Class proves an oddity as world-famous astronaut makes contact with students

Published On Thu 27 Mar 2014 by Grant Hill

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) students received a major surprise today when they assembled at Ground Control for a debrief on a recent module  designing products for use in space – a face-to-face meeting with celebrated astronaut Chis Hadfield.

Second-year Product Design students gasped when Hadfield appeared on a lecture theatre screen to congratulate them on their work prototyping items for use on the International Space Station (ISS). Via Skype, he spent several minutes chatting to students about their products and life aboard the ISS.

Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space, rocketed to worldwide fame last year after a video of him performing David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ from the ISS became an internet sensation with more than 20 million YouTube hits to date.

Footage of this and other engaging videos of Hadfield and his colleagues from the ISS had been pored over by the students as part of their research, and the talk was organised by their tutor, Sarah Morgan, prior to them delivering their final presentations on the project.

Sarah is the daughter of the late Welsh-Canadian comedian John Morgan, and it was one of the producers of his former show, ‘Royal Canadian Air Farce’, who put her in touch with Hadfield after he appeared on the programme recently.

She said, “The students were really shocked as we’d managed to keep this a surprise from them. There was a loud gasp and a lot of excitement. Chris Hadfield was very friendly and encouraging, wishing them all the best in their work and saying that he hoped to meet them again someday.

”The students have worked really hard and it was a great way to reward them.  They really took a lot from what Chris said and I’m sure it will inspire them to continue to aspire to fulfil their potential in future.”

The module challenged students to design products to aid four aspects of life in space – Eating, Working, Relaxing and Exercising. The students judged to have produced the best design in each of these areas were selected to ask Hadfield a question about their specific designs and his feedback will help them to tailor their products in future. The more prosaic side of Hadfield’s life was also captured on camera when his dog wandered into shot demanding its walk!

As part of their extensive research into conditions in space and life on the ISS, the students received advice from academics and industry professionals who provided a real world perspective on viability and applicability of their products.

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