Joe Acaba is an out-of-this-world scientist. Literally. The former high school math teacher is a NASA astronaut—the first of Puerto Rican heritage. Acaba’s parents hail from Hatillo, Puerto Rico. Acaba was born and grew up in California but has many relatives living in the U.S. territory. In January, Acaba participated in a long-distance video chat with schoolchildren on the island of Puerto Rico.
International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 53/54 is Acaba’s third space mission. On the trip, Acaba studied exercise in space. After three missions, imagine the opportunities he’s had to study the Creator’s heavenly handiwork and to see how the very skies declare God’s glory! (Psalm 8:3, 19:1)
Acaba arrived at the space station just weeks after Hurricane Irma in September and a week before Hurricane Maria. Maria is the worst natural disaster ever to hit Puerto Rico. Some schools there were without power for 112 days.
From onboard the ISS, Acaba fielded questions from students at the Puerto Rico Institute of Robotics in Manati. Problems with the institute’s Skype connection ate up nine minutes of the 23-minute conversation. But students had enough time to ask about his experiences as a teacher and his daily life aboard the orbiting outpost. Acaba assured them that the drinking water—recycled from the six-man crew’s urine—actually tastes great and is as natural as it gets. As for sleeping, he says he’s getting some of the best sleep of his life.
A student asked how Puerto Rico looked from space after Hurricane Maria. Switching between English and Spanish, Acaba told students the first thing he noticed was the lack of lights. He said the island was almost impossible to see at night due to the widespread power outages.
One boy observed that after the hurricane, some Puerto Ricans found it difficult to eat because the food that wasn’t washed out to sea or ruined by the storm all seemed the same. He asked whether Acaba finds the limited space menu tough to swallow. Acaba replied that the food in space is good—but that the menu repeats every week or two. He admitted the rotation gets monotonous. He told students the food in space doesn’t compare to Puerto Rican specialties like pasteles, stuffed meat pastries wrapped in banana leaves.
“I’m ready to get home and have a great meal,” Acaba told the students. He didn’t have to wait too long. Acaba’s mission was scheduled to return home in February.
