Ask an Astronaut: 333 hours of Q&A footage with astronauts (opens in new tab)

Nice to see this here. I’m the developer who made this. The idea for this started when I was chatting with co-creator, Dave Charney and we asked, “I wonder if all the questions kids could ask of astronauts have already been asked.”

If you select “About this project”, there are technical details on how we did it.

I was fortunate enough to be chosen to talk to astronauts on the ISS from the ground and ask them a question, and as far as I can tell from searching this awesome resource, I think my question was unique.

I asked Ann McClain and David Saint-Jacques what experiment or module they would add to the ISS if they could pick anything. They both agreed that a rotating wheel that simulated gravity would be helpful for experiments and quality of life.

All the questions about sneeze are either about open air, or Newton's third law. Did really no one ask what happens if you sneeze while wearing a spacesuit helmet? Does the visor have a windshield wiper on the inside?

Why is there a VO/translator speaking over the astronaut in some (all?) responses?

Very neat project. Just in English though? Any plans for questions in other languages?

The model doesn't seem to load on my computer due to CORS

Very neat project - been clicking through it for a while, a bit slow but manageable - hope it holds the weight of the HN front page.

Someone's gonna turn that into a language model shortly.

This is wonderful, thank you. A suggestion, if it's possible: Identify the astronauts speaking. (I'm not sure that can be automated reliably unless it's already in video metadata.) Also, the transcript isn't keeping up and skips parts.

But those are minor issues. Thank you so much!

This is a nice idea and good example of what is possible with technology!

what a project for me nerd