DES MOINES, Iowa — Former NASA astronaut, experienced biochemistry researcher and Mount Ayr, Iowa native Peggy Whitson is heading back to space this summer as part of the Ax-2 mission.
Whitson sat down with Local 5 to break down the mission's goals, how she's preparing and what it means to be a role model for young girls interested in STEM careers.
The full transcript is below.
Q: You're gearing up for a new private mission to the International Space Station with Axiom Space. Can you explain a little bit about what this mission is about?
A: Absolutely. Our mission includes private astronauts and government astronauts To conduct a series of experiments, more than 20 experiments. We're very excited about the scientific research, and the outreach for STEM education that we're planning for the mission.
So it's, it's very exciting. It's, in some ways, like a very short mission, I would compare it to, you know, maybe a shuttle mission where our objectives are science and outreach. We'll be arriving on a SpaceX Dragon. So we'll launch and dock to the station. We've trained in the SpaceX Dragon as well as the International Space Station to be able to perform and conduct our experiments up there.
Q: That sounds so exciting. And you touched on this a little bit, but how would you say this mission is different than, say, other ones you've been on before?
A: Well, as a government astronaut before, the focus was whatever NASA's priorities and focus were for a given mission. I had the pleasure of being part of some of the International Space Station assembly and also conducting a number of different scientific investigations while I lived up there for over 665 days.
So, it gave me a lot of time to be a part of that, that 23-plus year legacy of the International Space Station, but space is changing these days. And commercial entities are building up and becoming more important in our expansion of space, and that humanity's expansion into space. And so I'm really excited about being a part of this commercial endeavor to change a bit of how we approach going into space and providing access to more and more people and governments to space.
Q: So, when you first heard about this particular mission, of course, you know, like you said, it provides you a whole different experience. What was it that made you say, I think this is a good fit?
A: Well, I have worked with some of the primary key members of the Axiom Space mission. Some are former NASA employees who have worked on the International Space Station. And they provide a good legacy and knowledge of how to change and optimize our new space station, the Axiom Space Station, which we hope to launch the first module in late 2025. And so with that experience, and with these new innovative Indian engineers, it has been really exciting for me to work and plan for that future space station, building on what we learned from the International Space Station, and making something new as we continue space exploration.
But what actually really drew me in was the idea that we would use the platform, the internet, the Axiom Station, as a platform for biomanufacturing and processing and continued research and space. And, being a little bit of a science geek, that has a big appeal to me.
Q: Obviously, this is no small feat doing something like this. Can you give us an idea of what sort of preparation and training you've been doing to get ready for this mission?
A: Yes, we've been training. My pilot and I were training — John Shoffner and I — trained as backups for the Ax-1 mission. And now [he is the] pilot, and I'll be the commander of the Dragon vehicle that will take us to the International Space Station. So, we've been training for a little over two years now together. He's got tons of experience and in flight and fiber optic technologies and other things and we also have two other astronauts from Saudi Arabia, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. One, a fighter pilot and one biosciences in stem cell and cancer research.
Our training specifically for this mission was done not only at SpaceX, but also at NASA, for the International Space Station activities, and the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency as well. We also did things like centrifuge training to practice the G forces of the launch and entry. We did outdoor and confined environment training for team building experiences, and developing good communication skills to work together. So we've done a pretty wide variety of different things to be prepared for the mission.
Q: You are the first female commander of the ISS and the first female, nonmilitary Chief of the Astronaut Office, and now you will be the first commander of a private space mission. So what does it mean for you to be able to provide representation for young girls who might be interested in science or STEM fields?
A: Well, it means a lot to me to be a role model. And, in particular, on this mission, Rayyanah will be the first Saudi woman to ever fly in space as well. So, it feels great to be able to mentor her in her objectives, to inspire her country and the world that women can do this job to. And it's, it's just meaningful to me to be able to have young people aspire to do something they maybe did not realize they could.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about how being from Iowa has shaped your career?
A: Absolutely. I think growing up on a farm gave me an incredible sense of work ethic. Obviously, as you know, farmers are hardest working folks ever, you know, they never quit. And not only that work ethic, but the ability to solve problems, problems that you know, just happen on the farm, you have to fix things to make it work to get the job done, and to approach life as kind of a problem solving, you know, thing that we have to work on. And I think that work ethic and that problem-solving were instilled in me growing up on a farm through my parents.
Q: What would you say are some fun facts about travel in space that maybe we don't know? Or we might find interesting? So I don't know, what sort of food do you eat? What's your typical routine, like when you go out to space?
A: Well, the food selection is somewhat limited. We have rehydrated food and what we call them, MREs. They're like military rations, but they're specially designed for space with lower salt levels, etc. So the food actually after, you know, a few months in space can get a little boring, but I always found that chicken fajitas were good throughout. So 665 days, and I could eat chicken fajitas. It was not a problem.
And, you know, there's lots of really interesting things about being in space. You know, if you think about it, we're traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, which makes us going around the earth about once every 90 minutes. And what's really cool as you think about the Earth and part of it's in shadow, while part of it's in the sun and so you have 16 sunrises and sunsets in the day. So it just gives you a perspective of that speed.
I think other times people don't understand that the International Space Station is huge. The trust that holds the solar arrays is the length of a football field, and each solar array wing is 115 feet long. Then there's like 15 modules, I always like to compare him to like a school bus-size module. Some are smaller school buses, and some are bigger school buses. But there are 15 modules that have depressurized sections where we live and work and do all the scientific research. So it's a really cool place to go and to be a part of. And so I'm really excited to go back and to take three new astronauts to space.
Q: But this has got to be taxing, I would think on your body, maybe both physically and mentally. So what do you do to get through it?
A: Well, the training actually prepares us, I think very much mentally, to be prepared for anything that comes at us. We practice all the bad day scenarios. And then I think that makes you realize you have confidence in what you could do if that happened. Obviously, none of us ever want any of that to happen. And we also, you know, the primary focus of our mission is to conduct research. And so it's all part of that process of training is to become comfortable with all of the risks and to understand them, and to train to protect against them, or in the scenarios where they might happen. Training can make such a huge difference and what you can accept, and, and don't feel comfortable doing.
Q: You've obviously had such an incredible career, what originally said, 'Space. I'm going to be an astronaut. I'm going to go to space'? It's not something a lot of people either think they can do, or even would consider doing.
A: Well, I was 9 years old when I saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. And I think it was a very pivotal, a pivotal age for me because I was dreaming of being an astronaut when I was a farm kid and I'm like, 'How does a farm kid become an astronaut? I have no idea.' And it wasn't until I graduated from high school and NASA selected the first female astronauts and among them was Shannon Lucid, a biochemist who I was like — I was in love with biology and chemistry — and I thought, 'Oh, maybe I can become an astronaut.'
So, seeing someone in that role really helped me change it from a dream and make it into a goal. It still took many, many years of rejections as I tried to get in to become an astronaut, but in the end, by path led me and train me to be well prepared for when I was selected as an astronaut.
Q: Is there a way you could describe what the feeling is like when you are in one of these spacecraft and you make it to space, I mean, that's something that so many of us will never ever experience or can't even imagine.
A: It's exhilarating. It really is. So it's hard to explain how special the moment is, the first view of the Earth. It's amazing to be able to see the planet as a whole. And see and recognize that as we live in this, this artificial mechanical place that we have built-in space that provides our oxygen and takes away our carbon dioxide and we look down at Earth and all of humanity, except for the few people that are with you, live down there.
It gives you a sense of, you know what I like to think of as Spaceship Earth. Because all of us live under this spaceship that provides our oxygen takes away our carbon dioxide protects us from radiation and gives us a relatively normal environment, although sometimes it can be kind of cold in Iowa.
Q: Peggy, I want to thank you so much for your time. Really quickly. Can you remind us of just the exact details of the mission? When does this get underway?
A: Well, our current official launch date is no earlier than May 8, and from Florida. We have launch dates lined up after that. Obviously, launch is always dependent on the weather. And you guys will keep track of it for us, I'm sure, but we're hoping for great weather on launch day.