In this photo provided the European Space Agency on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli looks at the Multipurpose Transporting Plate aboard the International Space Station. Pope Francis is making his first phone call off the planet –
In this photo provided the European Space Agency on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli looks at the Multipurpose Transporting Plate aboard the International Space Station. Pope Francis is making his first phone call off the planet – and into space. On Thursday, Oct. 26 the pope will reach out to the six astronauts on the International Space Station. It will be only the second time a pope phones the heavens like this. Pope Benedict XVI called the space station in 2011. Nespoli was aboard the orbiting lab for the first papal call, and he’s back up there again, along with three Americans and two Russians. (European Space Agency via AP)