Pope Francis is making his first telephone callabove the earth -- and into space.On Thursday, the pope called the International Space Station.Six astronauts are currently working there-- three Americans, two Russians and one Italian.Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli was aboard the space stationfor the first-ever papal call, made in 2011 by Pope Benedict.He returned to space in July.As he did in 2011,he acted as a translator Thursday during his second papal call.Francis asked Nespoli and the five other astronauts many questions.Some were simple, such as ‘why did you choose to become an astronaut?'Other questions were much deeper and more complex.Russian astronaut Sergey Ryazanskiy told Francis that his grandfather,a Soviet engineer who helped build Sputnik, had inspired him.Some of the responses he received from the Russian astronautsmarked a small step in improving the Vatican's relations with Orthodox Russia.Francis has worked hard to improve the relationship.Last year, he became the first pope in 1,000 yearsto meet with the Russian Orthodox patriarch.The other Russian aboard the International Space Station is Alexander Misurkin.He responded to Francis's question abouthow the astronauts understood the Italian poet Dante's linethat love is the force that moves the universe.Misurkin told the pope that he had been readingAntoine de St. Exupery's "The Little Prince" while in space.He explained that the young prince's understanding of love affected him."Love is the force that gives you strengthto give your life for someone else," he told the pope.Francis responded by saying "It's clear you have understood the messagethat St. Exupery so poetically explained,and that you Russians have in your blood,in your humanistic and religious tradition."Pope Francis considered a career as a chemist before becoming a priest.He has often expressed his concern for the environmentand care for what he calls "our common home."Space station commander Randy Bresnik, an American,told Francis that what he enjoyed most about being in spacewas seeing "God's creation maybe a little bit from his perspective."Bresnik, a U.S. Marine, flew combat missions during the Iraq war.He told Francis that in space there are "no borders, there is no conflict, it's just peaceful."Nespoli thanked the pope for his deep questions.He said that most of the crew's days are spentperforming highly technical and mechanical tasks."You brought us higher up," he said."You took us away from the daily mechanics of thingsand made us think about things that are bigger than us."Since his launch in July, Nespoli has publishedbeautiful photos of Italy from space on his Twitter page;one of his recent pictures shows the Alps from 400 kilometers above the Earth.Francis is known for making out-of-the-blue -- or unexpected -- phone calls.But Thursday's call had been planned for a long time.The European Space Agency made the arrangements,with NASA's technical support.And that's What's Trending Today.