Bangalore, Aug 14 - They came, spoke, won hearts and inspired many to follow in their footsteps. Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier and manager of Switzerland's satellite project SwissCube Muriel Noca jointly interacted with students here on various aspects of astronomy and space science.

Thursday's interactive session was organised by the Swiss embassy on the theme 'Science and Education of Switzerland in India'.

Around 250 students from Class 9 to 12 of 10 schools attended the meet at Cambridge Pre-university College here.

'I am happy to be here. Talented Indian astronauts like Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams have shown the world about large scale presence of Indians in world space science and research. I want you all to pursue a career as astronomers or space engineers,' Nicollier told students after he narrated his experience in space.

Nicollier has logged more than 1,000 hours in space including one space walk totalling eight hours and 10 minutes. He is a former Swiss air force pilot.