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>> Dr. Tom Marshburn will
be making his second flight

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and his first long-duration
stay aboard the station as well,

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his first flight was as
a crew member on STS-127,

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which flew back in July
of 2009 to the ISS,

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and in fact we do have
an opportunity to talk

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to Dr. Marshburn, he is as
I mentioned in Star City,

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awaiting I guess departure
for Baikonur on Thursday,

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good morning Tom, are you there?

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>> Hey, good morning Kyle,
good to hear your voice.

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Yep, I'm here.

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>> Hey, that's great, it's
great to talk to you about --

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I appreciate you joining us
here in the control center

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for a few minutes to talk

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about all the work that's
been going on, your training

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and basically what got you
here to be ready to go.

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It probably doesn't feel like --

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feel like that it's
actually here now, huh?

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>> Oh, you're absolutely
right, two and a half years

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of training overall, and it's --

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and for the last few months it's
been a series of final exams

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in the U.S. in the early fall,
and then final exams here

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in Russia for the soviets and
the Russian segment studies.

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We've been saying goodbye
to our instructors as we go

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from these training
centers, so it's been a bit

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of an emotional step down each
time, so we're a bit used to it,

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but now it's starting to dawn
on us that we're going to launch

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in about two weeks and we're
getting very excited about it.

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>> Yeah, I bet.

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We're going to have an
opportunity I think to talk

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to Chris tomorrow, but you have
a kind of a special background

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because you're obviously
a medical doctor,

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and in fact you actually
have worked

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in probably both
control centers, right?

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You supported shuttle flights

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when you were a flight surgeon
here at NASA on this side,

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and then you also supported one
of our mirror crew members on --

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from that control center
over there correct?

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>> That's right, a
really unique experience,

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a chance that few
people get to get.

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I was sitting surgeon
consult for shuttle flights

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and for station flights,
but I was one

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of the prime capsule
communicators, which is a rare

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for a non-astronaut, I was
flight surgeon at the time,

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from the mission
control center in Moscow.

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And that happened simply
because we didn't have a lot

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of NASA personnel at the
time over here in Moscow.

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So for most of the US
astronauts that flew

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to the mirror space station in
the '90s, I got to talk to them

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from the mission control
center, very interesting

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to see the way the two
control teams worked together,

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a lot of similarities,
a lot of overlap,

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but also a good number
of differences.

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It was a lot of fun.

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>> Yeah, I bet.

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And so then you, you know,
you became an astronaut

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so you've had that
background working

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with all the flight controllers
and of course you flew,

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as I mentioned leading into
discussion, back on Endeavor

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on the 2-JA mission, which on

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that flight you did three space
walks I believe, so you've got

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that experience too, but what do
you take from your flight then

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and now looking forward to
going back to the station,

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only this time long-duration?

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I mean, as a medical
doctor that's got

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to be I won't say a lifelong
dream, but certainly something

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that is very beneficial
to your background.

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>> Oh yeah, as a flight
surgeon we would --

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one of the jobs of the flight
surgeon is to imagine what it's

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like to be in space, you're
treating astronauts and you --

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the best flight surgeons are
the ones that are able to sort

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of predict, even though
they're never able to get there,

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predict what it's going to
be like for the astronaut,

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and predict what the
challenges the physical --

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the physiological
challenges are going to be.

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And we do that by interviewing
astronauts when they come back,

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it's part of their
medical record,

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part of their medical debrief.

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So very exciting to get up
there myself, and a number

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of flight surgeons have
been selected as astronauts,

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Mike Barrett's another,
and to get up there

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and to actually be able to
experience that ourselves,

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it gives a huge amount
of insight.

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What it feels like when you hit
zero gravity for the first time,

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the rush of fluids to
the head, what it feels

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like to have just a sensory
overload of floating in space

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and having important
things to do right away,

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so what I'm looking forward to
on this long duration flight,

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which would be unique for
me is to feel my body adapt.

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I hear it takes a good
month for the body to adapt

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to zero gravity, so I'm going
to be experiencing that,

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and then over the flow of
several months what it will feel

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like to live in a confined area,

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to have similar surroundings
during that time,

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so I'm just looking forward
to seeing what happens,

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I'll be keeping a journal

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and making observations
the whole way.

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>> Has Roman given you --

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or other crew members that
are launched on a Soyuz

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versus a space shuttle given
you any differences to sort

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of look forward to or do they
kind of tell you that you want

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to experience it on your own

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and don't give you a
whole lot of information?

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>> I get a little bit of
information, particularly

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from the astronauts
that did flow shuttle,

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because very few Russians
have flown shuttle and Soyuz,

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but the astronauts that have
gone before me that have flown

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to the station have
flown shuttle

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and then Soyuz understand
that the Soyuz launch,

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while it's similar in duration
to a shuttle launch for time

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from the ground to
getting on orbit.

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Understand that the Soyuz
launch is a little bit smoother.

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Those solid rocket boosters

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on the shuttle really
give you a good shaking,

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and you can feel the power of
those things lifting the shuttle

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and its external tank
off the pad and up

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out of the atmosphere.

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So I suspect similar
G-forces, but not quite

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as much shaking around.

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I'll tell you what I'm
really looking forward

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to is the living space inside
the Soyuz, you may know

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that it's very tiny
for three people

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in the landing little
gumdrop shape craft,

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and then there's a living area.

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Both of them together are not
much bigger than a closet,

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particularly with
equipment stuffed in there.

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So I suspect it's going to be
a little bit like the mercury

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and Gemini astronauts,
perhaps the Apollo astronauts

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experienced on launch.

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The same confined living.

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We're only going to be that
way for about two days,

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but I'm very much
looking forward to that,

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and it'll be a huge
piece of history

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that I'm getting to
experience there.

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>> Yeah, no kidding.

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Obviously your expedition
scheduled probably

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for about the same as
the three guys that are

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up there right now, about
147 days or so if all goes

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as it's currently planned

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and your shuttle flight
obviously was ten days,

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and that was to some
people described it

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as a hundred yard dash versus
what you're going to do now

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because it gives you an
opportunity to spread out

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and actually live in space, and
you've got to be looking forward

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to the contrast in
those two based

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on your first flight
to this one.

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>> Yeah, you know there
is so much work going

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on up there right now,
particularly in the laboratories

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with the -- we're going to have
130 scientific experiments going

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on while I'm there.

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People coming back over the
last couple of years have said,

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"You know, it's really more
like a six-month sprint

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and not a marathon anymore."

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The -- although they're
coming back very happy

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and a little bit sad to
leave, the work-rest schedule,

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while the work is intense
there's enough rest

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to recharge batteries,
and you're right,

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I think there will be a few
times, I think there was only

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about a 45 minute period
during my shuttle flight,

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we were docked at station for
about ten days but we were

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up there for about 16.

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But we were so busy the whole
time that 45 minute period

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where I got to look
out the window

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and just experience the
joy of zero-gravity other

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than the day to day work.

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So I think there will be more
time on my long-duration flight

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to enjoy that and to
get to be an expert too

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at navigating through
the modules.

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We were very impressed when
we arrived on the shuttle

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with the long-duration
colleagues that greeted us

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as we came over the hatch.

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They were very good at
not running into things,

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and very smoothly
floating about the cabin

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and in complete control
all the time,

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whereas we were still a bit
of like baby deer on ice,

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so looking forward to
being an expert there.

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>> Yeah, I bet.

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And of course the station
is a little bit bigger

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that what it was when
you were there, you --

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your flight was in July of
'09 and the other components

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that were delivered were
not massive modules,

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but certainly have added to
the size since you were there.

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You -- I think you and Chris
are scheduled for a couple

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of space walks right now,
during your expedition?

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>> We are not scheduled
for any right now, the --

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we did train for some
and as always happens

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in space flight you've
got to make a plan,

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but the plan can change on you,

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so those space flights
have moved into the future

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out of our expedition,
however who knows?

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You know we've trained to handle
any contingency that comes

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up on the outside of the space
station, so we're prepared to go

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out there, and we're going
to act as if we are going

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to do a spacewalk, that
is in terms of staying fit

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and keeping our upper bodies
fit, keeping our minds sharp

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for EVA, if we do indeed
need to go out the hatch.

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So we're looking forward to that
and we'll just see what happens.

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You know the Node 3 was
added and the PMM were added

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after I spent my time
on the space station,

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and the Node 3as you
know has the cupola.

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So I can't wait to get out there
and get to look out the cupola.

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00:09:55,956 --> 00:10:00,826
>> Yea, I bet, the -- in
terms of spacewalk training,

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00:10:00,896 --> 00:10:04,076
you made actually a good
point there because I think

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00:10:04,076 --> 00:10:08,216
for shuttle flights you
had a ton of time leading

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up to a shuttle flight to
train for the space walks

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because you knew you were
going to do those space walks,

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00:10:13,466 --> 00:10:15,296
because that was
part of your mission,

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00:10:15,766 --> 00:10:18,846
and now if one gets called
up while you're up there,

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00:10:18,966 --> 00:10:24,146
it's a whole different kind of
training in terms of it's kind

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00:10:24,146 --> 00:10:27,586
of paper training or electronic
training and voice training

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with your EVA team
on the ground.

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But obviously you mentioned
that you guys trained

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00:10:32,706 --> 00:10:38,546
for generic-type space
walks, so if you do get asked

213
00:10:38,546 --> 00:10:42,236
to do a spacewalk it would be
a little bit different in terms

214
00:10:42,536 --> 00:10:46,366
of that experience, but you've
already had EVA training

215
00:10:46,366 --> 00:10:47,846
and so it's got to
help you, right?

216
00:10:48,676 --> 00:10:51,896
>> Oh yeah, yeah that helps,
it makes a huge difference.

217
00:10:51,896 --> 00:10:54,486
There's certain things
that you just cannot get

218
00:10:54,486 --> 00:10:56,316
in your ground-based
training, that you can only get

219
00:10:56,316 --> 00:10:58,786
with the actual experience,
the --

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I would say the three
main things are the view,

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00:11:01,396 --> 00:11:06,366
you can't recreate that on
earth and that does affect you

222
00:11:06,366 --> 00:11:07,226
in the sense that you have

223
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to keep your mind off the
view and on your work.

224
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The temperature changes
are quite intense in space.

225
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You have to adjust your
temperature on the dark side,

226
00:11:15,526 --> 00:11:19,156
I got the chills when I was
on the dark side of the earth

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in the shadow of the
station when we were

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on the light side of the earth.

229
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When I was holding onto a metal
platform for quite a while,

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you start to lose the
feeling in your fingers

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because you get chilled enough.

232
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So learning how to
take care of that,

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00:11:32,896 --> 00:11:35,276
taking care of that early
on, and experiencing

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00:11:35,276 --> 00:11:38,796
that as extra overhead to
your work, that's all part

235
00:11:38,796 --> 00:11:41,386
of the experience of having
done it, which I can apply

236
00:11:41,386 --> 00:11:45,466
to my future space walk, and
then just the overhead of being

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00:11:45,466 --> 00:11:48,876
out there, understanding
the dangers associated

238
00:11:48,876 --> 00:11:50,736
with spacewalk, the
dangers associated

239
00:11:50,736 --> 00:11:54,226
with making sure your safety
tether doesn't get fouled up.

240
00:11:54,396 --> 00:11:56,836
Being cognizant of where
you really are in the vacuum

241
00:11:56,836 --> 00:11:58,876
of space with just your
thin space suit on,

242
00:11:59,336 --> 00:12:02,196
all of those things add up
to the actual experience.

243
00:12:02,466 --> 00:12:07,266
So I think having been out there
does make a big difference.

244
00:12:07,346 --> 00:12:11,146
The astronaut core and the
training teams are well aware

245
00:12:11,146 --> 00:12:15,226
of this issue with the inability
to train for an actual spacewalk

246
00:12:15,226 --> 00:12:17,606
that may occur if something
just suddenly breaks

247
00:12:17,606 --> 00:12:18,596
on the space station.

248
00:12:18,986 --> 00:12:21,576
So for that reason they've
given us generic training,

249
00:12:21,956 --> 00:12:25,476
I'm confident with using any
tool that they ask us to use,

250
00:12:25,476 --> 00:12:28,056
working with any
component that's out there,

251
00:12:28,616 --> 00:12:31,036
so we'll just have
to see what happens.

252
00:12:31,946 --> 00:12:36,476
>> So describe now
as you mentioned

253
00:12:36,476 --> 00:12:39,216
that you guys are getting
ready to head to Baikonur

254
00:12:39,216 --> 00:12:41,816
for your launch in a
couple of weeks, what --

255
00:12:41,816 --> 00:12:44,696
and you guys were just
I guess certified,

256
00:12:44,696 --> 00:12:48,886
maybe that's the wrong word,
but again, approved I guess

257
00:12:48,886 --> 00:12:53,126
as a crew to go, but kind of
lay out your template from now

258
00:12:53,446 --> 00:12:56,276
until launch day on the 19th?

259
00:12:57,416 --> 00:12:59,936
>> Yeah, actually, that is
the word they use, certified,

260
00:12:59,936 --> 00:13:02,796
and they are very clear we are
certified to go into quarantine.

261
00:13:03,236 --> 00:13:06,296
We've got a few more medical
checks before we are certified

262
00:13:06,296 --> 00:13:07,626
for launch, and that
won't happen

263
00:13:07,626 --> 00:13:10,666
until the moment before
we walk out to the pad.

264
00:13:10,666 --> 00:13:13,926
And that's when our
backup crew is off-duty,

265
00:13:13,956 --> 00:13:16,566
they're no longer a back-up
crew when they say goodbye to us

266
00:13:16,566 --> 00:13:18,716
on the Launchpad,
so that's the moment

267
00:13:18,716 --> 00:13:20,596
in which we are absolutely
certified to go.

268
00:13:21,156 --> 00:13:23,826
So but we're going to leave,
you're right, on the sixth,

269
00:13:23,826 --> 00:13:26,346
this Thursday, there's
going to be two weeks

270
00:13:26,496 --> 00:13:29,046
when we are allowed a lot of
administrative time just going

271
00:13:29,046 --> 00:13:31,516
over our notes, reviewing
our flight data file,

272
00:13:31,516 --> 00:13:35,126
our instructions for flying the
Soyuz, I'm going to use the time

273
00:13:35,126 --> 00:13:38,586
to think about moment by moment
what my actions are going to be.

274
00:13:38,986 --> 00:13:40,906
It's like a lot of
things I suppose,

275
00:13:40,906 --> 00:13:43,886
if it starts off well it
seems to go well over time.

276
00:13:43,886 --> 00:13:47,526
So we'll spend some time going
over all the minute details

277
00:13:47,526 --> 00:13:50,206
of our first few days in orbit,

278
00:13:50,206 --> 00:13:54,126
and very importantly
just sending emails

279
00:13:54,126 --> 00:13:55,166
to family and friends.

280
00:13:55,616 --> 00:13:57,296
Family will be allowed
to visit us,

281
00:13:57,326 --> 00:14:00,296
so we'll have some very
poignant and important moments

282
00:14:00,296 --> 00:14:05,356
with my wife and daughter,
and the rest of my family,

283
00:14:05,406 --> 00:14:08,666
while I'm in quarantine,
so be doing that

284
00:14:08,666 --> 00:14:11,386
and otherwise just
staying physically fit

285
00:14:11,526 --> 00:14:12,406
and getting ready to go.

286
00:14:13,156 --> 00:14:16,136
>> Yeah, I was going to
ask you about family,

287
00:14:16,226 --> 00:14:19,706
because that's obviously
a very important part

288
00:14:20,346 --> 00:14:23,186
of you know the job that
you do because it's a kind

289
00:14:23,186 --> 00:14:25,416
of a team effort when you
make decisions and stuff,

290
00:14:25,416 --> 00:14:28,386
and how do you all
talk about you know,

291
00:14:28,386 --> 00:14:31,476
and obviously being an
astronaut is ingrained

292
00:14:31,476 --> 00:14:33,056
in an entire family,

293
00:14:33,216 --> 00:14:35,716
but obviously you don't
make decisions alone.

294
00:14:36,106 --> 00:14:39,846
So how did you all talk about,
"Hey I'm going to be assigned,"

295
00:14:39,846 --> 00:14:42,886
or, "I want to go do this
long-duration flight,

296
00:14:43,006 --> 00:14:44,446
so I'll be gone for
a few months"?

297
00:14:44,996 --> 00:14:46,976
>> Yeah well we, my wife
and I, talked about it

298
00:14:46,976 --> 00:14:50,446
after my shuttle flight, you
know, we started to discuss what

299
00:14:50,446 --> 00:14:52,376
if I were assigned for
a long-duration flight

300
00:14:52,436 --> 00:14:53,996
and how would that impact us?

301
00:14:53,996 --> 00:14:57,466
And we talked about it and
the difficulties of being away

302
00:14:57,606 --> 00:14:59,976
and felt like, you
know, quite frankly,

303
00:14:59,976 --> 00:15:03,576
others have done it before us,
members of the military go away

304
00:15:03,576 --> 00:15:08,546
for that long or longer,
so we felt like it was --

305
00:15:08,546 --> 00:15:10,856
it's important, it's
important for our country.

306
00:15:10,916 --> 00:15:15,296
It's an honor to do it, so we
agreed that if I were asked

307
00:15:15,296 --> 00:15:17,626
that I would go ahead
and enter the training.

308
00:15:18,006 --> 00:15:19,646
As it so happened
after that discussion,

309
00:15:19,646 --> 00:15:22,726
about two weeks later, I
got an email from the Chief

310
00:15:22,726 --> 00:15:25,666
of Astronaut Corps
and the email said,

311
00:15:25,766 --> 00:15:28,356
better get studying
on your Russian!

312
00:15:28,466 --> 00:15:31,196
It was a one-line email and
that was it, and I thought,

313
00:15:31,196 --> 00:15:33,556
"All right, well it looks like
an assignment might be coming

314
00:15:33,556 --> 00:15:35,226
up here pretty soon,"
and I was right.

315
00:15:35,226 --> 00:15:39,526
Early, just a couple more
weeks and I got an assignment.

316
00:15:39,976 --> 00:15:42,846
>> Obviously the one big
announcement that's occurred

317
00:15:43,216 --> 00:15:45,726
in the last couple of
weeks while you guys are

318
00:15:45,836 --> 00:15:47,536
in your final days
of training there

319
00:15:47,536 --> 00:15:50,636
in Star City is this
the one year increment

320
00:15:50,766 --> 00:15:54,516
that has just come
up and I don't know

321
00:15:54,516 --> 00:15:55,706
if you have any thoughts
on that,

322
00:15:55,706 --> 00:15:58,796
obviously being a
medical doctor that --

323
00:15:59,016 --> 00:16:01,886
it's an important step I
would think to transition

324
00:16:01,886 --> 00:16:05,086
from at least on the U.S.
side from the long days

325
00:16:05,086 --> 00:16:07,596
that we've had, which is
maybe on the order of 200

326
00:16:08,096 --> 00:16:10,196
to something more than a year,

327
00:16:10,636 --> 00:16:15,106
as you look toward
possible human travel beyond

328
00:16:15,106 --> 00:16:15,796
low-earth orbit.

329
00:16:16,656 --> 00:16:18,506
>> Oh yeah, you know
it's important

330
00:16:18,506 --> 00:16:22,546
to understand the limits
of what humans can do.

331
00:16:22,546 --> 00:16:23,526
Now, we're also talking

332
00:16:23,526 --> 00:16:28,026
at a cellular level we think
we know the rate of atrophy

333
00:16:28,026 --> 00:16:30,786
of muscle, bone, nerve,
cardiovascular system,

334
00:16:31,306 --> 00:16:33,396
but we've only had very
few people be up in space

335
00:16:33,396 --> 00:16:36,916
for that long a time, more
data is better in that regard.

336
00:16:37,356 --> 00:16:40,226
But I think very
importantly we need

337
00:16:40,226 --> 00:16:42,296
to understand what we
don't even know yet,

338
00:16:42,296 --> 00:16:43,576
what we don't know is a problem.

339
00:16:43,986 --> 00:16:46,116
You may have heard about
the eyesight problems

340
00:16:46,116 --> 00:16:47,716
that are coming up
potentially due

341
00:16:47,716 --> 00:16:50,756
to increased intracranial
pressure around --

342
00:16:50,756 --> 00:16:53,096
in the fluid around
the brain that goes up.

343
00:16:53,656 --> 00:16:54,686
We never would have known

344
00:16:54,686 --> 00:16:58,126
that that was an issue unless
we continued to fly people

345
00:16:58,126 --> 00:17:01,206
on long-duration flight, and now
we know it's a pretty big deal,

346
00:17:01,206 --> 00:17:03,316
and we need to figure out what's
going on there, it's important

347
00:17:03,316 --> 00:17:06,166
for exploration, and so who
knows what we're going to find

348
00:17:06,166 --> 00:17:07,476
out on this one-year mission?

349
00:17:08,076 --> 00:17:11,756
Hopefully we'll find out that
humans are just as robust

350
00:17:11,756 --> 00:17:15,176
as we think they are, and
it'll certainly be interesting

351
00:17:15,176 --> 00:17:16,996
from a scientific standpoint.

352
00:17:17,296 --> 00:17:21,046
>> Well the, you know on a
lighter note, obviously you're

353
00:17:21,046 --> 00:17:24,096
up there obviously performing
all these experiments

354
00:17:24,096 --> 00:17:27,966
and studying the human body
for long duration stays

355
00:17:27,966 --> 00:17:31,716
and all that, but there's also
downtime, and I know in your bio

356
00:17:31,716 --> 00:17:34,086
that it does mention that
you like playing the guitar

357
00:17:34,086 --> 00:17:37,136
and we all know that Chis
Hatfield obviously does,

358
00:17:37,136 --> 00:17:40,416
so are you guys planning
on any concerts up there?

359
00:17:41,376 --> 00:17:43,406
>> Yeah, you know, we play
different styles of music,

360
00:17:43,406 --> 00:17:46,586
I'm a -- I'm not a singer,
I'm a classical guitarist

361
00:17:46,586 --> 00:17:50,016
and Chris is a great performer
and singer and guitarist,

362
00:17:50,406 --> 00:17:54,646
so our different styles may very
well come together up there,

363
00:17:54,876 --> 00:17:57,136
I would like to contribute
to some musical pieces.

364
00:17:57,136 --> 00:17:58,296
You know, we'll see.

365
00:17:58,396 --> 00:18:00,746
If he's got the time, I'm
sure I would enjoy it.

366
00:18:00,976 --> 00:18:05,316
I think there is one guitar only
up there, so I'll have to lay

367
00:18:05,316 --> 00:18:07,096
down tracks or figure
out something

368
00:18:07,096 --> 00:18:09,056
because we can't both
play at the same time

369
00:18:09,056 --> 00:18:10,756
or maybe I'll figure
out drums or something.

370
00:18:11,246 --> 00:18:14,396
But I've got a number of things
I'm going to be working on;

371
00:18:14,396 --> 00:18:15,586
I'm going to be keeping
a journal.

372
00:18:15,776 --> 00:18:17,666
I think Chris will be
the music man up there,

373
00:18:17,666 --> 00:18:19,676
but if I can help
out then I'd love to.

374
00:18:20,656 --> 00:18:21,506
>> Well, that's great.

375
00:18:21,586 --> 00:18:25,426
It's obviously one thing about
life in space, it's the same

376
00:18:25,426 --> 00:18:28,226
as on the ground in that you
do have to balance your life,

377
00:18:28,426 --> 00:18:31,966
and we're really looking forward
to you guys getting up there

378
00:18:31,966 --> 00:18:34,516
and joining Kevin,
Oleg and Evgeny

379
00:18:35,286 --> 00:18:38,796
and really appreciate you
taking time to talk to us here

380
00:18:38,796 --> 00:18:41,606
in mission control
for a few minutes

381
00:18:41,606 --> 00:18:44,386
and we're looking forward
to your launch on the 19th.

382
00:18:44,386 --> 00:18:46,716
Thanks a lot for
joining us, Tom.

383
00:18:46,716 --> 00:18:48,246
>> I enjoyed, it,
thanks very much.

384
00:18:48,386 --> 00:18:48,946
Appreciate it.