Pupils in Cemaes talked with an astronaut whose school badge flew on the space station
Ysgol Cemaes met NASA astronaut Frank Rubio by video on October 21. A badge the Anglesey school designed earlier this year was already aboard the International Space Station.
Read the original
The reporting lives at BBC News. Our summary is checked against it, and we link it on every story.
Pupils at Ysgol Cemaes on Anglesey spoke by video with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who is set to fly on Artemis III. BBC News reported the meeting on October 21, 2026.
Rubio spent 371 days on the International Space Station after a fault in the spacecraft that was meant to bring the crew home. The stay was supposed to be about six months. Pupils asked him about living in space. Earlier this year the school designed a badge that flew to the station and was seen floating there. The chance came through former pupil Dr Melanie Coathup. Acting head Guto Rhys described what the call meant for the school. The pupils hope to send another badge next year. That second flight is still a plan.
For the classroom
BBC News reported on October 21, 2026, that pupils at Ysgol Cemaes on Anglesey had a video call with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. He is due to fly on Artemis III. He once stayed on the International Space Station for 371 days, much longer than planned, after a problem with the spacecraft meant to bring him home. The pupils asked about living in space. Earlier this year the school designed a badge that flew to the station and was seen floating there. A former pupil, Dr Melanie Coathup, helped make that possible. The school hopes to send another badge next year. That second flight is still a plan.
- What would you ask an astronaut about a day on the space station?
- Why might a school badge matter to the people who designed it?
- What is one science question your class could try to answer together?
For a teacher to read with a class. Print the story of the day · All classroom stories
More good news
Other stories in the same neighborhood of kindness.
ScienceUpper Teesdale's rare alpine plants get three years of seed funding
A local trust received £65,000 to collect seed from arctic-alpine plants and put it back on the fells with volunteers.
Verified · BBC
ScienceSimple gear cut seabird bycatch on Cornish fishing boats
A two-year trial with 10 Cornish fishers found looming-eye buoys and bird-shaped kites lowered the chance a diving bird was caught in nets.
Verified · The Guardian
Health & TechA personalised melanoma vaccine cut the risk of cancer returning in a large trial
In 1,137 adults, Intismeran plus immunotherapy lowered the chance of death or melanoma returning by 42 percent at two years. It is not approved, and the results are not peer-reviewed yet.
Verified · BBC News