Astronaut Preparation Quotes

I've been approached to do some things with astronauts and the preparation that astronauts go through.

No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.

We'll go back to the moon by not learning anything new.

Being an astronaut, there are not a lot of things that have really shocked me in my life.

Every day, we get a little bit closer to the kind of expertise and the kind of experience we're going to need to go there. I'd love to be the guy walking on Mars.

I would say I had zero philosophical thoughts at that time. I was operating on a timed checklist that we've been trained to do, to try to maximize every really minute on the moon.

It takes an astronaut so long to get to space - that's how long it takes to catch up on my music.

So most astronauts are astronauts for a couple of years before they are assigned to a flight.

My key aim is to get man on the surface of Mars by the mid-2030s.

Our mission on Apollo 14 was to be the first to do science on the moon, so we had to be careful about getting everything in during the allotted time.

The best simulator for spacewalking is underwater - it allows full visuals and body movement in 3D. Virtual reality is good, too, and has some advantages, like full Station simulation, not just part. Like all simulators, they have parts that are wrong and misleading: an important thing to remember when preparing for reality.

I had thought training for Mercury was rigorous. Once we got caught up in the Gemini training program, our Mercury training looked pretty soft.

I think most astronauts are not risk takers. We take calculated risks for something that we think is worthwhile.

The Chinese are planning a manned mission to the moon sometime after 2020, and subsequently, to Mars. The U.S. has abandoned that dream.

All astronauts, even civilians like me without pilot experience, have to learn how to co-pilot a jet called a T-38.

Becoming an astronaut was a little bit of happenstance for me.

It was hard to become an astronaut. Not anywhere near as much physical training as people imagine, but a lot of mental training, a lot of learning. You have to learn everything there is to know about the Space Shuttle and everything you are going to be doing, and everything you need to know if something goes wrong, and then once you have learned it all, you have to practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice until everything is second nature, so it's a very, very difficult training, and it takes years.

We had been told many times that astronauts would not make any mistakes. They were trained to be perfect.

Well, for me it really wasn't a case of deciding to be an astronaut.

Mars is a long ways away. The moon is only 240,000 miles, but Mars is in the millions. It's too risky without spending more time going to the moon.

The training flow for the space station is a year-and-a-half to two years.

I don't think you ever really decide that you want to be an astronaut. I put in an application and hoped for the best.