Shannon Walker

“NASA needs to decide, along with Congress, what our destination is going to be, whether it's going to be the moon, an asteroid or on to Mars. And we're building a heavy-lift vehicle to get us there and building the capsules that's going to be needed to carry the crew.”

“To be able to watch our colleagues, our friends come home safely is always an emotional event.”

“Being in space is amazing - it's the reason we all become astronauts - but you also have to love what you're doing on the ground, since that's how you'll spend most of your time.”

“One thing I really like about flying is that it is an activity that my mother and I can do together.”

“I would love to fly to the Moon or Mars.”

“There is something quite special about getting into a plane with my mother and going somewhere.”

“It's fascinating to learn math and science and engineering.”

“Having the opportunity to look out this wonderful 360-degree-view, down at the Earth - and at the rest of the universe - is pretty special.”

“I can talk about casting a ballot from space since I did it last time I was on the space station. They basically send you an electronic file, it's a PDF, and you mark your choices.”

“Sometimes you can have too much information. You keep gathering information and never bother to find out what the real answer is.”

“My sleeping bag is affixed to a wall and I climb inside and sort of float around in the sleeping bag at night while I'm sleeping.”

“It is incredibly exciting to be able to actually go and live on the space station after having worked so long on seeing the hardware built, getting it launched and maintaining it.”

“I do remember the space program from my earliest memories. It's always been with me and something I wanted to be a part of.”

“NASA works very well with different election organizations because we're all voting from different counties.”

“Mental fitness is obviously important to being an astronaut, but so it physical fitness. For example, space walks are extremely physically demanding. We train for them in a giant swimming pool and we wear this suit that weighs about 300 pounds.”

“I'm so proud to represent my hometown on the International Space Station where we conduct scientific research that can benefit all of humankind.”

“In some ways, it's the start of all those science-fiction movies that we watched as kids coming to fruition where you've got entities living and working out in space and off the planet. Just to be at the forefront of that is enormously exciting.”

“Well, eating is very similar to eating on Earth. Of course, there is no gravity, so your food does float around. So you have to be a little bit more careful that it doesn't go flying off your fork or spoon.”

“Growing up in Houston I did go through the public school system. I went to Parker Elementary, Johnston Junior High and Westbury Senior High.”

“Houston is where I grew up and luckily I didn't have to go far to pursue my dream of becoming an astronaut.”