Scouts get chance to quiz astronaut in space

The children got to put their questions to astronaut Jonny Kim

Children from scout groups in Warwickshire have quizzed an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) as it passed over the Midlands.

The event was organised by amateur radio enthusiasts, with children able to ask questions about life in space during an eight-minute communication window.

The Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, from a marquee at Hatton Country World near Warwick, put their queries to ISS astronaut Jonny Kim.

They included wanting to know what astronauts have for breakfast, how they wash, what happens when they drop something - and the funniest thing that has happened to them in space.

"It's a true privilege to have been chosen to make contact with the ISS," said Gavin Gill, a Beaver team leader at 1st Radford Semele Scout Group, which secured financial and logistical support for the event.

"I'm so excited to speak to real astronauts in space. We've been learning about space at Cubs," said eight-year-old Owen.

Ciaran Morgan, from Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), helped make the link-up possible

Ciaran Morgan, from Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), who helped make the link-up possible, said it went very well.

"We had a very good contact with Jonny Kim on the space station, we were picking him up around 2,500km away, bit scratchy and a bit noisy to begin with, but the signal got much better," he said.

"An experiment of television from the space station took place as well, so we were able to ask Jonny to give us a wave."

ARISS are a group of international volunteers who work with space agencies to link children with the space station, with the aim, they say, of getting them excited about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.