Lessons in Stellar Tweeting from Astro_Mike
For the past two months thousands of people have been following Astro_Mike on Twitter. For the uninitiated, Astro_Mike is Mike Massimino, an astronaut on the Space Shuttle Atlantis conducting the Final Shuttle Mission to Hubble Space Telescope.
It has been an amazing journey following Astro_Mike on Twitter. He has shared his preparation from working out, to time in the simulator, visits to the doctor, even his pre-launch meal with friends and family and his excitement the day before launch.
Enjoyed my last day on the planet for a couple of weeks with some study, practice, and last minute prep, but mostly trying to relax
Once in space, Astro_Mike keep feeding the world tidbits in 140 characters. We learned about his excitement:
From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!
From orbit: This is an awesome experience, the privilege to fly in space and work on the Hubble is beyond my dreams – 5:48 PM May 16th from web
…some fun facts:
From orbit: Eating chocolates in space, floating then in front of me then floating and eating them like I am a fish – 4:26 AM May 19th from web
From orbit: We see 16 sunrises and sunsets in 24 hrs, each one spectacular as the sun lights up the atmosphere in a spectrum of colors – 6:06 PM May 19th from web
From orbit: Viewing the Earth is a study of contrasts, beautiful colors of the planet, thin blue line of atmosphere, pure blackness of space – 6:08 PM May 19th from web
From orbit: Just saw Orion’s nebula in the night sky – the sights make all the hard work and risk worthwhile for me – 5:35 PM May 20th from web
…and some highlights:
From orbit: got a call from President Obama, it was a great event for our crew and very thoughtful of the President – 9:49 AM May 21st from web
From orbit: Just had our re-entry brief with mission control, we will try landing tomorrow a.m. but weather in FL looks iffy – 2:56 PM May 21st from web
NASA also has a Twitter feed. This morning, the agency inform that the crew awoke at 1:01aET to “The Ride of the Valkyries,” composed by Richard Wagner and announced possible landing times in response to a public inquiry:
two landing times available at Kennedy 10:09aET&11:48a, two at Edwards also- 11:40aET & 1:17p –
Reading Astro_Mike stellar tweets (pun intended) have served to reignite interest and enthusiasm for our space program. People are talking about Mike and the mission in classrooms, around the water cooler, they are retweeting his messages from orbit and following other NASA programs.
Astro_Mike’s missives from space bring the public on board the mission and invite us into the joy and exhileration he and his colleagues are experiencing.
In addition to learning about NASA, Hubble and the space program, Astro_Mike shows us loving what you do shows through and speaking about it authentically can creating a following – even in 140 characters!
