Scientific literacy is one of the underpinnings of everything I do. It's why I work with schools. It's why I teach at university. I do a lot of outreach to try and improve general scientific literacy, but the core of all scientific literacy is just literacy.

I've been lucky enough to fly to space twice.

As I have discovered again and again, things are never as bad (or as good) as they seem at the time.

There is a sunrise or a sunset from space every 92 minutes so there is an incredible amount of beauty to see from up there.

If you start thinking that only your biggest and shiniest moments count, you're setting yourself up to feel like a failure most of the time.

Imbibe three or four times as much water as you think you need and skip at least one, if not two meals, when you are travelling. You should arrive at your destination feeling slightly hungry and your digestive system reset.

My favourite city is Moscow, because of its history, which I find fascinating. As I learned to speak Russian, it made it even more interesting.