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okay

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yes

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is

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okay

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[Music]

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good afternoon welcome to nasa's johnson

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space center we're so excited that

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you're here today and we are so excited

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to be joined by nasa astronaut christina

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cook christina just returned from a

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328-day mission aboard the international

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space station the longest mission ever

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by a woman for a single space flight and

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she just got back to earth last thursday

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she's here with us today to answer your

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questions first off christina is there

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anything you'd like to share

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well first off thanks to everyone who is

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here thank you for your interest in

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telling the story it's been my honor to

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be a part of it and i can tell you that

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after 328 days in space the first six

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days back on earth were full of just as

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much wonder and excitement so we all

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live on a great planet and it's great to

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be back nice to be with you today

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thank you i know you have a lot of

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questions for christina so we'll get

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right to it we'll take questions here in

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the room on the phone

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and then

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on social media so if you're on the

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phone and you have a question please

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press star one to ask your question and

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star too to withdraw your question if

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it's already been answered on social

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media you can ask questions using

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ask nasa all right we'll start here in

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the room please raise your hand if you

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have a question and when i call on you

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state your name and affiliate and wait

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for the mic to get to you all right we

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hi uh sharon minchow khou houston so

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what's the first thing you did once you

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were free to do something outside of

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nasa constraints and what's your most uh

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vivid memory that you take away from

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your time on the iss

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well the first thing that i did after i

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went home was to reunite with my dog

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which was wonderful it was she was very

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excited and then we took a family trip

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to the beach so got to take in some of

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the sights sounds and you know feelings

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of just being back near the ocean and

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some of those things that i miss so much

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while in space it's almost

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impossible to pick just one moment there

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were so many overwhelming moments but

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the one that really comes to mind is the

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first moment that i arrived at the space

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station having learned about the space

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station for so many years having it you

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know regarding it is this amazing place

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where we're doing awesome science to

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benefit the earth the one of a kind

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laboratory and to see that it was really

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real to sort of meet my new home for the

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next year was an incredible feeling it

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was like something that had been

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discussed and trained on for so many

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years was actually come to life and not

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only that but i got to float around in

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that place and that will just be

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something i'll never forget

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all right mark

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oh thank you mark caro with aviation

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week in space technology

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i'm wondering what advice you might

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offer to someone preparing for their

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first long duration

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mission based on your experience to help

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them prepare mentally physically

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whatever you think would

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be at the top of the list thank you

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you know that's a great question because

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it's something i haven't really thought

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a lot about i've thought a lot about

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what i would tell future space explorers

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in general but the long duration aspects

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of the mission i was fortunate i had

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some people that mentored me and they

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got in touch with me and gave me some

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advice scott kelly peggy whitson and a

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lot of their advice was pace yourself do

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the things that you love make sure that

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you're in it for the long haul we have a

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saying here that we say it's a marathon

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not a sprint and we used to say it's an

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ultra marathon not a marathon for my

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time up there and that is really true

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taking it one day at a time making sure

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that you recognize that even though

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there will be times when it feels like

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time is passing slowly your your time up

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there is special one thing that i

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learned during both deployments in

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antarctica and on the space station was

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to constantly focus on the things you

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have that you'll never have again rather

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than the things you don't have and i

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think that's a lesson in life that can

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be helpful and it definitely helps up

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there for a long duration and it helps

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you to recognize every day how special

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what you have is which then in turn

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makes you feel like you need to bring

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your best to sort of meet that every

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single day and that's really what it's

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about thinking about how you can give

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back every day rather than what you're

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missing out on

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all right robert and then we'll go over

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here

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hi robert perelman with

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collectspace.comspace.com

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i'm wondering if there was a point into

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the mission that

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that the international space station

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stopped feeling like a place that you

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were working with a cot set up in the

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corner or um or that you were on an

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expedition but that it actually felt

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like home and then on the flip side

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coming home

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and you having to pack to come home i

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know you can't take a lot of stuff on

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the soyuz but as you were emptying your

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your living space did you find that you

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had scrolled away things over that 328

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days

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and was there anything that you

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particularly did want to bring back to

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earth

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well there definitely was a point at

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which it started to feel like home and

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that actually came pretty quickly into

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the mission i would say only about three

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months in is where i started to sort of

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feel at home there the different things

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that we do throughout our daily life

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seem normal to me you know

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not using a cup to have a drink of water

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and filling up food packets and things

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like that so all of that really started

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to feel normal even floating i jokingly

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say that i kind of forgot i was floating

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until a new crew would come and they

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would be so excited about floating i

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would think well guess we are floating

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aren't we

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so it was really neat to see that

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transition

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um in terms of packing it's true when

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you live somewhere for a year you find

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that you have things in every nook and

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cranny so about a month before i started

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to come back i started to sort of draw

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in my footprint on the space station and

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sort of things i had scrolled away in

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the galley for you know my favorite

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little tidbits for a meal i started sort

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of getting rid of those and recognizing

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okay i may not need that for the next

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month and pretty soon towards the end of

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the time it was ready to go i had

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everything packed up we'd take very very

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little on the soyuz like you mentioned

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so everything else kind of went back and

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what would be the equivalent of about a

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shoebox size and that was really enough

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to kind of carry it all the most

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important things to me that i brought to

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space were things for my friends and

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family mementos that they can take with

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them and remember that i carried them

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with me and that they lived without them

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for a year while they were sort of you

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know in my

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in my care and orbiting earth so

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bringing that those things back was

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probably my number one most important

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thing

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erica simon with abc13

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first and foremost how are you feeling

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like just kind of mentally and

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physically and then i have a fun

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question you mentioned chips and salsa

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from galveston can you let us in on

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where this

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lovely place is that you like chips and

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salsas from

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well

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for the first question i feel great i'm

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really fortunate a lot of people because

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of the different neuro vestibular system

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things and changes that go on for

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microgravity when you're re-adapting to

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one g into earth you might experience

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emotion sickness and things like that

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i'm really fortunate in that i have not

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experienced that but what i have noticed

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is that my balance has taken a little

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while to get used to so the physical act

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of walking was something to get used to

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but i'm feeling great i think just the

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all of the new things that i'm

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experiencing sort of you you see your

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mind wake up to the sensory experiences

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that define earth and the things that

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are here you know within the first two

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minutes of being back on earth i saw

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more people's faces than i had seen in a

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year so that was really exciting and

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it's just fun to interact with people

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again

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chips and salsa no particular brand or

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place i was really lucky because i had a

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couple people provide gifts so i came

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home to a kitchen full of chips and

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salsa which was really exciting even

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some homemade salsa from some of my

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neighbor's friends so it was really neat

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to see that people had kind of honed in

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on that and that you know the little

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things in life on earth that we all take

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for granted were kind of the special

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andy sirota with kprc

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this is a significant moment in in

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history in all seriousness and there are

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going to be a lot of young ladies out

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there who are going to look up to you

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from this point

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forward and say you know what i want to

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be you someday i want to go further

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someday what do you say to this next

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generation of

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female space explorers

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well it is a great honor to know that

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that may be the case and i've always

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said about any record that you set that

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my biggest hope is that it's exceeded as

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soon as possible that means we're

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pushing the boundaries more people are

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living to up to their dreams and their

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potential so my main message to anyone

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who has a dream is to follow your

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passions be true to yourself do what you

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love and live the life that you've

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imagined for yourself and then a couple

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things i like to throw in on that is do

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what scares you do the things that might

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feel like they're just out of your reach

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they're intriguing you they're drawing

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you in but you don't know for sure if

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you can do it go after that thing not

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only will you maximally impact the world

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but you'll get the most personal

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fulfillment out of it and use that as a

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springboard to just keep doing the same

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thing and then i also say support the

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people around you when we all care about

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everyone's well-being that everyone is

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pursuing the dreams that are important

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to them we rise to whatever occasion is

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before us and we do so as a group and

277
00:15:21,509 --> 00:15:18,800
again it's the way we can give back

278
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maximal to the world and to

279
00:15:24,949 --> 00:15:23,680
you know relive our own potential to the

280
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max so

281
00:15:29,110 --> 00:15:27,120
that's my message to everyone and then

282
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you know i just feel like i also owe so

283
00:15:33,749 --> 00:15:31,279
much that so much to the people that

284
00:15:35,829 --> 00:15:33,759
inspired me back in the day to to get to

285
00:15:37,269 --> 00:15:35,839
where i am so if any if there's any way

286
00:15:39,030 --> 00:15:37,279
i can feed that forward to the next

287
00:15:40,550 --> 00:15:39,040
generation it's really an honor to do

288
00:15:42,790 --> 00:15:40,560
that

289
00:15:52,829 --> 00:15:42,800
great question okay we'll take a few on

290
00:16:00,069 --> 00:15:55,110
peeler hello

291
00:16:04,150 --> 00:16:02,230
senior nc state flag up there and your

292
00:16:05,670 --> 00:16:04,160
school of science and math can you talk

293
00:16:07,430 --> 00:16:05,680
about some of the experiences that you

294
00:16:09,509 --> 00:16:07,440
had at the space station that might have

295
00:16:11,509 --> 00:16:09,519
made you think back to nc state back to

296
00:16:14,150 --> 00:16:11,519
your the fears you might have had as a

297
00:16:16,069 --> 00:16:14,160
student experiments anything like that

298
00:16:17,749 --> 00:16:16,079
definitely so many things i think we

299
00:16:19,829 --> 00:16:17,759
relate back to that special period in

300
00:16:21,670 --> 00:16:19,839
our lives going away to college finding

301
00:16:22,949 --> 00:16:21,680
you know new discoveries learning things

302
00:16:25,350 --> 00:16:22,959
about ourselves learning things about

303
00:16:26,629 --> 00:16:25,360
the world around us so it was almost a

304
00:16:28,470 --> 00:16:26,639
constant

305
00:16:30,389 --> 00:16:28,480
experience of reliving some of those

306
00:16:32,470 --> 00:16:30,399
things in particular one thing that

307
00:16:33,990 --> 00:16:32,480
comes to mind is nc state is the place

308
00:16:36,230 --> 00:16:34,000
where i learned to rock climb and where

309
00:16:38,230 --> 00:16:36,240
i started pursuing that as a hobby and

310
00:16:40,389 --> 00:16:38,240
that particular hobby has just lent

311
00:16:42,470 --> 00:16:40,399
itself so well to some of the challenges

312
00:16:44,790 --> 00:16:42,480
that i've faced in learning how to

313
00:16:46,629 --> 00:16:44,800
become an astronaut and mainly just that

314
00:16:48,389 --> 00:16:46,639
you can achieve things that seem

315
00:16:49,910 --> 00:16:48,399
unachievable at first and that you can

316
00:16:52,150 --> 00:16:49,920
believe in yourself and the teamwork

317
00:16:53,749 --> 00:16:52,160
aspects of that so i constantly relied

318
00:16:55,670 --> 00:16:53,759
on that there are some really neat

319
00:16:58,150 --> 00:16:55,680
parallels as well to spacewalking and

320
00:16:59,990 --> 00:16:58,160
rock climbing so nc state is where i

321
00:17:01,829 --> 00:17:00,000
discovered that great hobby of mine and

322
00:17:04,230 --> 00:17:01,839
then the teamwork that it took to do a

323
00:17:05,669 --> 00:17:04,240
lot of the projects that i took on as a

324
00:17:07,750 --> 00:17:05,679
physics student an electrical

325
00:17:09,669 --> 00:17:07,760
engineering student and you know working

326
00:17:12,230 --> 00:17:09,679
together on a team of people to achieve

327
00:17:14,470 --> 00:17:12,240
a common purpose and a common goal was

328
00:17:16,549 --> 00:17:14,480
something that i relied on a lot so a

329
00:17:18,309 --> 00:17:16,559
lot of life lessons there

330
00:17:20,789 --> 00:17:18,319
did you do your first rock climbing at

331
00:17:23,029 --> 00:17:20,799
the carmichael gym and or where else did

332
00:17:24,710 --> 00:17:23,039
you go for that of course i did and then

333
00:17:26,870 --> 00:17:24,720
you know we had our field trip out at

334
00:17:29,990 --> 00:17:26,880
stone mountain so lots of north carolina

335
00:17:34,870 --> 00:17:33,029
all right sarah grimmer

336
00:17:37,510 --> 00:17:34,880
yes this is

337
00:17:39,270 --> 00:17:37,520
grand rapids in westminster

338
00:17:40,950 --> 00:17:39,280
you know christina kids all over the

339
00:17:43,190 --> 00:17:40,960
world are looking up to you right now

340
00:17:44,950 --> 00:17:43,200
obviously and especially kids in your

341
00:17:46,950 --> 00:17:44,960
hometown of grand rapids and west

342
00:17:49,029 --> 00:17:46,960
michigan could you speak a little bit

343
00:17:51,190 --> 00:17:49,039
about your upbringing in west michigan

344
00:17:53,909 --> 00:17:51,200
and some encouragement for those kids

345
00:17:55,750 --> 00:17:53,919
absolutely i found that the spirit of

346
00:17:57,510 --> 00:17:55,760
hard work and taking care of each other

347
00:17:59,350 --> 00:17:57,520
and caring about each other that was you

348
00:18:00,870 --> 00:17:59,360
know given to me from the time i was

349
00:18:02,710 --> 00:18:00,880
very young from the people of west

350
00:18:05,590 --> 00:18:02,720
michigan and my family there that are

351
00:18:07,430 --> 00:18:05,600
farmers was completely instrumental in

352
00:18:08,950 --> 00:18:07,440
me getting to where i am today i worked

353
00:18:11,110 --> 00:18:08,960
in the fields with my grandparents and

354
00:18:12,950 --> 00:18:11,120
my uncles and you know some of the life

355
00:18:14,630 --> 00:18:12,960
lessons they taught me the grit that i

356
00:18:17,110 --> 00:18:14,640
learned from how hard that they worked

357
00:18:19,590 --> 00:18:17,120
and the idea of just constantly giving

358
00:18:21,990 --> 00:18:19,600
and you know looking at each day as an

359
00:18:23,190 --> 00:18:22,000
opportunity to do as much as you can for

360
00:18:25,110 --> 00:18:23,200
the people around you and for the

361
00:18:27,669 --> 00:18:25,120
community around you i think some of

362
00:18:29,590 --> 00:18:27,679
those kind of moral

363
00:18:31,750 --> 00:18:29,600
you know lighthouses that i learned from

364
00:18:33,190 --> 00:18:31,760
the time i was young in grand rapids and

365
00:18:34,950 --> 00:18:33,200
in you know north of grand rapids and

366
00:18:36,470 --> 00:18:34,960
some of the farming areas there will

367
00:18:39,190 --> 00:18:36,480
just stay with me forever and i

368
00:18:41,590 --> 00:18:39,200
constantly rely on them

369
00:18:46,549 --> 00:18:41,600
awesome thank you so much

370
00:18:49,590 --> 00:18:47,350
um

371
00:18:51,909 --> 00:18:49,600
scott kelly told us after his one-year

372
00:18:54,230 --> 00:18:51,919
mission that he he had aching muscles

373
00:18:56,230 --> 00:18:54,240
and joints burning skin sore feet and

374
00:18:57,510 --> 00:18:56,240
i'm wondering if you experienced any of

375
00:19:00,470 --> 00:18:57,520
that even

376
00:19:02,710 --> 00:19:00,480
fleetingly after a touchdown and then i

377
00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:02,720
had a follow-up

378
00:19:06,310 --> 00:19:04,720
well i have been lucky and that i

379
00:19:08,070 --> 00:19:06,320
haven't experienced all of those things

380
00:19:09,909 --> 00:19:08,080
you know a little bit of muscle aching

381
00:19:11,430 --> 00:19:09,919
is definitely going to be across the

382
00:19:12,789 --> 00:19:11,440
board something that you experience when

383
00:19:14,789 --> 00:19:12,799
you have to use new muscles that you

384
00:19:16,150 --> 00:19:14,799
haven't learned to use in you know

385
00:19:17,990 --> 00:19:16,160
however long you've been in microgravity

386
00:19:19,430 --> 00:19:18,000
whether in in some ways even just a

387
00:19:20,950 --> 00:19:19,440
normal duration

388
00:19:22,870 --> 00:19:20,960
iss mission

389
00:19:24,549 --> 00:19:22,880
we have great countermeasures so that we

390
00:19:26,150 --> 00:19:24,559
don't lose a lot of our bone and muscle

391
00:19:28,470 --> 00:19:26,160
mass like we may have done you know in

392
00:19:30,789 --> 00:19:28,480
decades past when we do long duration

393
00:19:32,549 --> 00:19:30,799
but some of those fine stabilization

394
00:19:34,630 --> 00:19:32,559
muscles that you use just to do simple

395
00:19:36,230 --> 00:19:34,640
things like walking we have lost so i do

396
00:19:37,669 --> 00:19:36,240
notice little you know discovering

397
00:19:39,190 --> 00:19:37,679
muscles i haven't felt in a while and

398
00:19:40,950 --> 00:19:39,200
things like that i haven't really had

399
00:19:42,870 --> 00:19:40,960
the sore feet but i did notice for about

400
00:19:44,630 --> 00:19:42,880
a day i had my neck with sore and i felt

401
00:19:46,390 --> 00:19:44,640
like a two week old that i you know was

402
00:19:47,590 --> 00:19:46,400
actually working hard to hold up my own

403
00:19:49,190 --> 00:19:47,600
head

404
00:19:51,270 --> 00:19:49,200
but no i've been very fortunate it's

405
00:19:52,870 --> 00:19:51,280
been a pretty easy transition back and i

406
00:19:54,950 --> 00:19:52,880
have great teams that make sure that

407
00:19:56,630 --> 00:19:54,960
that happens

408
00:19:58,950 --> 00:19:56,640
and i'm wondering what day did you

409
00:20:00,789 --> 00:19:58,960
finally get to the beach did you manage

410
00:20:02,710 --> 00:20:00,799
to take a swim or is that like not

411
00:20:04,390 --> 00:20:02,720
allowed yet and i'd like to hear more

412
00:20:05,990 --> 00:20:04,400
about your dog what kind of dog do you

413
00:20:08,789 --> 00:20:06,000
have and what's her name and she must

414
00:20:10,630 --> 00:20:08,799
have been really excited to see you

415
00:20:12,630 --> 00:20:10,640
i was able to make it to the beach on

416
00:20:14,070 --> 00:20:12,640
sunday and i think my athletic trainer

417
00:20:15,590 --> 00:20:14,080
knew that that was a big goal of mine

418
00:20:16,950 --> 00:20:15,600
because she kind of kept pushing me and

419
00:20:18,950 --> 00:20:16,960
saying i think if you can get this done

420
00:20:20,789 --> 00:20:18,960
i'll clear you to walk on the beach so

421
00:20:22,630 --> 00:20:20,799
she knew that was a big motivation for

422
00:20:25,190 --> 00:20:22,640
me

423
00:20:27,350 --> 00:20:25,200
my dog is we call her lbd little brown

424
00:20:29,270 --> 00:20:27,360
dog she's from the humane society and

425
00:20:31,190 --> 00:20:29,280
she couldn't be sweeter and yes she was

426
00:20:32,870 --> 00:20:31,200
very excited i was very excited i'm not

427
00:20:33,669 --> 00:20:32,880
sure who was more excited to see the

428
00:20:35,669 --> 00:20:33,679
other

429
00:20:37,430 --> 00:20:35,679
but luckily we have it all we have

430
00:20:38,710 --> 00:20:37,440
footage of the whole thing so i'm really

431
00:20:40,070 --> 00:20:38,720
happy that

432
00:20:41,990 --> 00:20:40,080
you know it's just a symbol of coming

433
00:20:46,630 --> 00:20:42,000
back to the the people and places that

434
00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:51,830
all right john cross

435
00:20:55,510 --> 00:20:53,909
uh jim breidenstein has said that the

436
00:20:58,470 --> 00:20:55,520
first woman on the moon is already in

437
00:21:00,149 --> 00:20:58,480
the astronaut office and will have had

438
00:21:02,870 --> 00:21:00,159
space flight spaceflight experience

439
00:21:05,029 --> 00:21:02,880
aboard the iss you spent more time there

440
00:21:06,789 --> 00:21:05,039
than any other female astronaut uh what

441
00:21:08,710 --> 00:21:06,799
are your thoughts about artemis and the

442
00:21:10,390 --> 00:21:08,720
possibility of becoming or at least

443
00:21:12,789 --> 00:21:10,400
walking on the moon or the possibility

444
00:21:15,110 --> 00:21:12,799
of being the first woman on the moon

445
00:21:16,870 --> 00:21:15,120
well it is certainly a very exciting

446
00:21:19,350 --> 00:21:16,880
time to be part of the

447
00:21:21,270 --> 00:21:19,360
nasa um you know family when we are

448
00:21:23,110 --> 00:21:21,280
looking to go back to the moon to go in

449
00:21:25,270 --> 00:21:23,120
a different way to go to stay to go you

450
00:21:27,110 --> 00:21:25,280
know for all and by all so it's a

451
00:21:29,350 --> 00:21:27,120
privilege to be here at this time of

452
00:21:31,110 --> 00:21:29,360
course me or anyone in our office would

453
00:21:33,190 --> 00:21:31,120
be honored beyond measure to be a part

454
00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:33,200
of that mission and to you know again

455
00:21:36,950 --> 00:21:35,200
carry people's dreams even farther into

456
00:21:39,430 --> 00:21:36,960
space exploration to contribute to

457
00:21:41,190 --> 00:21:39,440
future missions to go even deeper so i

458
00:21:43,510 --> 00:21:41,200
like to say that i'm just excited that

459
00:21:45,190 --> 00:21:43,520
i'll probably know the first woman and

460
00:21:47,510 --> 00:21:45,200
the next man to walk on the surface of

461
00:21:49,669 --> 00:21:47,520
the moon but any of us would be ready

462
00:21:52,870 --> 00:21:49,679
and honored to accept that mission if it

463
00:21:54,950 --> 00:21:52,880
were offered to us

464
00:21:58,070 --> 00:21:54,960
all right

465
00:22:00,390 --> 00:21:58,080
elizabeth howell

466
00:22:01,909 --> 00:22:00,400
gina congratulations i'm interested in

467
00:22:03,669 --> 00:22:01,919
learning about how you managed your

468
00:22:05,110 --> 00:22:03,679
mental health during your mission so as

469
00:22:06,789 --> 00:22:05,120
far as you feel comfortable speaking

470
00:22:08,070 --> 00:22:06,799
about it um how did you take care of

471
00:22:09,350 --> 00:22:08,080
yourself and what challenges did you

472
00:22:11,430 --> 00:22:09,360
face

473
00:22:13,669 --> 00:22:11,440
well for me it was really just about the

474
00:22:15,669 --> 00:22:13,679
kind of the the mental cheerleading that

475
00:22:17,270 --> 00:22:15,679
you do to yourself i use i always say

476
00:22:19,270 --> 00:22:17,280
like put something on repeat in your

477
00:22:20,950 --> 00:22:19,280
head that's going to be constructive so

478
00:22:22,310 --> 00:22:20,960
don't ever think over and over again

479
00:22:24,470 --> 00:22:22,320
about something that brings you down

480
00:22:26,390 --> 00:22:24,480
make sure to put something um you know

481
00:22:28,149 --> 00:22:26,400
in your mental space that that brings

482
00:22:29,830 --> 00:22:28,159
you up and for me that was always

483
00:22:31,830 --> 00:22:29,840
focusing on what i had and not the

484
00:22:33,990 --> 00:22:31,840
things i didn't have focusing on the

485
00:22:35,669 --> 00:22:34,000
unique aspects of my life that one day i

486
00:22:37,510 --> 00:22:35,679
would just wish i could have back for a

487
00:22:39,270 --> 00:22:37,520
second and every time you think about it

488
00:22:40,870 --> 00:22:39,280
from that perspective you're done

489
00:22:42,549 --> 00:22:40,880
feeling you know like you miss home

490
00:22:44,230 --> 00:22:42,559
you're just ready to take on the day

491
00:22:46,390 --> 00:22:44,240
you're ready to remember that because

492
00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:46,400
this is so so special you have to kind

493
00:22:51,350 --> 00:22:49,200
of meet that with an equally high level

494
00:22:53,430 --> 00:22:51,360
of engagement and you know your own

495
00:22:56,070 --> 00:22:53,440
personal best so really just thinking

496
00:22:58,390 --> 00:22:56,080
about it in that light i didn't have too

497
00:22:59,510 --> 00:22:58,400
much too many struggles thinking about

498
00:23:01,350 --> 00:22:59,520
you know the

499
00:23:03,510 --> 00:23:01,360
the months dragged on or anything like

500
00:23:07,029 --> 00:23:03,520
that i just made sure to appreciate

501
00:23:07,039 --> 00:23:11,590
all right russell pounds

502
00:23:15,110 --> 00:23:13,350
hi my name is russell pounds with

503
00:23:16,470 --> 00:23:15,120
pacific rim media in alaska hello

504
00:23:18,789 --> 00:23:16,480
christina

505
00:23:21,029 --> 00:23:18,799
hello great to be with you

506
00:23:22,870 --> 00:23:21,039
great say what experiment do you think

507
00:23:24,710 --> 00:23:22,880
those of us back on earth would be most

508
00:23:26,630 --> 00:23:24,720
surprised to learn about and the

509
00:23:29,590 --> 00:23:26,640
follow-up if if you were to design your

510
00:23:32,070 --> 00:23:29,600
own what would you explore

511
00:23:33,909 --> 00:23:32,080
both great questions i think that some

512
00:23:36,390 --> 00:23:33,919
people are interested to learn that one

513
00:23:37,909 --> 00:23:36,400
of the things that we study in space

514
00:23:39,590 --> 00:23:37,919
is actually something that's so

515
00:23:41,190 --> 00:23:39,600
applicable on earth that you almost

516
00:23:43,909 --> 00:23:41,200
wouldn't imagine it and that is

517
00:23:46,070 --> 00:23:43,919
pharmaceutical development there are you

518
00:23:48,070 --> 00:23:46,080
know how i like to think about it as to

519
00:23:49,990 --> 00:23:48,080
unlock some of these diseases that we

520
00:23:51,909 --> 00:23:50,000
all are looking for a cure for here on

521
00:23:53,990 --> 00:23:51,919
earth often we have to understand the

522
00:23:56,549 --> 00:23:54,000
structure of the proteins that actually

523
00:23:59,029 --> 00:23:56,559
are you know enable those those diseases

524
00:24:00,870 --> 00:23:59,039
and sometimes those protein crystals

525
00:24:02,710 --> 00:24:00,880
don't grow as well on earth so if we

526
00:24:04,630 --> 00:24:02,720
grow them in microgravity we have a leg

527
00:24:06,950 --> 00:24:04,640
up on understanding their structure and

528
00:24:08,710 --> 00:24:06,960
then a leg up on you know learning about

529
00:24:10,710 --> 00:24:08,720
the medications that we can develop to

530
00:24:12,789 --> 00:24:10,720
fight those things and so it's just an

531
00:24:15,350 --> 00:24:12,799
amazing thing that something that's so

532
00:24:17,269 --> 00:24:15,360
applicable so tangible in our lives can

533
00:24:18,870 --> 00:24:17,279
be best looked at and studied in

534
00:24:20,710 --> 00:24:18,880
microgravity

535
00:24:22,310 --> 00:24:20,720
honestly all the experiments that

536
00:24:24,390 --> 00:24:22,320
they're doing up there are kind of the

537
00:24:26,390 --> 00:24:24,400
things that i am naturally drawn to as

538
00:24:27,909 --> 00:24:26,400
well i'm a electrical engineer and

539
00:24:29,830 --> 00:24:27,919
physicist so i love that there's a lot

540
00:24:32,149 --> 00:24:29,840
of physical science things i also love

541
00:24:34,310 --> 00:24:32,159
computer programming so i like the idea

542
00:24:35,830 --> 00:24:34,320
that in microgravity we can study things

543
00:24:39,029 --> 00:24:35,840
without what we might consider the

544
00:24:41,190 --> 00:24:39,039
boundary conditions of my of 1g

545
00:24:42,950 --> 00:24:41,200
you know things like capillary action

546
00:24:44,549 --> 00:24:42,960
things that really allow us and the

547
00:24:47,029 --> 00:24:44,559
people investigating those things to

548
00:24:48,630 --> 00:24:47,039
kind of gain an edge in the industrial

549
00:24:50,950 --> 00:24:48,640
environment we're really pushing the

550
00:24:53,269 --> 00:24:50,960
limits of how we can be efficient in

551
00:24:56,870 --> 00:24:53,279
manufacturing and things like that so i

552
00:24:58,310 --> 00:24:56,880
kind of love those experiments as well

553
00:25:00,710 --> 00:24:58,320
that's great you look good with the

554
00:25:03,029 --> 00:25:00,720
cookies too can't complain about the

555
00:25:04,390 --> 00:25:03,039
cookies

556
00:25:07,909 --> 00:25:04,400
all right next

557
00:25:11,590 --> 00:25:09,669
uh yeah hi christina i'm calling from

558
00:25:13,830 --> 00:25:11,600
kalamazoo michigan so another west

559
00:25:15,750 --> 00:25:13,840
michigan native here i'm actually a

560
00:25:18,870 --> 00:25:15,760
meteorologist at one of the local

561
00:25:20,789 --> 00:25:18,880
stations here and you know i just was

562
00:25:23,350 --> 00:25:20,799
blown away by so many of the cool

563
00:25:25,029 --> 00:25:23,360
weather photos that you shared you know

564
00:25:27,510 --> 00:25:25,039
i think that come to mind hurricane

565
00:25:29,110 --> 00:25:27,520
dorian or the wildfires out in australia

566
00:25:31,990 --> 00:25:29,120
i'm just wondering if there was one

567
00:25:36,230 --> 00:25:32,000
specific type of weather that was the

568
00:25:38,870 --> 00:25:36,240
most jaw-dropping to view from space

569
00:25:40,710 --> 00:25:38,880
hands down it's got to be the clouds i

570
00:25:42,549 --> 00:25:40,720
always you know had seen clouds from the

571
00:25:45,269 --> 00:25:42,559
vantage of an airplane or something like

572
00:25:47,590 --> 00:25:45,279
that and had no idea that on a planetary

573
00:25:49,909 --> 00:25:47,600
scale there could be so many patterns so

574
00:25:51,590 --> 00:25:49,919
many things that you know you can see on

575
00:25:53,430 --> 00:25:51,600
literally

576
00:25:56,149 --> 00:25:53,440
a planetary scale

577
00:25:57,909 --> 00:25:56,159
one really neat thing was vortices that

578
00:26:00,870 --> 00:25:57,919
form and so you can actually see like a

579
00:26:03,190 --> 00:26:00,880
wave pattern in some of the clouds when

580
00:26:05,110 --> 00:26:03,200
the winds go over certain islands and

581
00:26:06,789 --> 00:26:05,120
things like that so recognizing that

582
00:26:08,630 --> 00:26:06,799
little things that we might be familiar

583
00:26:10,470 --> 00:26:08,640
with from say studying a wind tunnel or

584
00:26:13,029 --> 00:26:10,480
something like that also take place on

585
00:26:14,710 --> 00:26:13,039
these gigantic scales and then that in

586
00:26:16,549 --> 00:26:14,720
turn helps you understand that some of

587
00:26:17,909 --> 00:26:16,559
these planetary processes that we're

588
00:26:19,590 --> 00:26:17,919
learning to understand to try and

589
00:26:21,430 --> 00:26:19,600
understand and develop policies for

590
00:26:23,110 --> 00:26:21,440
things like climate change are so

591
00:26:25,110 --> 00:26:23,120
important because there really is a

592
00:26:26,710 --> 00:26:25,120
whole other scale that we don't see from

593
00:26:28,310 --> 00:26:26,720
our perspective down here that you do

594
00:26:30,310 --> 00:26:28,320
see from up there this is really

595
00:26:32,710 --> 00:26:30,320
phenomenal

596
00:26:37,190 --> 00:26:32,720
awesome thank you so much

597
00:26:41,590 --> 00:26:39,110
hi christina this is lindsay with wood

598
00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:41,600
tv also in west michigan based in grand

599
00:26:45,750 --> 00:26:43,760
rapids and in following your journey i

600
00:26:47,830 --> 00:26:45,760
saw that this isn't something you wanted

601
00:26:50,230 --> 00:26:47,840
to accomplish since you were five years

602
00:26:52,470 --> 00:26:50,240
old so one thing i'd love to know is if

603
00:26:54,870 --> 00:26:52,480
you could go back and talk to yourself

604
00:26:56,630 --> 00:26:54,880
as that five-year-old who was so

605
00:26:59,029 --> 00:26:56,640
confident in becoming an astronaut what

606
00:27:01,430 --> 00:26:59,039
would you have to say to her

607
00:27:03,269 --> 00:27:01,440
well i first of all the five-year-old me

608
00:27:05,029 --> 00:27:03,279
was not necessarily confident that i

609
00:27:07,269 --> 00:27:05,039
would become an astronaut but confident

610
00:27:08,390 --> 00:27:07,279
that i wanted to be an astronaut so

611
00:27:09,909 --> 00:27:08,400
knowing that that was what i was

612
00:27:11,750 --> 00:27:09,919
passionate about was what i was sure of

613
00:27:13,190 --> 00:27:11,760
but i also knew that the chances were

614
00:27:15,430 --> 00:27:13,200
really really low

615
00:27:17,269 --> 00:27:15,440
you know i pursued it as a single-minded

616
00:27:18,710 --> 00:27:17,279
goal for many many years and then

617
00:27:21,269 --> 00:27:18,720
actually something interesting happened

618
00:27:23,669 --> 00:27:21,279
i went away to space camp and in part of

619
00:27:25,430 --> 00:27:23,679
our space camp class we learned how to

620
00:27:27,510 --> 00:27:25,440
be an astronaut it was actually the name

621
00:27:29,350 --> 00:27:27,520
of one of the classes we attended and

622
00:27:30,549 --> 00:27:29,360
the instructor actually wrote a list up

623
00:27:31,590 --> 00:27:30,559
on the board of the things that you

624
00:27:33,590 --> 00:27:31,600
should do

625
00:27:35,830 --> 00:27:33,600
and you know everyone was flying writing

626
00:27:37,669 --> 00:27:35,840
notes and and i thought in that moment

627
00:27:39,510 --> 00:27:37,679
that i wasn't going to live my life

628
00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:39,520
according to a checklist i was going to

629
00:27:43,830 --> 00:27:41,760
live according to my own passions and if

630
00:27:45,750 --> 00:27:43,840
later in life i looked back and i

631
00:27:47,269 --> 00:27:45,760
reflected upon the fact that the

632
00:27:49,669 --> 00:27:47,279
experiences i had gained the skills i

633
00:27:51,909 --> 00:27:49,679
had gained would allow me to contribute

634
00:27:53,909 --> 00:27:51,919
in a in a great way to the space program

635
00:27:55,430 --> 00:27:53,919
that i held in such a high regard only

636
00:27:58,549 --> 00:27:55,440
then would i ever apply to be an

637
00:28:00,549 --> 00:27:58,559
astronaut and so i might tell myself a

638
00:28:02,310 --> 00:28:00,559
little earlier to sort of look at it

639
00:28:05,430 --> 00:28:02,320
that way because i think that breaking

640
00:28:07,669 --> 00:28:05,440
away from the single-mindedness of only

641
00:28:09,029 --> 00:28:07,679
astronaut really allowed me to excel and

642
00:28:10,870 --> 00:28:09,039
to find the things that i love and

643
00:28:12,310 --> 00:28:10,880
interestingly those things were the

644
00:28:14,149 --> 00:28:12,320
things that we talked about the most in

645
00:28:16,149 --> 00:28:14,159
my astronaut interviews things like rock

646
00:28:18,149 --> 00:28:16,159
climbing things like you know going to

647
00:28:19,669 --> 00:28:18,159
antarctica and

648
00:28:21,830 --> 00:28:19,679
i like to tell the story that i actually

649
00:28:23,510 --> 00:28:21,840
quit a perfectly good engineering job at

650
00:28:25,110 --> 00:28:23,520
nasa to pursue

651
00:28:26,149 --> 00:28:25,120
a work in the antarctic and that turned

652
00:28:28,070 --> 00:28:26,159
out to be one of the greatest

653
00:28:30,230 --> 00:28:28,080
experiences that i had going into that i

654
00:28:31,909 --> 00:28:30,240
continued to draw from so i would say

655
00:28:33,590 --> 00:28:31,919
live your according to your own passions

656
00:28:35,909 --> 00:28:33,600
and let those guide you and then kind of

657
00:28:38,470 --> 00:28:35,919
reflect back and see where you can

658
00:28:39,909 --> 00:28:38,480
contribute the most

659
00:28:41,909 --> 00:28:39,919
amazing and when you embarked on this

660
00:28:43,590 --> 00:28:41,919
did you know you'd be making history or

661
00:28:44,950 --> 00:28:43,600
did it have to be pointed out and then

662
00:28:46,310 --> 00:28:44,960
what went through your head when you

663
00:28:48,389 --> 00:28:46,320
realized that

664
00:28:50,389 --> 00:28:48,399
definitely had to be pointed out i i

665
00:28:52,549 --> 00:28:50,399
don't i'm not you know don't keep the

666
00:28:54,230 --> 00:28:52,559
stats on that stuff but luckily other

667
00:28:55,750 --> 00:28:54,240
people do and i think that pointing out

668
00:28:57,269 --> 00:28:55,760
those milestones

669
00:28:58,870 --> 00:28:57,279
you know as much as i might not like to

670
00:29:00,630 --> 00:28:58,880
be the center of attention i think it is

671
00:29:02,310 --> 00:29:00,640
important because it spreads the word on

672
00:29:03,909 --> 00:29:02,320
where we're at state of the art kind of

673
00:29:05,909 --> 00:29:03,919
in our human space exploration and i

674
00:29:07,830 --> 00:29:05,919
think milestones provide motivation for

675
00:29:10,070 --> 00:29:07,840
people so i think it's a good thing to

676
00:29:12,310 --> 00:29:10,080
recognize i'll never forget the moment

677
00:29:14,470 --> 00:29:12,320
that someone mentioned that there had

678
00:29:17,110 --> 00:29:14,480
not yet been an all-female spacewalk it

679
00:29:18,389 --> 00:29:17,120
was actually my very last spacewalk

680
00:29:21,669 --> 00:29:18,399
training event where i was getting

681
00:29:23,110 --> 00:29:21,679
qualified to do a spacewalk and after

682
00:29:24,230 --> 00:29:23,120
all the debriefs and being told

683
00:29:25,669 --> 00:29:24,240
everything that you know i should do

684
00:29:27,590 --> 00:29:25,679
better and the things i did okay and

685
00:29:30,070 --> 00:29:27,600
things like that someone you know were

686
00:29:31,350 --> 00:29:30,080
kind of all walking out and someone said

687
00:29:32,549 --> 00:29:31,360
has there ever been an all-female

688
00:29:33,990 --> 00:29:32,559
spacewalk and this person knew that

689
00:29:35,590 --> 00:29:34,000
there had not but they were bringing it

690
00:29:37,350 --> 00:29:35,600
up and that was the first time it had

691
00:29:38,710 --> 00:29:37,360
really occurred to me that there was a

692
00:29:40,070 --> 00:29:38,720
chance of that happening and it's really

693
00:29:42,230 --> 00:29:40,080
just because of the direction we're

694
00:29:44,230 --> 00:29:42,240
moving my class of astronauts being half

695
00:29:46,230 --> 00:29:44,240
men and half women and just you know

696
00:29:48,389 --> 00:29:46,240
having the population on board and it's

697
00:29:50,230 --> 00:29:48,399
it's just a matter of time before it was

698
00:29:51,350 --> 00:29:50,240
to happen so that was the first time i

699
00:29:53,350 --> 00:29:51,360
thought about it didn't really think

700
00:29:54,789 --> 00:29:53,360
about it again because you know our job

701
00:29:57,350 --> 00:29:54,799
is to do the mission that's in front of

702
00:29:58,950 --> 00:29:57,360
us and i'm just fortunate that that was

703
00:30:00,389 --> 00:29:58,960
part of the mission mainly just because

704
00:30:02,870 --> 00:30:00,399
i like that we're now beyond that point

705
00:30:04,710 --> 00:30:02,880
we can keep pushing

706
00:30:06,630 --> 00:30:04,720
all right we'll wrap up here with one

707
00:30:08,470 --> 00:30:06,640
question from social media from billy

708
00:30:10,070 --> 00:30:08,480
from arletta elementary

709
00:30:12,310 --> 00:30:10,080
how did you feel when you first looked

710
00:30:13,909 --> 00:30:12,320
back at our planet

711
00:30:15,430 --> 00:30:13,919
well i'll never forget that moment i

712
00:30:17,029 --> 00:30:15,440
hadn't even reached the international

713
00:30:19,350 --> 00:30:17,039
space station yet i was still on the

714
00:30:21,350 --> 00:30:19,360
soyuz spacecraft and we have little

715
00:30:23,669 --> 00:30:21,360
covers over our windows and of course we

716
00:30:25,029 --> 00:30:23,679
also go in and out of daylight and night

717
00:30:26,630 --> 00:30:25,039
and depending on what side of the earth

718
00:30:28,230 --> 00:30:26,640
we're on so we're on our way up to the

719
00:30:30,389 --> 00:30:28,240
space station it's about a six hour

720
00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:30,399
rendezvous and it first occurs to me

721
00:30:34,710 --> 00:30:32,320
that i should look out my window and i

722
00:30:37,350 --> 00:30:34,720
opened it up and wouldn't you know there

723
00:30:38,710 --> 00:30:37,360
was earth and it just looked exactly

724
00:30:41,190 --> 00:30:38,720
like you might see in the pictures

725
00:30:44,149 --> 00:30:41,200
except way more brighter way more real

726
00:30:45,830 --> 00:30:44,159
and i literally exclaimed i just said oh

727
00:30:47,510 --> 00:30:45,840
my goodness and of course that's not the

728
00:30:49,110 --> 00:30:47,520
right thing to say in a spacecraft when

729
00:30:51,029 --> 00:30:49,120
you know you could be noticing anything

730
00:30:52,789 --> 00:30:51,039
not going well so the very next thing

731
00:30:55,269 --> 00:30:52,799
out of my mouth what to nick and alexi

732
00:30:56,870 --> 00:30:55,279
was everything's okay it's just earth

733
00:30:59,110 --> 00:30:56,880
and um

734
00:31:01,190 --> 00:30:59,120
but it was it was phenomenal it was that

735
00:31:03,990 --> 00:31:01,200
moment where i realized that you know

736
00:31:06,230 --> 00:31:04,000
this was real and um that that i had

737
00:31:07,990 --> 00:31:06,240
left our planet

738
00:31:09,669 --> 00:31:08,000
that's amazing thank you so much for

739
00:31:10,630 --> 00:31:09,679
sharing your stories with us today

740
00:31:12,070 --> 00:31:10,640
that's all the time we have

741
00:31:13,190 --> 00:31:12,080
unfortunately i think we could listen to

742
00:31:14,950 --> 00:31:13,200
you for hours

743
00:31:17,990 --> 00:31:14,960
but you can learn much more about

744
00:31:37,990 --> 00:31:18,000
christina's mission on nasa.gov station