An announcement came over the radio. "Taekuk crew, you are now free to move around."
"Yippee!" shouted Jinwook.
"Jinwook! Stop fooling around! We have lots of work to do!" Captain Peter scolded.
But this was Jinwook's first time in space. He was too excited to work.
"Now that we're in space, you can take your pressure suit off," Linda said with a smile. Jinwook could not believe it! It was his dream to travel in space. He was about to begin his space adventure!
Jinwook and the crew worked hard for several hours. Soon it was time for Jinwook's first meal in space.
"It's not easy to eat in space. Eating in space takes practice," Adam said.
"What do we eat?" Jinwook asked.
"We can eat just about anything, but the food has to be made into a sticky paste," answered Captain Peter.
Dinner was spaghetti!
Mealtime in space is often playtime. Adam's favorite trick is playing with his drinks. In space, water floats in the air in big drops.
"What's this for?" Jinwook pointed to the Velcro on his trousers.
"That's Velcro. If we don't hold onto things, everything just floats around in space. So we use Velcro to hold things down," Adam explained. "Even this food tray has Velcro strips underneath. It can be attached to the wall! Watch!"
"Do we float because there is no gravity in space?" Jinwook asked.
"Gravity? Of course there's gravity," answered Adam. "But in orbit around Earth, there is very little gravityㅡalmost zeroㅡand you don't feel any weight. That's why it's so easy to move. That's why you can float in space. Look at Captain Peter," said Adam. "He's running on the exercise machine. Floating inside the space shuttle, we hardly use our bones and muscles at all. So to stay healthy, we have to exercise every day," he explained to Jinwook.
"It's bedtime," Captain Peter said.
Adam gave Jinwook a sleeping bag. "Make sure you attach your sleeping bag to something." Jinwook nodded, but he was too excited to sleep.
Jinwook stayed up and looked out into space. "It's so amazing to be in space," he said to himself. Finally, Jinwook fell into a deep sleep.
Jinwook was having a wonderful dream. He was telling his family and friends about his space adventure.
"Ouch!" he cried suddenly.
"Jinwook! I told you to attach your sleeping bag to something," said Captain Peter.
"Wake up, Jinwook! Jinwook!"
"Wake up, Jinwook!" his mom was saying.
"Captain?" Jinwook called out sleepily.
"Captain? It's Mom, Jinwook! You're late for school!"
"School? There's no school aboard a spaceship," said Jinwook, waking up.
"Spaceship? You must have been dreaming." His mother laughed.
Jinwook picked up his book. "What happened to Captain Peter and Linda and Adam? Where are my Velcro trousers?"
Jinwook spread his arms out. "Last night I had my first space adventure," he said excitedly. "Do you know what I want to be when I grow up?"
"Let me guess—an astronaut?" His mother winked.