Studying whether there's life on Mars or studying how the universe began, there's something magical about pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. That's something that is almost part of being human, and I'm certain that will continue.

Three Secrets to Success: Be willing to learn new things. Be able to assimilate new information quickly. Be able to get along with and work with other people.

So I saw many planets, and they looked just a little bit brighter than they do from Earth.

I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science.

Yes, I did feel a special responsibility to be the first American woman in space.

My background is in physics, so I was the mission specialist, who is sort of like the flight engineer on an airplane.

I slept just floating in the middle of the flight deck, the upper deck of the space shuttle.