When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
While you're in space, you grow in height! Without the constant force of gravity on your spine, it stretches out, and you're actually taller when you land. It doesn't last long though.
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To see the Earth below you when we could take a break... to appreciate the environment around us was very special.
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I've always been into things like exploring and science on the frontiers. I had pictures of space up in my room way back in middle school, right next to the boy band posters!
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We always had National Geographic and Astronomy magazines and Popular Mechanics lying around the house. I got interested in exploration and different parts of the world and different parts of the universe just from seeing those things around the house and the different discussions we had as a family.
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We work together as a team. And between us and between the crew and our teams on the ground, we don't look at gender, and we don't see it as a barrier.
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Outside of my family, I was always inspired by true heroic stories of leadership and survival. For example, the story of the Shackleton expedition, when their ship became lodged in the Antarctic ice pack while exploring.
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All astronauts, even civilians like me without pilot experience, have to learn how to co-pilot a jet called a T-38.
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My mom studied biology and my dad studied chemistry and some physics and he is a physician, but he had a very strong interest in astronomy and astrophysics and exploration in general.
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Most kids probably dream of becoming an astronaut. I was just the one that never grew out of it.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.
When I was at the South Pole, the coldest it got - and I didn't go outside - was minus 111. That was during the winter, so it's dark 24 hours a day, and for some of our jobs, we are required to go outside, even in weather like that.