Teachers Note:
Title: “André Kuipers´ diary”
Disciplines: Language
Level:
Description: Conjugate verbs in different tenses to fill in a text by ESA astronaut A. Kuipers´ diary extract about his spacesuit.
Objective(s): Learn about an astronaut’s spacesuit. Practice conjugating verbs in different tenses.
Hints:
On Wednesday I visited the factory where the spacesuits are made. The factory is in Tomlino, an hour's drive from Moscow. We did the final tests on the spacesuit in order to ensure that everything fits like a glove. It feels a bit like wearing a diving suit, with your head in a fishbowl. Everything was made to measure, just like the chair that I sit on. I had to sit in a plaster-of-Paris mould for this some time ago. Everything was already prepared, because I trained as the reserve for my Spanish colleague, Pedro Duque. Nevertheless, the suit and the seat still had to be tested again. Imagine what would happen if you put on weight during your holiday, and they didn't fit anymore. We made a few small adjustments, to the length of the spacesuit's sleeves for example, because my fingertips were touching the end of the gloves. Now it feels fine. Another hurdle passed on the way to the mission…
