Last month, Kimberly and Rebecca Yeung launched a balloon to the edge of space, and have since gotten attention from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which built the New Horizon spacecraft. But today, they got to meet someone who has flown even higher than their balloon flew: former astronaut Ed Lu.
Both the Yeungs and Lu were participating in the GeekWire Summit. Lu—now CEO of Sentinel Mission—was on a panel of futurists, while Rebecca, 10, and Kimberly, 8, were featured on the kids tech panel.
During their meeting Rebecca and Kimberly quizzed Lu about his space walks, playing piano in space (you have to strap yourself to the keyboard or you’ll push yourself away when playing) and Lu’s work in preparing for an asteroid strike with the B612 Foundation.
Lu had some questions too, asking the Yeungs about their flight plans, sourcing helium and the dangers of cow pies. He’s glad to see children interested not just in space, but in science in general.
“I think it’s important for kids to be learning about how science works, and learning how to ask questions and think critically,” Lu said, “and so it’s great to see that in these girls.”
If parents are looking to get their kids as interested in science as the Yeungs are, Lu has some advice.
“Kids, they do what you do,” Lu said. “If you show interest in something then they will too.”
