I have no doubt that humans will go to Mars. And I feel that America has led so many things in space - we have invested so much, and we have a lot to gain - that America could and should be the nation that should lead the settlement of Mars.

I didn't start skiing until I was 50. My wife Lois taught me how to ski. I'm proficiently conservative.

I really hate to be put in the position of trying to justify something, a decision that was made. I'm a military guy: when a decision is made, I go along with it, whatever the manufactured controversy and criticism.

My family has always supported my activities, whether it was doing combat in Korea, flying progressively and challenging fighter-jet aircraft in Europe, or studying for a doctor's degree at MIT. They have been always very supportive and understanding of the challenges and risks involved in my career. A family needs to work as a team, supporting each other's individual aims and aspirations.

The much-hyped Ares 1-X was much ado about nothing.

At the core of the risk-free society is a self-indulgent failure of nerve.

Knowledge of the past and an optimistic view of the present give you great opportunities.