Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – Three weeks after returning to Earth, teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan cheerfully carried out her first space education assignment Monday, sharing the magic of flying in orbit with children at Walt Disney World.
“Our mission to the international space station truly was a dream come true,” Morgan told youngsters, their parents and NASA and Disney employees gathered outside Epcot’s “Mission: Space” attraction.
“I do have some words to share, and they say, ‘Reach for your dreams. … The sky is no limit,”‘ said the astronaut, who at 55 achieved her dream of spaceflight.
Morgan and her six shuttle crewmates met with schoolchildren inside Spaceship Earth, the huge golf-ball-shaped structure that is the emblem of Epcot.
One girl asked if the astronauts had seen any UFOs.
Morgan joked that she saw plenty aboard Endeavour: misplaced items like her floating scissors. But she added that when she gazed out the window and saw all the stars, it was difficult to imagine that Earth is the only planet with life.
Another youngster wanted to know whom the astronauts would most like to take into space.
Morgan answered, “As a teacher, I would want to take every student on this planet and every teacher on this planet. You all would love it.”
