Crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Discusses Mission, Take Questions from Media – Thursday, July 10, 2025

The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission discussed their upcoming expedition to the International Space Station and took questions from media during a crew news conference from the Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 10. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke as well as JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov aboard a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the space station. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Tuesday, July 29 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Join NASA as we go forward to the Moon and on to Mars -- discover the latest on Earth, the Solar System and beyond with a weekly update in your inbox. Subscribe at: https://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

What is said in the film

Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat. Mission sequence start. I feel the liftoff.

The clock has started. Liftoff. We have a liftoff. Roger. Zero G.

I feel fine. You've got speed. Listen, Tranquility. The angle has landed. Roger, Tranquility.

We copy you on the ground. New possibilities are opening up for scientific cooperation between countries. 2 1 0 lift off lift off. America's return to space as Discovery clears the tower. Discovery, go and throttle up.

Discovery, Roger, go for deploy. Thank you and everybody in the shuttle program. The crew is go for launch. Nice to be in orbit. We have followed in their footsteps to get up to where we are today.

Good afternoon and welcome to NASA's Johnson Space Center here in Houston, Texas. I'm Chelsea Bayarte, joined here today by the crew of NASA's SpaceX Crew 11 mission launching to the International Space Station no earlier than July 31st. Here on my left, I have Zena Cardman, the commander of the mission. Mike Frink the pilot and we have our mission specialists Kimmy Yui and Oleg Platinoff. We're gonna be hearing from the crew in just a little while.

Um but first I wanted to do some housekeeping. We've got media here with us in the room. We've got them on the phone bridge and as well as social media using askNASA. So if you're on the phone, please go ahead and press star one to enter our question Q. And if your question has already been asked, feel free to press star two and then that will um exit you from the question queue.

on social media. We're looking out for your questions using AskNASA. Um, so we will get those started in just a minute, but first let's hear from the crew. Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to everyone.

It's wonderful to see those of you here in the room with us and welcome to everyone joining us remotely online. Um, I just want to say thank you so much for being here. It's my privilege to be here with my crew mates from crew 11. We have been training together since roughly September of last year. We were all in the unique position of actually training with previous crew assignments.

What that has meant for us is an incredible bond that is rooted in gratitude and resilience. It's been such a pleasure to train with this crew. I cannot tell you enough how meaningful it is to have a crew that is as kind and as thoughtful and as wonderful as they are. Incredibly technically competent, incredible astronauts, cosminauts coming from multiple agencies, many different backgrounds. They make my job very, very easy as commander.

I do want to spend a few moments passing it off to my crew mates for them to say hello as well. Thanks, Zena. Wow, it's hard to follow that. So, uh, as we saw in the opening, uh, uh, remarks or opening, uh, uh, montage, uh, we're coming up on 50 years of international space cooperation with Paulo Soyos or Soyuse Apollo. And, uh, we, uh, uh, and 25 years uh, um, this later this year for continuous human presence aboard our beautiful international space station.

And uh, that's a that's a tribute to to humans working so well together. And uh I'm personally looking forward to going back to the International Space Station. And I'm looking forward to uh Zena and Oleg for the first time and flying with my good friend uh Kima Yuisan. We have a a a really exceptional crew here. And uh I'm uh I'm looking forward to riding on a dragon.

Okay. Oh, Dina Michael already explained everything, so not much to add actually. But I'm so grateful to be here and we'll be able to fly with great crew members. I believe this is one of the best crew members. So we'll definitely enjoy our light and also uh I mean long uh long duration mission on ISS and actually yeah it's very hard believe actually Gina and M orang is the first Luki.

They're so capable and my son has a lot of good experience, various kind of experience. So last uh mission was 10 years ago. So I'm very looking forward to going back to my home. Yeah, ISS. Thank you.

Hello everybody. I am Alec Platonov and I will be a mission specialist for our crew 11. Uh and first of all uh I'd like to say uh this is will be my first flight in the space and I'm so glad to be here at NASA and I'm really happy to be in our crew and I'm looking forward to have uh this flight uh because uh as I've have already said this is my first flight and I'm very excited this flight uh I Hope we will have a great time on ISS and we will do a lot of uh useful and necessary job uh sorry work uh on ISS and uh a lot of useful research uh and uh also I'd like to say uh thank you my crew mates for everything you help me uh every time and also uh I really appreciate uh my instructors in NASA, in Russia, my teachers who gave me knowledge, who gave me skills, and I'm very excited to see us in space as soon as possible and on time. UA, thank you. Thank you so much for those opening remarks.

We're going to go ahead and take some questions here in the room. When you ask your question, please state your name and media affiliation. Do we have questions here in the room? Hi, Will Robinson Smith with Space Flight Now. Good to see you all today.

Um, maybe just going down the row, uh, can you talk about some of the personal effects that you're going to be bringing with you on station and uh, the reason that you've chosen them given that you have a limited capability to bring, you know, personal effects? Thanks. Yeah. Uh for me, many of the things that I'm bringing are photographs, whether that's photos of people who are meaningful to me, family members and friends, or photographs that we're carrying for our team members. Just as Alleg said in his introduction, our training team and our instructors and the flight controllers who keep us safe while we fly are so important to this mission.

I am also in the uh interesting position of having a lot of my stuff on ISS already uh from my previous training with crew 9. Um my father passed away about a year ago and I'm very much looking forward to reuniting with some cards that he sent. Uh as for me I mentioned earlier that uh we're a whole bunch of milestones coming up. I've been married to my beautiful wife for 25 and a half years. Um and uh what we're uh what I'm bringing up is she is uh of Indian origin and uh in her part of India from the state of Assam we wear gamosas which is like a silk scarf and uh I brought one on my previous two three missions three missions and uh so I'm going to bring another one it's uh uh with so knowing I'll carry the blessings of my the Indian side of my family for me just like dinasan uh I actually bringing a lot of pictures yeah of course my family members and also my friends and also my colleagues and I'm really looking forward to take some pictures of picture from space and yeah uh give it back to the the important people for me.

Thank you. Uh I also took uh with me a few pictures, photos and couple toys for my children and nothing something special and only things what which will be remind me about earth my family and about my background. I'm bringing pictures of Ole. Thank you Michael. Go ahead.

Oh, thank you. Uh, Mark Coro, who's um, aviation week in space technology. I believe this is for Mike. You've among your crew flown the most on the space station and you'll be aboard when you reach the 25th anniversary of constant crew. And I'm just wondering from your perspective when you started out, did you think that would happen or you wanted it?

I'm not sure what your perspective is, but what do you think that is in terms of of an accomplishment and historical significance? Thanks, Mark. Um, I could probably go on for a half hour special on this, but really uh u in short uh I was in the astronaut class of 1996. uh such uh famous luminaries as Peggy Witson who's currently in space, Don Pettit who just came back and uh during that time we didn't have a space station yet. We were just building it.

Uh part of my first job as a astronaut uh was to uh help with uh work with our newly uh newly partnered uh Russian uh folks. Uh so I was in the FGB functional cargo block uh before it flew. Uh same thing with service module and uh so I remember when space station was just pieces here on the ground and I cannot say how amazed and proud of I I am of uh human beings from all over this planet uh working together uh pretty darn well uh to build this international space station 25 years of continuous human presence even though we've had uh interesting uh small hiccups along the way we've done really super well. We were worried about all these EVAs we were going to do to take to to build it and we did and nobody got hurt. Um, and we have a beautiful space station.

Um, I'm very proud of our space station. I know it's coming uh near its its time, but uh this is something that I think that humans should just really remember of all the cool things we can do when we work together constructively. I can go on, but that that's the short answer. Sir, we'll take our next question from right up here in the front. Okay.

Richard T with the Post newspaper. This question is for Zena and Oleg. Being that this is your first flight, what's helped you the most prepare for this? Oh my goodness. Well, we have incredible teams who train us for all of the technical side, but I have to say that getting to train with teammates like Kima and Mike who have this incredible experience, who have flown before, who have trained and flown on multiple different vehicles.

Having that different perspective, different approaches to space flight, how we solve these problems together has been incredibly valuable. Their friendship and their mentorship have both made the difference for me. I'm right back at you. Well, I hope that you will understand me. I'll I'll speak Russian because I want to say a few words in my native language.

Yeah. True. This is going to be my first flight, but uh I've had training before. Before I was assigned as part of a So mission and I trained with Alexi of Chinan and uh Tracy Goggle Dyson. I was a backup crew member back then, but uh I spent uh about 18 months training and so I had a full understanding of how the systems works.

How crew, how vehicles fly, what's happening in space. And I want to pay homage to my instructors and to my crew members, to Zena, to Mike and to Kimia. They allowed me in to the uh new secrets and updates. So I can promise that I will not let anyone down. We'll take our next question here in the room.

Marcus Harvey from Astroreneurs. Uh interested in the different types of team building activities you've participated in in preparation for this mission, please. Thank you. Yeah, I can start. Uh a lot of it is really just spending time together.

Much of our training is at other facilities offsite from Johnson Space Center. And of course, half of our crew uh aren't based here in Houston full-time. We spend a great deal of time training together in Hawthorne, California with SpaceX and also abroad with our partner agencies, Japanese space agency and in uh Russia with Rosscosmos. So we get to have time together where we're not only training but then we can spend our evenings together exploring the town, exploring the city, uh just building a bond of friendship in addition to the technical challenges of getting ready for space flight. And I think all of us uh having done training with previous crews had opportunities to do training like Nolles with the National Outdoor Leadership School.

We we all come in with a a really solid skill set of how to work together when the stakes are real. I'm going to go ahead and take a question on the phone. I know we've got a big list on there. We'll start with Josh Dinner with space. com.

For doing this, I have a bit of a logistics question probably for Zena or Mike. um you have a particularly long transit to the station uh 35 hours from launch to rendevous. Are there any new contingency procedures in place if docking is delayed but beyond your 40-hour window? Um and then for everybody uh regarding the 25th anniversary of continuous human space flight, what does that milestone mean for each of you? Um and how does being aboard for that anniversary shape the legacy you hope to leave with this mission?

Sure. I can take the first half and then I'll pass it along. Um, as far as the long phasing, we are within our limits for phasing on the way there. Otherwise, we would choose a different launch date. And this is a combination of human comfort, but also the consumables within the vehicle.

We've got a lot of flexibility in those limits because we're also keeping track of our needs for the downhill. We have to get to the space station, but we also need to get home again. So there's plenty of flexibility built in and we have great teams of people who are making sure that we stay within those limits and we'll be happy to be in space. That's exactly right. Um, International Space Station, please.

Uh, yeah, I think I already kind of answered that. I'd like to give the time to my colleague from Japan. Oh, okay. Thank you. And Russia.

Yes. So for me like international space station is kind of like a symbol for the humanity of like a uni unity or cooperation and unfortunately right now I think like uh if we look at the news uh a lot of like news about like a divide or conflict but ISS is completely different completely opposite. We actually respect each country has different culture or language history but we actually uh respect uh respect each other uh differences and actually working together and get ex uh great really great result. So I think this is a very I mean hope for the humankind we can do this and we should remember this great result. We're going to continue on with our phone bridge and go to Marcia Dunn with the Associated Press.

Marcia, do we have you? You might be muted. All right. Well, we can come back to you, Marca. Let's go instead to Robert Pearlman with Collect Space.

Hi. Um, thanks for taking my question. Uh, Mike, you mentioned the 50th anniversary of the Apollos test project next week and um, you and Kima are um, perhaps old enough to remember the mission. I wonder if you have any um, any uh, particular memories of as that mission unfolded as you were kids and watching it. Um and then for Zena and Oleg, how do you think the legacy of that mission still holds up at 50 years given that the is as the ISS comes to close so seemingly does the cooperation between Russia and the US in space?

Robert, hi Mike F here. Uh I was 8 years old, so you guys can do the math uh one. And uh and I remember I was outside with my uh with my younger brothers and sisters and we uh I ran inside to go watch it on TV cuz I knew it was something really cool and I knew that at that time I wanted to be an astronaut. And I will say it made a really huge impression on me to see some you know people from Soviet Union which you know at the time we were not very good friends with in the middle of the cold war and and then you know these uh brave American astronauts and yet they got to got along really well and cordially and and with friendship and since then I've had a chance to beat to to to meet a lot of the Soyos uh Apollo Soyos crew including Tom Stafford and and uh uh Alex a Leonov And uh it was like my childhood, you know, heroes. I got to meet them and be be a colleague for them.

In fact, Leonoff even once said after talking to him for a few minutes, he said, "Wait a second, you're not Russian. " It's like, "No, sir. " So, uh it was a it's a it's a really good memory, but it made a big impression not just on me, but the the rest of the world that if Soviet Union and United States can can work together in space, then maybe we can work together here on Earth, too. Yeah. You're much younger than me, so I'm interested to see what you have to say.

Actually, I cannot remember that. But yeah, but actually I read that uh about that in the in the book. Yeah. When I was in elementary school and I was so surprised actually during that time cold war. So we are really afraid actually we may end ended up like a nuclear war or something like like that.

But actually uh at the time United States and also Soviet Union working together uh worked together and get great results. So I was so impressed. I was very little child but so impressed. Okay, we'll take our next question from Ryan Kaitton with NASA spaceflight. com.

Hey everyone, thanks for doing this. It's great to see you all. Uh for Mike and Kamir uh Mike you've obviously been involved in the development of Star Giner for quite some time you've flown shuttle you've thrown soyos kamir you've thrown so use are there any interesting differences that you two have noticed with the uh training for crew 11 aboard dragon thank you ah so do you want to start and I can finish please okay so um dragon it's my uh fourth spacecraft if you don't count the space station to learn how to fly And uh uh SpaceX has done uh a great job. Uh the differences every spacecraft is different. My first one to learn to fly really was Soyuse.

So then shuttle uh but uh Starlininer 2. But uh Dragon is uh uh unique and different. Um the control interface for uh uh for the commander and pilot uh is touchscreen. Um it's we have a lot of uh insight and uh I was very happy to see how much situational awareness we can build as uh flyers. Uh we uh it's a very automated and automatic uh spacecraft so we can see the things happening.

Uh we don't have as much um uh what do you say uh control sticks to fly but we have a manual flying capability. So, I'm I'm really excited to I was I was really extremely excited to be put on a on a Dragon crew and uh learn how to fly from Zena and our instructors at SpaceX. Uh we're grateful to Paul and the rest of the team for teaching us and uh boy, I really like uh I can't wait to fly in Dragon. Yeah. Yeah.

Actually, Max experienced a lot and actually quite different of course Soy and also SpaceX uh Crew Dragon, but I like both actually. Both good concept is different but both good. So I really want to fly I mean looking forward to fly with uh Crew Dragon but also want to fly with soy use again. So both good. We'll take another question on our phone bridge.

Uh let's go back to Marcia Dunn with the Associated Press. Marcia, do we have you this time? Yes. Hi. Sorry about that.

I hit the wrong button on the phone. Um, two of you had your lives disrupted and put on hold because of the Starlininer trouble. Uh, Zena and Mike, how difficult was it to deal with all of that and how much commotion did it cause not just for you but for the entire astronaut core? Yeah, that's a great question. From my perspective, if I think about it only as an individual and how it affected me, yes, of course, it was an unexpected change.

Um, but spaceflight is not about me or about any individual. It's about what we can do together. None of us can do this by ourselves. I had many hopes for Crew 9, but my only promise was to do everything in my control for a safe splashdown of Crew 9, and we did that together. That is the most important thing.

And now I have the opportunity to train with this wonderful, amazing crew. Life is a journey. It takes many turns. And I'm just grateful to be here. And uh yeah, we were uh very surprised uh and we were joyed when we got Starlininer uh um up into space and our friends Butch and Sunny uh docking to the space station and then uh and then things changed.

Um and uh um I had uh already been training for Starlininer 1 with Kimosan and he moved over to Dragon and then I chased after him on this uh on this mission. And it's often said that it's not when you fly but with whom you fly. And uh it worked out super well. And then Oleg came and joined us and it was complete. Um this is a again a great crew and yeah Starlininer changed a lot in our office.

Starlininer is really important that we have uh more opportunities and more capabilities to to fly into space. Um, and that's why the commercial crew program is still working a hard with Boeing to get Starlininer to be a viable uh transportation system up and down to the space station. And uh we are wishing them luck. All right, we'll take our next question with Nikio with NXK. Hi, thank you for doing this.

My question is for Kimasan. So uh you will be welcomed by Japanese astronaut Takuya on when you arrive at ISS next month. So can you can you please uh talk a little bit about how you plan to carry on his work as a Japanese astronaut? Thank you. Okay.

Uh thank you for the good question. Yeah, I'm very looking forward to actually yeah uh uh meet with him. He's my one of my best friends and also he actually doing great job on orbit. That's actually big pressure for me. Yeah, he actually is my hurdle but uh I just want to continue his like a way to do uh the job that way actually the grand team will be much easier to continue actually ISS operations but I'd like to also change a little bit more uh more like I just want to use my ability to consider uh grand people then uh I hope uh grand people will like me more than Taka son.

Probably that's impossible, but I'll try. Thank you. We'll take our next question from Manuel Manzandi with Exploration Esp. Thank you so much uh Manuel Manti. Congrats on the upcoming mission.

And you know during the the previous uh call we heard that NASA is working on extending the crew rotation missions from six to eight months. I I think I missed the why. Maybe you can clarify that to me. And a question for Zena and or Mike. What would you think are the pros and cons of being two more months in space?

Thank you. From my perspective, I can't wait to be in space and two extra months would be a gift. Um, yes, we're baselined for six months right now with the ability to extend that uh pending further analysis of our Dragon spacecraft. Uh, for me, it would be an absolute privilege to stay for even longer. Yes.

Uh, I'm looking forward to spending uh six months with uh with you all along with uh the Soyuse crews on on both sides of our mission. U it's going to be a great uh and successful accomplishments. Uh but to be honest, uh um if it weren't for my wonderful family whom I love very much, uh I'd probably stay up there uh longer than Don Don Pettit. Uh in in other words, I wouldn't want to have to come back except that I really really like my family a lot. Uh so that's the only con is that I'll miss my family, but the the pro is that uh I have my family here also.

And uh however long they have us there, we're going to do our very best and enjoy it. every day would be a gift and we'll be following along. We'll take a question from David Curley with Full Throttle. Thank you very much. Uh Mike, a little more pointed question.

Um you were really invested in the Starlininer. Uh the call comes. Do you want to move over to crew 11 and the dream? Uh the Dragon, excuse me. Did you have any conversations with yourself and do you think you may still get a chance to fly Starliner?

Oh, talk about pointed questions. So, um I think uh my good friend and commander Zena said it best. Um you know, um we're here to help uh serve uh what our country needs, our individual countries. And uh if NASA needed me to fly Starliner, I tried to be the best Starlininer person I could be. And uh they uh asked if I could uh support Zena and be her pilot for Dragon.

And I said yes, cuz that's what we needed. And boy was I that was the right answer. Um so yeah, will I ever get a chance to fly Starliner? I'm one of three certified qualified pilots for Starlininer. You Butch and Sunny are the other two.

Um so if I were ever offered a chance and that's what the country needed, it would be hard to say no and go Starlininer, right? Yep. All right, I'm going to switch over to a social media question before moving back into the room here. Um, I think this question is going to be for Mike and Kima as season flyers. B on X asks, "What's one food item each crew member can't live without on station?

" Oh, hey, since you did that, I'm going to answer what you That you like vegetables. No, no, no. Sorry. My favorite space food is tortillas. Uh we we brought them up as we learning to fly in space here from Texas and a tortilla is a perfect uh plate and you can put all your food on.

So they're sending extra tortillas and I'll share them with my friends. Yeah, for me any Japanese food, not vegetable. Yeah, any Japanese food is very important. Not for only my favorite, but everybody likes it. So whenever actually anybody help my like a job, I just try to provide my Japanese food as a gift.

Mhm. So yeah, that's also very important once I give that to everybody. Yeah, everybody happy to help me. So that's kind of very important. Japanese food.

Sounds like a plan. We'll take our question from right here in the room. Yes, thanks for allowing a second question. Um maybe first to to Zena Oleg. uh referring back to Robert Pearlman's question about uh the future in space for uh the US and Russia now that um the ISS is coming to an end, but then to uh Mike and and uh Kima um given that you're going back to space and obviously very excited to do so.

What's something that maybe you didn't get the chance to do, you know, in your first three goarounds, your first goound that you're, you know, especially hoping to tick that box this time around or maybe do again because you missed it so much? Thanks, For me, I was born into a world that already knew this partnership and I've never known life without it. It's amazing to think about there are adults now who have never known a world without continuous human presence in space. That's amazing and makes me just so excited to see what happens in the coming decades, generations to come. Um I look forward to perhaps having the opportunity to flying soy uh fly Soyos with Alleg as my commander.

That would be incredible. Um and even at the end of the International Space Station's timeline, I this is a partnership that becomes friendship and family that I will have forever. One of my favorite things in the world is my cosminaut colleague referring to me as Zenosan. What a beautiful representation of this crew that we have. Well, soon we will celebrate 50th anniversary of Apollo SEU's flight or SEU's Apollo flight which was the first international flight.

Foreven after that uh we had a mirror shuttle. program than ISS and uh during these 50 years this international cooperation has proven to be very effective and uh I'm hoping that in the future we will have more uh joint programs and we will uh explore uh space and uh conduct experiments not just one for one country but for all uh humankind. Thank you. I'm going to switch over to a social media question now. This one is for Mike.

Jim Reed on X asks, "How many ham radio contacts does AstroIron Mike think he will make on the space station? " Uh, so uh, amateur radio aboard the International Space Station is, uh, is a really great way for us to interact with, uh, uh, fellow humans, uh, from space to Earth and Earth to space. On my first uh mission, I was able to uh talk to all seven continents and I'm looking forward to uh talking to to more of my fellow Earthlings uh from from space. I think uh I'll have to um schedule the the amateur radios on board uh from my colleagues here who are also uh going to really enjoy the the chance to talk to folks from all over the world. So, uh, thanks for that question cuz that just reminded me.

Yeah, that's what I'm looking forward to, too. We're going to head back to the phone bridge now. Going to Maximillian Kent with uh Dean Dailyaly phone branch. If Maximillian can be moved up. Okay, go ahead with your question.

Hi. Um, thank you. Um, I just wanted to ask um all of you guys um what is it personally that made you guys say yes to the mission? I know that some of you have gone again. Um this is not your first time, but also with that um what part of of who you are makes spaceflight something you feel like you're called to do?

I can start and we'll go down the line. Uh for me, I grew up with a interest in science and exploration. In college, I had the great opportunity to do a lot of research in remote locations, places like Antarctica or offshore on ships. And I grew to love the operational side of it and the teamwork side of it. I wanted to join NASA and human space flight for the opportunity to take part in something that's greater than I could possibly do on my own.

And this collaborative spirit and interaction that I get internationally is is one of the most meaningful aspects. For Crew 11 specifically, it was a no-brainer. can't imagine saying no to that opportunity. It's just it's a dream come true for even the chance to train for space flight and it's hard to imagine that it's really actually on our doorstep. No, no.

Yes. So, uh when I was a little boy, I was I really liked like watching like stars and I really wanted to become an astronaut or astronomer. Then actually I decided to go to military and became a test pilot and I think uh space flight very much to the test flight job uh test pilot job. So I think uh I hope I can uh work properly and contribute to space program yeah for this mission as well. Thank you.

I have uh approximately the same story like a Kimy son. Uh because I also was a military pilot and my dream in my childhood was to be a pilot and after that I uh got a dream to be a cosmonote and now I am a cosmonaut and after couple weeks we will go to space with my crew. I'll just uh conclude quickly though is that um I was inspired by watching people walk on the moon. I'm not sure my colleagues are old enough to remember remember that and uh and that uh that really inspired me uh to watch uh you know astronauts, humans walk on the moon. So as we uh as we fly aboard space station, we're hoping that uh maybe uh we'll be close to the Aremis 2 mission and and seeing some more uh friends go around the moon.

So, this is a it would be kind of almost a full circle for me. So, we'll see. All right. I've got some questions from Instagram here in front of me, and I think I might combine two of them because I think that they're a little bit related. One of them asks, "What's the morning routine like for astronauts on the International Space Station?

" And the other question asks, "Are you going to put hot sauce on your breakfast? Kim son, you remember mornings? Yeah. Yeah, morning. Yeah, that's actually uh sometimes pretty busy.

Sometimes we have like experiments. So, we have like a blood sampling or like a urine sampling. But usually uh we have enough time to prepare breakfast and also prepare for the I mean uh for the briefing or like uh starting uh our activities. Uh and I really like actually hot stuff. So, yeah, I don't hot sauce.

I probably put a lot of hot sauce on my breakfast. You can have my hot sauce. Oh, thank you. You're welcome. Yep.

All right, we'll go ahead and wrap it up with this question that we got on Instagram as well. What scientific research will be conducted in this mission? Oh, we have so many different experiments that will be on board with us. Um, I'll share one that I'm taking part in. It's called Cipher.

This is a comprehensive study integrating a lot of different small smaller experiments uh where I am actually the test subject. A lot of what we do is research on the human body. Um this is because we as human beings experience a lot of the same changes that imunocmpromised or aging populations on earth experience. And so this is really not only interesting research to do as we prepare to go farther a field uh back to the moon for longer durations and onward to Mars, but it's also incredibly valuable uh for figuring things out for people here on Earth. We'll actually take one more question here in the room.

Richard two of the Post newspaper. Again, this question is for Mike. Following up with someone else asking you about ham radio being an operator myself from one ham to another. What do you think the importance of continuing to use the technology on the ISS does not just for the current generation but maybe generations of potential hams to come? Yeah.

So u the international space station is really about uh about humans in space and uh especially now with the commercial crew program uh doing so well and other opportunities. more and more people are getting a chance to fly in space. But with the the amateur radio aboard the International Space Station, we're able to to bring people with us because we can't bring, you know, everybody all the time. It would be great if we had a whole bunch of, you know, big rockets to take us, but in until then, we have uh we have hammer radio. We have our down links with our public affairs.

We we really try to uh share the adventure. Um, a ticket to space is very expensive, but it's pretty easy to talk to your your buddies uh aboard the space station or your buddies all over the planet Earth. And it's really neat. Um, I just remember like my one of my very first passes. We were in the service module waiting for food to warm up and I looked out the window.

I said, "Oh, that looks like South Africa. " Picked up the the thing and all of a sudden I'm talking to a guy who's driving across a desert in South Africa. And it was, how cool is that? I So, this is a way for people and space and uh uh to to connect. That sounds amazing.

Well, that is all of the questions that we have here today. So, we're going to go ahead and end here. Thank you for joining us. You can keep up with the crew leading up into their launch on social media and on nasa. gov.

Um that's all the questions we got. So, I'll see you next time. Thanks for joining.

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