Astronaut feature

The Nasa astronauts who crewed the historic final mission of the space shuttle Discovery have been on the Isle of Man over the past week talking to 3FM.

On their visit they have attended a number of events from the Queenie festival, meeting Manx students, going to the Laxey Wheel and being Guests at the Island's national celebration of Tynwald Day.

Astronaut Nicole Stott is married to the Honorary Representative of the Isle of Man Government to the Space Community, Chris Stott.

She said she has enjoyed her time on the Island so much that she would love to move here.

Discovery's final mission left the Kennedy space station in February. The mission was accomplished in 202 Earth orbits, travelling 5.3 million miles in just over 307 hours.

Nicole took a piece of Tynwald Hill into space and also listened to Manx singer Davy Knowles. She presented the soil back to the Island on her visit this week.

3FM also caught up with Colonel Eric Boe, an air force fighter pilot who flew 55 combat missions over Iraq and has spent more than 28 days in Space, he described lift off!

The Isle of Man has been named as the 5th most likely nation to put a man on the moon.

The are 16 aerospace companies here and the sector is second only to banking in economic importance.

The Island offers some specific advantages for space and satellite communications companies, for example the world's first ZSero Tax Rate. (0%)

This visit could be one small step for 'Mann', but a giant leap for man kind.

Hear more from them by clicking the audio link above.