A lot of times, you think of things as being science fiction, but the creation of the ideas makes you want to solve them. Then, in solving them, they give us greater capability.
— Peggy Whitson
It's been fun doing interviews with the other astronauts, getting to hear: 'Oh, that's how he explains it' or 'That's how she thinks about it.' We work together, but we don't necessarily share all those thoughts or ideas.
Know what it is that drives you - motivates you - and pursue it. Endeavor to work to make it happen.
I do think space hotels are probably in our future.
I started out as a farm girl in Iowa, and I dreamed of being an astronaut and an explorer. And I made it.
I think the legacy of the space station will be that we can do something this technically complex in an international way.
I love working at NASA, but the part that has been the most satisfying on a day-to-day basis, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute, has been working on board the space station. Even if I'm just cleaning the vents in the fans, it all is important.
One of the astronauts I came to admire the most is John Young.
It's like being a bird, maybe, the perspective of flying over the Earth.
The first time I went into space was just so much more than you could imagine or prepare yourself for.
There is a potential to be a big explosion of what spaceflight is gonna mean to just an everyday person in the near future. I think it's very hopeful for our young people: all the exciting things that they could be doing in the future relative to space and space exploration.
Drive and desire was something I was raised with. It became a very important part of how I've become.
The advice I give young people is that you have to pursue something, and you have to have fun along the way.
I think the biggest advice that I could give people is to actually try and live beyond your dreams by pushing yourself, challenging yourself to do things a little bit outside of your comfort zone.
I think, just philosophically, we're made to explore.
I think the International Space Station is providing a key bridge from us living on Earth to going somewhere into deep space.
My parents are the hardest-working people I ever knew: they always worked every day, all day; they had to come up with the solutions to make things work. And I think that work ethic, maybe stubbornness, single-mindedness, definitely played a role for me. I'm definitely thankful for my roots.
Being a biochemist, I did a lot of tissue-culture research prior to working at NASA and when I first started working there.
Even if my job for the day is cleaning the vents or fixing the toilet, it still feels good to be a part of the space program and advancing exploration.
Viewing the earth from above gives you this sense of how special the planet is that we live on.
You need to live a little bit outside your comfort zone because you can be even more than you dream of.
The Earth is incredibly beautiful.
One thing that flying in space does for you is it gives you a change in perspective. We all have to live in the same place.
I don't sing in the shower.
I would certainly encourage young people to pursue their dreams. It isn't always an easy path, but it's worth going after. And I figure if a farmer's daughter from Iowa can become an astronaut, you can be just about anything you want to be.
Walking in space is absolutely the most exhilarating part of a mission. The view is just incredible.
After floating for nine and a half months in space, gravity is not your friend.
You see billions and billions of stars and recognize that you know some of those have planets, too, and maybe there's life out there, and this is just one of billions of galaxies... and so it gives you this huge perspective of how far we potentially have to go for real exploration.
I learned to not be afraid to fix things that break.
Breaking records has never been my goal. I think it's important that we're continually pushing our limits and showing that we can extend beyond what we have done before.
Everything every day here on Earth is based on gravity, and you don't realize it until you don't have it anymore.
We are absolutely ready to go to Mars. It's going to be a fantastic journey getting there and very exciting times.
We want people to continue learning new things about what space does to the human body. It's important for us to understand that and make sure when we get ready to fly to Mars that we are ready for what we're going to be exposed to.
My work ethic is, I think, from my farm life.
Hopefully, we will get more and more people interested in doing research in space. I think eventually it's also going to be a great commercial market.
Work ethic is probably my No. 1 value and No. 1 attribute.
In space for a short time, I think most people could survive that. If you're sending an average person who's healthy for a short period of time, I think that's quite doable.
Find your passion. Because with that passion, you can do anything.
On my first flight, I don't know if maybe it's a function of time, or if I was less stressed on my second flight, but just being able to tell what part of the planet we were flying over by the reflected light coming through the window - that was pretty special.
You can solve problems, but the solutions don't always have to be elaborate or expensive.
I love Italian, Mexican, Thai. Something spicy.
One of the most beautiful sights is when the rim of the Earth is bright on one side, and you see this defined line of the atmosphere. You see how close and thin it is. We've got to be careful. We've got to take care of this planet.
Zero gravity is such an alien environment - completely different from everything we've grown up with every single day of our lives. And it's incomprehensible how much better it was than I anticipated it would be.
One of the things I think is really cool that we're testing on board the International Space Station is the water reclamation system.
I like to say I'm determined; some people would call it stubborn. It depends on your perspective.
Space flight's good for age; I have a lot less wrinkles up here. It's a good place to be as you get older.
Anyone that's ever gone to space is always wanting to go back.
Gravity always sucks. It really, really does. It's a big challenge just re-adapting to feeling heavy again, you know? Even my arm feels heavy. My legs feel heavy.
Unfortunately, spaceflight takes a lot of time and money.
I know the first female astronauts selected were definitely an inspiration to me, and so maybe I will be a role model.
