Kids Can Watch Real Astronauts Read Stories From Space

There are always people in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It's part of their mission to educate people, and hopefully inspire the next generation of scientists.

The program is designed to give kids a book to read while they're home from school. The ISS tie-in comes in the form of various astronauts who will read along with kids back on Earth.

The idea is the brainchild of Patricia Tribe (above), who worked at Space Center Houston, along with astronaut Alvin Drew. It's all about encouraging kids to get into the STEM fields — that's science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Rubins, an American microbiologist, read Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty. It's a book with a powerful message — that scientific study isn't a field exclusively for men.

Drew was aboard the final mission of the space shuttle Discovery a few years back when he decided to try reading scientific, but kid-oriented books, to children back on Earth.

Peake is a British army officer and test pilot who's spent nearly 200 days in space. He read The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home during his....incredible non-intergalactic journey home.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata chose Max Goes to the International Space Station while he orbited aboard the International Space Station.

With human travel to Mars generally being seen as the next frontier in manned space missions, American astronaut Mike Hopkins decided to read Max Goes to Mars.

Livestreams from near-Earth orbit have always been possible, but with the power of the internet, kids everywhere are able to keep up with astronauts in space. This wasn't possible in past decades.

"What better role models to engage kids in science and to engage them in reading?" asked Patricia Tribe. "You're not only looking and listening to the books, you're looking around the International Space Station!"