John Herrington in space. Photo from Facebook

John Herrington, the first enrolled Native American to fly in space, met with students from the Hopi Tribe of Arizona earlier this month.

Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, spent 13 days, 18 hours and 47 minutes in space, according to Wikipedia. He took his tribe's flag with him during the 2002 mission to the International Space Station.

"It was a unique opportunity and a chance to do something remarkable," Herrington told the students, The Navajo-Hopi Observer reported. "Two hundred and twenty miles would be a few hours drive if you could drive straight up."

Herrington retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy, where he served as a commander, in July 2005.

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Native American astronaut makes Earth-bound trip to Hopi High School (The Navajo-Hopi Observer 5/19)