The stars don't look bigger, but they do look brighter.

I do a lot of running and hiking, and I also collect stamps - space stamps and Olympics stamps.

When you're getting ready to launch into space, you're sitting on a big explosion waiting to happen.

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.

I had both male and female heroes.

I have a lot of common sense. I know what needs to be done and how to approach it. I have an ability to work with people on large enterprises.

Anything from making a mistake on an experiment that would ruin some scientist on earth's experiment - career, potentially - to doing something wrong with the satellite that a country was depending on for its communications, to making some mistake that could actually cost you and the crew either a mission or your lives. So there is a lot of pressure that's put on every astronaut to just make sure that he or she understands exactly what to do, exactly when to do it, and is trained and prepared to carry it out.