Cantonal School pupils inspired to look to the stars

Last week a very special guest came to speak to pupils at the Zug Cantonal School, namely Claude Nicollier, the only ever astronaut of Swiss nationality.
 
Nicollier, who comes from Vevey in French-speaking Switzerland, took part in the Atlantis, Endeavour, Columbia and Discovery shuttles in the Nineties, having previously been a pilot with the Swiss air force and Swissair.
 
The former astronaut had come to take part in a workshop with the pupils, many of whom had a question for him, such as what fuel was used on space rockets and how he felt on returning to earth. To this latter question he replied, “It felt like landing on another planet, even though I had only left it two weeks beforehand.” Not that it was just the pupils who asked questions. “What would you like to study?” asked the spaceman, “Physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich?”. He then wished them all the luck for the future before pausing to have his photograph taken with them.
 
He had previously explained that the procedures prior to flying a normal plane and a spacecraft were very similar and of immense importance, not least to optimise safety, and to be able to react calmly and do the right thing in the event of any emergency.
 
And what did it feel like to be the only Swiss person to have been in space? “I was lucky,” he said in his modest way as he added how much he had prepared for the interviews prior to his being selected. “Preparation is everything,” he said. “It is in this way you can optimise the chances of achieving your goals; and this goes for whatever goal you may have.”
 
Willi Vollenweider, a member of the board of the Zug Cantonal School, said how pleased he was Nicollier had taken the trouble to come to Zug, especially bearing in mind how full the astrophysicist’s diary was. “It is wonderful to see how much he clearly enjoys talking to young people. Despite his great achievements, he really is someone who has kept his feet on the ground,” he said.