Queen Elizabeth
II heard from astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday
during a visit to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
ISS
Expedition 15 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and
Sunita Williams stressed that the fundamental cooperation among nations that
has made the space station a reality will prove vital for future exploration
during their session with the queen.
"The
International Space Station is a great example of how different countries and
different cultures can work together," Kotov said. "It's a great role model for
companies and even governments. It shows that we can work through our
differences."
Veteran spaceflyer
Michael Foale, who hails from Cambridge, England and has logged more days in space (just over 374) than any other NASA astronaut, hosted the ISS
discussion with the queen. He described life aboard the station and his six
spaceflights with the British monarch.
"Fascinating,"
she told Foale at the space station's Network Integration Center at Goddard in
Greenbelt, Maryland as he spoke of his time as the outpost's Expedition 8 commander.
Williams told
the queen that the space station is a stepping stone for human exploration as
astronauts prepare to return to the Moon and push outward to Mars.
"We're
doing a myriad of experiments that will help us understand how to live in space
for an extended period of time so that we can build spacecraft to go back to
the Moon and on to Mars," Williams said of the space station. "It's a wonderful
place to live."
The queen and
husband Prince Philip are conducting a six-day U.S. visit
to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the English settlement of Jamestown in Virginia. In addition to hearing from the Expedition 15 crew,
the British Royal Family met with schoolchildren, NASA and government
dignitaries, and participated in a tree planting ceremony in the Goddard center's
Rocket Park.
British-born
NASA astronauts Piers Sellers and Nick Patrick were also onhand for the
activities.
"Your
Majesty, thank you very much for this great day for us," Yurchikhin told the
queen. "It's very great to see that you are interested in this program."
The British
Royal Family's NASA visit follows an April 19 letter of intent between the U.S.
space agency and British National Space Centre to study potential areas for
future collaboration on lunar science and exploration.
"We hope to
work closely with the United Kingdom on new endeavors involving the Moon," NASA
chief Michael Griffin said during the queen's visit.
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