HOUSTON, Oct. 16 (Kyodo) -- Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata on Sunday read out a traditional Japanese-style poem he composed describing the splendor and beauty of the Earth as seen from the space shuttle Discovery.
 Koichi Wakata
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"The green grass of the Earth is glittering in the limitless darkness of space," Wakata said in Japanese in front of a television camera in the spacecraft.
"Thank you, Koichi. That was absolutely superb," one of the mission controllers at the Johnson Space Center said after the recital.
His poem was a "tanka," a type of poem consisting of 31-syllables written in five lines.
Sitting next to commander Brian Duffy, Wakata said he composed the poem in appreciation of a tanka read by Empress Michiko nearly four years ago for Wakata and other Japanese astronauts.
"Watching Earth from the space shuttle, I am really moved by its beauty, its being blue," Wakata, explained. "And the beauty of its green is also magnificent," he said. "Such beauty reminds us of the need for all the people on the globe to try to protect the Earth's environment as well as expanding the scope of human activity."
Earlier in the day, Wakata, 37, a mission specialist, operated the shuttle's robot arm to hoist other Discovery crew members to various work locations outside the International Space Station.
The empress's poem, praising the work of Japanese astronauts, was presented at an annual New Year's poetry recitation at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 1997.
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