'Never gets old': NASA astronaut speaks from ISS

RIGHT NOW, THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS ORBITING EARTH, AND ON BOARD IS A NASA ASTRONAUT. ASTRONAUT FROM CALIFORNIA. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TRACY DYSON, A UC DAVIS GRADUATE AND A NATIVE OF ARCADIA. SHE’S ON HER THIRD MISSION IN SPACE. AND THIS MORNING, TRACY JOINS US LIVE FROM THE I.S.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. YOU’RE JUST HANGING AROUND IN SPACE. WE APPRECIATE IT. YOU’VE SPENT 184 DAYS UP THERE RIGHT NOW. YOU RETURN HOME ON SUNDAY. ARE YOU EXCITED? YES, I’M SUPER EXCITED. IT’S BEEN A WONDERFUL SIX MONTHS UP HERE. I’VE ENJOYED THE TIME AND THE CAMARADERIE AND THE WORK, BUT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING HOME AND SEEING FAMILY. SO YOU’VE BEEN CONDUCTING A NUMBER OF STUDIES WHILE YOU’VE BEEN UP THERE? ONE IS HOW FIRE SPREADS IN SPACE. WHAT KINDS OF APPLICATIONS DO YOU THINK THAT COULD HAVE? I CAN THINK OF A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS. THOSE THAT ARE KIND OF NEAR AND DEAR TO OUR HEARTS AT NASA ARE THOSE THAT INVOLVE SPACECRAFT DESIGN, SPACE STATION DESIGN, SPACESUIT DESIGN. YOU NAME IT. BUT ANY TIME WE COME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, AN UNDERSTANDING OF OF ANY KIND OF PHYSICAL, PHYSICAL PROCESS UP HERE, IT ALWAYS HAS DIRECT RELEVANCE TO THOSE THAT ARE ON THE GROUND AND SO THE APPLICATIONS ARE PRETTY WIDESPREAD. BUT FOR US RIGHT NOW, IT’S IN MATERIALS AND SPACECRAFT DESIGN. AND OPERATIONS. ALL RIGHT. SO DURING SIX MONTHS I KNOW YOU’VE WORKED ON A LOT OF PROJECTS. WHAT DO YOU FEEL MIGHT BE THE MOST INTERESTING PROJECT THAT YOU’VE WORKED ON? WELL, YOU KNOW, IT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO PICK JUST ONE INTERESTING PROJECT BECAUSE THERE’S SEVERAL AND THEY RANGE FROM THE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT STUDIES THAT WE DO, THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF SCIENCE. ONE THAT COMES TO MIND BECAUSE MY BACKGROUND IS NOT IN BIOLOGY, IS THOSE THAT INVOLVE STEM CELLS AS WELL AS THOSE THAT USE 3D PRINTING TECHNIQUES IN ORDER TO REPLICATE TISSUE AND TO ME, THAT’S JUST INCREDIBLY FASCINATING TO TAKE A TECHNIQUE AND TRY TO MANUFACTURE HUMAN TISSUE THAT COULD HELP US IN EXPLORATION, SAY, DOWN THE ROAD, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE SUCH A REMOTE ENVIRONMENT, WE CAN’T, YOU KNOW, REPLACE ORGANS OR TISSUES OR WE NEED HELP WITH HEALING FAST AND WE DON’T HAVE THE MATERIALS THERE TO TO HAVE THIS KIND OF RESEARCH AT THIS POINT, I THINK IS PRETTY FASCINATING AND CERTAINLY VERY INTERESTING. YEAH. YOUR, YOUR REALITY RIGHT NOW IS WHAT A LOT OF FOLKS SAY. SCI FI IS BUILT UPON. THIS IS ANOTHER QUESTION. GO BACK SIX MONTHS WHEN YOU FIRST ARRIVED OR WENT TO SPACE, DID YOU GET MOTION SICKNESS? HOW DO YOU EVEN DEAL WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT? WHEN YOU FIRST ARE GOING INTO ORBIT? THE FIRST ARE GOING TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION QUICKLY. NO, I DIDN’T HAVE ANY SPACE MOTION SICKNESS. I’M I’VE BEEN FORTUNATE NOT TO HAVE THAT ON ANY OF MY MISSIONS. BUT THE WAY THAT WE DEAL WITH THAT IS REAL SIMPLE. WE HAVE A VERY HIGH TECH. THEY’RE CALLED EMESIS BAGS, BUT THEY’RE REALLY JUST A BARF BAG. SO THE YOU KNOW, THE REAL SIMPLE WAY TO HANDLE IT IS THAT IF YOU FEEL SICK, YOU’VE GOT A MEANS TO TO GET THROUGH IT. BUT WE ALSO HAVE WAYS TO MEDICATE IN CASE IT’S REALLY TOUGH TO ADAPT. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, SOMETIMES YOU CAN JUST FOCUS ON AN AREA RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU AND TRY NOT TO TAKE IN TOO MUCH OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND MOVE YOUR HEAD AROUND AND IN WAYS THAT ARE A LITTLE TOO ABRUPT FOR THE EXPERIENCE THAT YOU’RE HAVING FOR THE FIRST TIME. SO THERE’S THERE’S A NUMBER OF WAYS TO OVERCOME IT, AND SOMETIMES IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE TIME. ALL RIGHT. I’M GOING TO GET YOU OUT ON THIS QUESTION. I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN UP THERE FOR SIX MONTHS. HAVE YOU GOTTEN JADED? DOES IT EVER GET OLD TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND SEE EARTH? SO FAR AWAY? OR ARE YOU EVEN ABLE TO REALLY SEE IT? YOU KNOW, IT NEVER GETS OLD. I MEAN, TO SEE OUR PLANET FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT IS ONE OF THE MOST MIRACULOUS THINGS I CAN THINK OF. THE FACT THAT WE’RE HERE, THAT WE THAT WE CAN SEE OUR PLANET AMIDST THE, THE, THE STARK CONTRAST OF A BLACK UNIVERSE IS IS ONE OF THE ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING THINGS I CAN THINK OF UP HERE. WE DON’T GET TO STARE OUT THE WINDOW VERY OFTEN BECAUSE OUR TIMELINE IS IS PRETTY BUSY AND OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW ARE VERY PRECIOUS. BUT IT ABSOLUTELY NEVER GETS OLD. TRACY DYSON, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND ALL THE HARD WORK YOU’VE BEEN PUTTING IN UP THERE AT THE ES. AND AGAIN, WHEN YOU GET HOME, YOU KNOW, ENJOY EVERYTHING. YOU KNOW, IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS AFTER ALL. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. AND THANKS TO SACRAMENTO. I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPORT AND ALL THE

A NASA astronaut with Northern California ties joined sister station KCRA 3 live from the International Space Station on Friday to talk about her mission as she gets ready to return home after six months in space.Tracy C. Dyson is from Arcadia and earned a doctorate in chemistry at UC Davis in 1997. The Expedition 71 flight engineer is on the ISS as part of her third mission to space. She previously was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 2007 and a flight engineer for Expedition 23/24 in 2010.Asked if she was excited to return to Earth Sunday after another 184 days in space, Dyson said she was “super excited” to see family. “It’s been a wonderful six months up here. I’ve enjoyed the time and the camaraderie and the work,” she said. Dyson said it “never gets old” to see Earth while being in the microgravity laboratory. “To see our planet from this vantage point is one of the most miraculous things I can think of,” she said. “The fact that we’re here, that we can see our planet amidst the stark contrast of a black universe is one of the most fascinating things I can think of up here.” Still, Dyson said astronauts don’t get to stare out the window that often “because our timeline is pretty busy.” Dyson grew up in Southern California and went on to compete in track and field while an undergrad at Cal State Fullerton, where she earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry. She became a pilot while attending grad school in Davis and also learned Russian and American Sign Language. NASA invited her to begin training as an astronaut about a year after she began post-doc studies at UC Irvine, according to UC Davis’ Letters & Science magazine. She’s also served as a consultant to “The Martian” movie.For her latest mission, Dyson has been conducting experiments and studies on stem cell research and fire safety in microgravity.She told KCRA 3 that the applications for fire safety involve spacecraft, space station and spacesuit design and operations. “Anytime we come up with an understanding of any kind of physical process up here it always has direct relevance to those that are on the ground,” she said. Asked about the most interesting project she’s worked on, Dyson said it was hard to choose. “One though, that comes to mind because my background is not in biology is those that involve stem cells as well as those that use 3-D printing techniques in order to replicate tissue,” she said. “To me, that’s just incredibly fascinating to take a technique and try to manufacture human tissue that could help us in exploration down the road. You know, if in such a remote environment we can’t replace organs or tissues or we need help with healing fast and we don’t have the materials there.” KCRA 3’s Mike Cherry also asked Dyson if she experienced motion sickness when she first arrived on the space station. Dyson said that hasn’t happened on any of her missions. But there are several ways astronauts can adapt. One way is “real simple,” she said. “We have a very high tech, they’re called emesis bags, but they’re really just a barf bag,” she said. “The real simple way to handle it is that if you feel sick, you’ve got a means to get through it.” Dyson ended her interview by thanking those in Sacramento who have encouraged and supported her.

ties joined sister station KCRA 3 live from the International Space Station on Friday to talk about her mission as she gets ready to return home after six months in space.

Tracy C. Dyson is from Arcadia and earned a doctorate in chemistry at UC Davis in 1997. The Expedition 71 flight engineer is on the ISS as part of her third mission to space. She previously was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 2007 and a flight engineer for Expedition 23/24 in 2010.

Asked if she was excited to return to Earth Sunday after another 184 days in space, Dyson said she was “super excited” to see family.

“It’s been a wonderful six months up here. I’ve enjoyed the time and the camaraderie and the work,” she said.

Dyson said it “never gets old” to see Earth while being in the microgravity laboratory.

“To see our planet from this vantage point is one of the most miraculous things I can think of,” she said. “The fact that we’re here, that we can see our planet amidst the stark contrast of a black universe is one of the most fascinating things I can think of up here.”

Still, Dyson said astronauts don’t get to stare out the window that often “because our timeline is pretty busy.”

Dyson grew up in Southern California and went on to compete in track and field while an undergrad at Cal State Fullerton, where she earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry.

She became a pilot while attending grad school in Davis and also learned Russian and American Sign Language.

NASA invited her to begin training as an astronaut about a year after she began post-doc studies at UC Irvine, according to UC Davis’ Letters & Science magazine. She’s also served as a consultant to “The Martian” movie.

For her latest mission, Dyson has been conducting experiments and studies on stem cell research and fire safety in microgravity.

She told KCRA 3 that the applications for fire safety involve spacecraft, space station and spacesuit design and operations.

“Anytime we come up with an understanding of any kind of physical process up here it always has direct relevance to those that are on the ground,” she said.

Asked about the most interesting project she’s worked on, Dyson said it was hard to choose.

“One though, that comes to mind because my background is not in biology is those that involve stem cells as well as those that use 3-D printing techniques in order to replicate tissue,” she said. “To me, that’s just incredibly fascinating to take a technique and try to manufacture human tissue that could help us in exploration down the road. You know, if in such a remote environment we can’t replace organs or tissues or we need help with healing fast and we don’t have the materials there.”

KCRA 3’s Mike Cherry also asked Dyson if she experienced motion sickness when she first arrived on the space station.

Dyson said that hasn’t happened on any of her missions. But there are several ways astronauts can adapt. One way is “real simple,” she said.

“We have a very high tech, they’re called emesis bags, but they’re really just a barf bag,” she said. “The real simple way to handle it is that if you feel sick, you’ve got a means to get through it.”

Dyson ended her interview by thanking those in Sacramento who have encouraged and supported her.

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