bergen Record
Tue, October 7, 2025 at 7:47 AM EDT
3 min read





PATERSON − A good educator knows how to bring a science lesson to life.

But Dr. Carlos Miranda, the planetarium manager at Paterson P-Tech High School, brought that to a whole new level when he arranged a call on Oct. 6 with an astronaut currently working on the International Space Station (ISS).

Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, 58, fielded questions from 12 future astronomers, ranging from topics about everyday life in microgravity to the more profound inquiries about our stewardship of the planet.

Earlier this year, the school district put out an open call across city schools for questions, and Miranda chose the best.

Mateo, a student from School 8, wanted to know if there were video games on the space station (There are not) and what the astronauts did to entertain themselves. Yui, it turns out, is an avid photographer.

Justin, a student at Paterson P-Tech, wanted to know what Yui missed most while in space. His answer was sushi.

Others, such as Christine, a student at Alexander Hamilton Academy, asked more philosophical questions. “Does time feel different when you are orbiting earth every 90 minutes?” she wondered.

The space station operates according to the time zone in London, Yui said. But orbiting the sun 16 times a day can have an impact on astronauts, he noted, and seeing the sun at bedtime can make it difficult to sleep.

“Our body thinks it’s daylight,” Yui said.

Yui, who went to outer space for the first time in 2015, is one of the four members of Crew-11, who arrived at ISS on one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets on Aug. 2. He said he is studying the conditions of microgravity to prepare someday for a manned voyage to Mars. The crew is also experimenting with protein crystals that he thinks will improve medicines back on earth.

Shorty before the space station call, there were a few nerve-wracking moments, not just among the children, but among the technicians facilitating the call.

Preparations for the 10-minute earth-to-orbit communication began a week ago when the Fairlawn Amateur Radio Club installed antennas on the roof of the Paterson school.

Even though this program, which is called Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, has been connecting students to astronauts since 1983, problems can arise along the way.

“I’m chuckling because there’s a lot that can go wrong,” said Steve Holly from the Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club. “Antenna issues, radio issues, power issues.”

The space station, which is roughly the size of an Amazon warehouse, whizzes through the sky at a blinding 17,000 miles an hour. The students only have a brief window — about 10 minutes — when the ISS is in a certain position in the sky to receive a call.

“The reason the astronauts do this is to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math,” Holly said.

Fortunately, the students were well-rehearsed and the questions were pre-approved — questions about politics are a no-go as you might imagine with an international crew of astronauts. This sped-up the encounter allowing some students to ask two questions.

However, Yui's most pointed remark to these impressionable young minds, who will someday inherit the role of earth’s leaders, was his advice to protect the planet. It came as a response to a question from Adonis, student at Young Men’s Leadership Academy, about how he felt seeing the earth from outside it.

“I realized it’s beautiful, but fragile, and we need to protect it,” Yui said.

The event is coming at a time when the school district is ramping up its science education. Miranda sees the planetarium, which underwent a renovation two years ago, as a tool for that outreach. Encounters like this can steer a student towards a career, he said.

“I would hope that after today there is some kind of ripple effect in these students’ lives,” he said.

A video of the call is available to watch on the Paterson school district's website here.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson students talk to astronaut on space station