There weren't any astronauts until I was about 10. Yuri Gagarin went into space right around my 10th birthday.

We would like to carry out 100 percent, or maybe more, of our scientific program; I would like to devote some of my spare time toward extra scientific work.

There weren't any astronauts until I was about 10. Yuri Gagarin went into space right around my 10th birthday.

It took me a long time to get selected as an astronaut. In fact, I applied for 20 years before I was selected.

Small samples in the centrifuge will spin at varying rates to create synthetic gravity, like the gravity of Mars or the gravity of the moon, and measure how the specimens respond within the centrifuge.

My dad served in two wars has been flying airplanes for 60 years now. He was certainly quite an inspiration.

Even with only two people on board, where maintenance is a large piece of our working day, we still have time to do scientific research. We have to be ready to support those Shuttle visits in a lot of different ways.