Untitled Document
 I’m
sure all of you already know who Yi So-yeon is. Yes, she is Korea’s
first astronaut! And she is the
second woman in Asia to go into space. Yi blasted off into space on
April 8. During the 12-day stay at the International Space Station
(ISS)국제우주정거장, she successfully conducted her mission.
This week, let’s meet our proud first astronaut Yi
So-yeon!
Yi So-yeon was born on April 27, 1978 in Gwang-ju, Korea. She was
raised in Gwang-ju, Jeollanam-do. She studied at Gwangju Science High
School. Later, she majored in mechanics at the Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon. There, she
obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She is now working
there as a doctoral researcher in biotech systems.
Yi was one of the two finalists selected on December 25 in
2006. She received training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center가가린
우주인
훈련센터 in Russia for 6 months with Ko San. On September 5, 2007, the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology교육과학기술부 chose Ko San
over Yi So-yeon as the first Korean astronaut. However, on March 10
in 2008, the ministry announced that Yi would replace Ko. This was because
Ko violated regulations several times
at the Russian training center.
On April 8, Yi was finally launched into space on board Soyuz TMA-12 with
two Russian cosmonauts. And she became
the first Korean and second Asian woman to fly into space!
“I will do my best to accomplish my mission,” said
Yi before she went into space.
She spent 12 days in space and carried out many scientific experiments. The
experiments included the growth of plants in space.
She also studied the effects of gravity change on the pressure in her eyes and
shape of her face. She took 6 shots of her face every day with a specially designed three-dimensional camera
to see how it swelled in the different
gravity.
She also observed the Earth - particularly the movement
of dust storms from China to Korea.
The experiments were videotaped, and these will be used at schools
for science classes.
On April 12, Yi talked with President Lee Myung-bak on a video call.
During the dialogue, the president wished
her a safe return. “I’m so proud of you, So-yeon. And I will pray for your safe return,”
said President Lee.
On April 19, our proud astronaut Yi So-yeon returned to the Earth
safely. Welcome back, So-yeon. We are very proud of you. And the whole
world will remember you forever! |
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