It took some time. They had to wait until the space station was directly overhead in order to connect, but when they finally did, it was surprising how close the astronaut sounded. She might have been in the next city, rather than 250 miles above the Earth. The astronaut they spoke to was named Sandy. She had been on the space station for three months. Mr. Peebles let Ada, Nina, and Milton do most of the talking.
Sandy, this is Milton. How do you get oxygen to the space station? Over.
Well, Milton, we can actually make it up here! Believe it or not, we just take water—which you probably know has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom—and we separate it to get the oxygen out. Over.
Hi, Sandy. It’s Ada. Do you use electrolysis? Over.
Yes, that’s exactly right, Ada. We pass electric current through the water, and that separates the oxygen from the hydrogen. Over.
Sandy, this is Milton again. How long are you up there for? Over.
I’m lucky! I have another three months. The missions vary from a couple of weeks to six months, and I got one that was on the longer side. Over.
There was a long pause as Ada tried to pull Nina toward the mic. Nina was being shy. Ada was afraid that Milton would hog all the time if they let him, so she jumped in.
Sandy? It’s Ada again. What are you doing up there right now? Over.
We’re collecting all kinds of data about the Earth—temperature, climate patterns, weather, pollution. It helps us get a sense of the Earth’s health.
Sandy, this is Nina. Can you see San Francisco from up there? Over.
I can! Cities are beautiful from space—like clusters of Christmas lights. Nature can be pretty amazing too. Believe it or not, I can also see things like the Great Barrier Reef sometimes. You can see pictures of what we see from the space station on our website. Over.
Nina again. Do you ever get lonely? Over.
A little bit. I have my colleagues here, and I get along with all of them pretty well. We all feel excited about what we’re doing. And I get to talk to people like you and my family and friends. But it’s a strange feeling seeing your home planet from above. It’s like looking at the moon or Mars from Earth, but instead it’s the place you were born, so you feel a little more attached to it. Like it’s your responsibility. And you want to protect it. So I do miss my home. I miss all the paths I used to walk on near Boulder when I lived there. I miss the smell of the air and how the creek water feels on my feet. But up here I have the opportunity to study what makes those things possible and how to keep them from going away. That was a long answer, I guess. Anyway, I’m glad I get to play a little part in helping to monitor the Earth’s health. Over.
Sandy, it’s Ada. How do you monitor the climate patterns? Over.
That’s a fun question! We actually released a swarm of little satellites last week. . . .
Nina’s eyes grew. For a second Ada was afraid she might flee the room.
Each little satellite has a different part to play. They are mostly monitoring how much radiation is coming into the Earth’s atmosphere versus how much is leaving. Over.
Sandy, it’s Arnold Peebles. Thank you for talking to us. Good luck up there. We’re rooting for you. Over and out.
Nina looked at Ada. “The swarm,” said Nina. “It was a swarm of little satellites. I must have heard them talking right when they released them.”
“Right,” said Ada. “We must have been lined up just right that night. So the space station must have been directly above us! No trees to block the signal.”
“And I woke up at just the right moment,” said Nina. “And they were sent to help us. Not invade us.”
“So it is a little magic,” said Ada. Nina smiled.
Ada opened her computer to look at the space station pictures. She thought it would be fun to see the Earth as Sandy described it.
“Wow, there’s Mount Vesuvius!” said Ada.
“The cities are pretty. Look at the Nile! It’s like a glowing snake,” said Nina.
“Yeah!” said Ada. She liked the way Nina described things. “Ooo! Look! This city looks just like a campfire.”
“Hey, there’s San Francisco!”
“Which picture do you think is the best?” asked Ada.
“I like the Himalayas. And the Sahara Desert. And Scandinavia at night. How can you pick a favorite?” asked Nina. “It’s all beautiful.”
“It sure is,” said Ada.
• • •
After Mr. Lace had taken Nina home and Ada was about to turn off the radio and get into bed, Milton called one more time.
Ada, are you still up? Over.
Ada was so tired she thought about ignoring him, but she was kind of curious about what he had to say.
Ada, Ada, Ada. Are you there? Over.
Yeah, Milton. I’m here. What’s up? Over.
I made a gimbal for my little camera. You know, so it doesn’t shake so much when it’s up on the kite. I’m thinking about flying it in the park . . . maybe tomorrow. You wanna join me? Over.
Ada didn’t answer right away.
Ada? Are you still there? Over.
Sure, Milton. I’ll join you. See you tomorrow. Over and out.
