I was the first Navy, Marine or Air Force person who had been an astronaut to return back to the Air Force. I had certain expectations about what would be a reasonable and desirable position to be assigned to after my years of service.

The life expectancy of people going to Mars may be decreased by the higher level of radiation that they receive.

At 10,000 feet, the 3 parachutes would come out, a little lower the pressure of the atmosphere outside was greater than inside, and we could smell the salt air and it was very encouraging to return to earth.

Anything we can do in the near future that begins to stimulate the interest of people - seeing somebody down the street have an opportunity to go into space - buoys up the whole neighborhood.

If you want poets in space, you'll have to wait.

I've been to the Titanic in a yellow submarine and the North Pole in a Russian nuclear ice breaker.

I don't go through life verbalizing what I feel.