On April 9, Warren “Woody” Hoburg landed in Mars  to share his experiences as a NASA astronaut with fourth-graders at Mars Area Elementary School.

 

A Pittsburgh native, Hoburg shared photos and videos from his most recent 186-day mission as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6, which launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in March 2023. He offered inside look at life aboard the ISS as well as the varying jobs that an astronaut may be called upon to complete, which could range from science experiments to space walks.

 

And, he detailed his crews’ safe return to Earth, with a splash down off the Florida coast. Upon the completion of Hoburg’s presentation, Elaina Anderson and Emma Salasky of Mars Robotics Association offered students an opportunity to ask questions (submitted in advance) about, among other things, how astronauts eat and sleep in space; how they grow plants; how they exercise in zero gravity; and training to be an astronaut.

 

Astronauts need to be “generalists;” they need to be good as variety of different things, said Hoburg, noting that chemistry, math, physics and engineering are just some of the skills that an astronaut may need. He added that the student will soon see NASA astronauts returning to the Moon to investigate the satellite’s southern pole and possibly establish a moonbase that will serve as launching point for future missions to Mars.

 

Mars New Year provided funding for the visit. For more information, call (724) 625-3161.