The primary school students are allowed to do the so-called sky training in the planetarium. Like real astronaut candidates, they learn how to orientate themselves using the starry sky. Depending on how the stars are positioned, as an astronaut in space you can tell, for example, whether you are hovering over the northern or southern hemisphere. The time can also be read from the sky.
In addition to the celestial training, a real ESA astronaut candidate was also placed in the planetarium dome. The children asked her questions like “Have you ever seen extraterrestrial life forms in space?”, “Are you in space right now?” or “What did you have to learn to become an astronaut?”.
Real astronauts also train in Bochum
The planetarium is actually also a training facility for real astronauts. As recently as October 2023, eight prospective astronauts from the European Space Agency visited Bochum to prepare for their future careers.
Those:
WDR-Reporter on sitePlanetarium Bochum