Extra-terrestrial Tweet-up links Tokyo with space station

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An unusual “Tweet-up” — a meeting of people who know each other on Twitter — involving an ambassador, an astronaut and a prime minister has taken place on a video-link between Japan and the International Space Station.

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy chatted with the Japanese commander of the ISS as he circled the Earth hundreds of kilometers up.

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The three, who are all active on the micro-blogging site, talked on Thursday evening about daily life aboard the station, while Kennedy and Wakata traded compliments on their activities in the blogosphere.

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“It’s an honor to be able to speak with you,” said Kennedy.

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“Congratulations Commander Wakata on being the first Japanese commander of the space station and I am glad that we follow each other on Twitter,” Kennedy said.

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“Ambassador Kennedy, it’s quite an honor that you follow my tweets,” Wakata replied.

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Wakata who was flanked by fellow space-farers from Russia and the US, battled with zero-gravity to grab the microphone and make himself heard back on Earth as Abe addressed him.

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“You are the first Asian to become commander of the ISS,” Abe said. “Are there days when you think that it is hard work?”

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Wakata, a practised diplomat as well as an astronaut said the multinational crew was an effective unit.

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“I think we really work well as a team,” he said. “But we are more than just crew mates, qualities from all the countries we represent complete each other and we can communicate perfectly,” he added.

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The conversation took place hours after a a Russian cargo ship docked with the ISS, bringing the crew crucial supplies and water.

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Earlier this month NASA announced that it was cutting space cooperation with Russia — except over the ISS — because of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, including the takeover of Crimea last month.

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NASA has been wholly reliant on Russia for delivering astronauts to the space station since the US retired its space shuttles in 2011.

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