It's not every day that Columba College students get to meet an astronaut.

Last term a group of physics students went to a public lecture entitled 'A day in the life of an astronaut'. Hosted by the Otago Museum, Colonel Mike Hopkins spoke about his life growing up and training to be a fighter pilot before being selected for NASA. 

The lecture combined science, amazing photography and advice on adversity, with Colonel Hopkins revealing that he had to apply to NASA many times before he was selected for training. 

The lecture was a fantastic experience, with the Hutton Lecture Theatre being completely sold out meaning that the talk had to be relayed by video link to people who could not get tickets. Colonel Hopkins spent time after the talk signing photos and taking selfies to round off a memorable evening.