Positive online response to planned space lesson

Over 1,000 people raised questions for China's first upcoming lesson in space via Tencent Weibo (similar to Twitter) between May 24 and June 10, according to the Shanghai Morning Post.

The questions include such as: "Do you have any thoughts about discovering aliens? Can a sponge-liked plate be created if steel melts in space and then gas is pumped into it? Is your physical consumption greater than that on earth when you undergo physical training?" Some of these questions might be answered by astronaut Wang Yaping.

At present, the time and details of China's first lesson in space are still under wraps. Thirty-three-year-old Wang Yaping will give a lecture to Earth-bound students via a video feed. She will teach Chinese primary and middle school students on Earth physics phenomena in a zero-gravity environment and in doing so she will make history - she will be China's first teacher in space.

The media will broadcast the event live.

Shenzhou X, China's fifth manned spacecraft, blasted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province, on June 11. Two men, mission commander Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang, and China's second female astronaut, Wang Yaping, were expected to stay in space for 15 days.