The three U. S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station reflected on their mission Tuesday, expressing their hopes for the future of human exploration and their remorse over the sight of the spreading oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker spoke with KTRH radio of Houston as well as the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
They responded to questions on topics ranging from the on going debate between the White House and Congress over NASA’s future to the views of Earth from the station.
Given the opportunity, what would Caldwell Dyson say to President Obama about the future of human exploration, KTRH wondered.
Tracy Caldwell Dyson. Photo Credit: NASA
“To put it in a nutshell, look at what we have done, and I’m not just talking about we, NASA. I’m talking about we, as a world,” said Caldwell Dyson.
“We are a collective country,” she said of the 15 nations responsible for the orbiting science laboratory. “We have put men on the moon. We have built this incredible space station. We did it with partner nations, Russia, Japan, Europe (Canada). We brought them together in space. We assembled this incredible vehicle in space.
“Gosh, if that is not worth continuing, then I don’t know what is. So, I would say to the White House and our president: invest in our future. We have a lot of kids out there who are looking forward to getting here, and getting us beyond. We can’t let them down.”
In early November, the partnership will mark the 10th anniversary of continuous space station staffing. The 220 mile high outpost is currently staffed by three Americans and three Russians for the first time.
The Chronicle questioned Wheelock about the oil that has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico since an April offshore drilling rig explosion and the desperate efforts that have followed by British Petroleum and others to stop the environmental threat to the coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Doug Wheelock. Photo Credit: NASA
“Of course, it’s just tragic — the bits of news we get up here,” said Wheelock. “I was able to look out yesterday, out of the windows in the station’s Russian segment, and we saw a little bit of the oil stretching from New Orleans over to the western coast of Alabama, the Gulf Shores area.
“Another day, I saw some of the fires they had burning off some of the oil in the middle of the Gulf It’s just tragic,” said Wheelock. “We hope and pray that we are able to get the leaks stopped.”
Walker represents the first native Houstonian in space, a bit of an irony since NASA’s astronauts as well as those from other nations live in the region as they train at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
What advice would Walker offer to students at her high school and college alma maters, Westbury High School and Rice University, KTRH wondered?
Shannon Walker Trains for Mission. Photo Credit: NASA
“Persevere,” said Walker. “Life gives you a lot of challenges. Work hard to overcome any obstacle. Always pursue your dreams. Maintain an awareness of what you want out of life. Always work toward it. It may not always be easy, but you can get to where you want to be.”
Caldwell Dyson, Wheelock and Walker share the station with Russians Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and Fyodor Yurchikhin. The half-dozen space station tenants are on staggered six-month missions, an experience that has inspired some profound memories.
Caldwell Dyson recalled the period between June 1 and 18, when the station was temporarily down to three people.
“I remember thinking, there were just three people in space, and I was one of them” she told KTRH. “That was a pretty emotional moment for me.”