There are plenty of billionaires racing to get us to space in one way or another, but Mark Zuckerberg sort of beat them to the punch Wednesday when he participated in the first-ever Facebook Live from space.
Zuckerberg linked up for a Q&A with astronauts Tim Kopra, Tim Peake and Jeff Williams, who are all currently living and working aboard the International Space Station.
“When you’re building products to try to connect everyone in the world, connecting folks who are out in space is about as extreme and cool as it gets,” the Facebook CEO said to open the conversation.
Highlights of the Live chat included:
- How the body reacts to zero gravity.
- What’s being worked on to enable future travel to Mars.
- Whether food and drinks taste different in space.
- How the astronauts communicate in different languages.
- What the astronauts do for fun on the station.
Zuckerberg also mentioned that he knew the astronauts used social media to communicate, and he asked whether they had any feedback for him on how he could make the process better.
“Social media is a really nice way to reach your friends and family from up here,” Williams said. He added that the Internet speed isn’t quite what it is back on Earth, but it allows them to keep in touch. “One thing about life up here, is it’s so unique, and to be able to share it with other people, especially a huge audience, is a tremendous benefit.”
The video had 2 million views so far on Wednesday morning. If the astronauts had laughed through the entire event while wearing Chewbacca masks, no doubt the number would be bit higher.
