THE astronauts who travelled on the 39th and final mission of the space shuttle Discovery visited the Isle of Man in July.

 
They spent six days in the Island as guests of Tynwald and spoke to students, visited the Island's heritage attractions and took part in the Tynwald Day ceremony.

The astronauts also unveiled a plaque in Noble's Park in Douglas to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight in the Isle of Man.

Nicole Stott, a mission specialist who flew onboard flight STS-133, is no stranger to the Isle of Man. She is married to Manxman Chris Stott who runs the Island based space company ManSat.

Nicole even took soil from Tynwald Hill into space with her as well as a CD by local musician Davy Knowles.

Nicole's colleagues Eric Boe, Michael Barrett, Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew - who shared the 12 day mission to the International Space Centre with her - also travelled to the Isle of Man.  

isleofman.com spoke to the astronauts whilst they were in the Isle of Man. To see these interviews click on their names.

Professor Brian Cox, a particle physicist and professor at the University of Manchester, visited the Island at the same time as the astronauts.

He gave secondary school pupils the science lesson of a lifetime when he took to the stage in the Villa Marina to offer his insights into the wonders of the universe.

He told students: "The goal of big science is to understand what the universe is made of, how it came to be and what its future will be. It seems like an almost impossible goal but we can do it."

His presentation was streamed live on the internet so members of the public could also watch.

He praised the Isle of Man’s space industry and said: "To me, obviously, the future of the places like the Isle of Man and the UK is the high-tech industries like the space industry.

"I think you need genuine government support for that and it's brilliant that here that is there. I was fascinated when I learnt that this is a place that really genuinely values space."

This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.