Astronauts star in live web chat from Space Station

Astronauts hovering 240 miles above the Earth have fielded questions from around the world in NASA's first live video web chat on board the International Space Station.

The trio of Kevin Ford, Chris Hadfield and Tom Marshburn swivelled objects in front of them in mid air as they gave insights into life on the orbiting laboratory in a Google+ Hangout.

The astronauts demonstrated their own abilities in near-weightlessness, picked Sir Isaac Newton as the scientist of the past they most wanted up in the station with them and discussed their new-found social media stardom.

They also described the difficulty of taking photos in the "bottomless pit of deep black" that is space, the beauty of watching shooting stars travel below them, and how their bodies deal with facing 16 sunrises and sunsets every day.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube users all the way from Canada to Australia asked live and recorded questions as the men put in a 20-minute appearance after been introduced by NASA's base in Houston.

Watch the full Google+ Hangout below, with the astronauts appearing from 0:30:07 until 0:49:49:

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