If you’re fascinated by the idea of humans traveling through space and curious about how that all works, you’ve come to the right place.

“Houston We Have a Podcast” is the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center from Houston, Texas, home for NASA’s astronauts and Mission Control Center. Listen to the brightest minds of America’s space agency – astronauts, engineers, scientists and program leaders – discuss exciting topics in engineering, science and technology, sharing their personal stories and expertise on every aspect of human spaceflight. Learn more about how the work being done will help send humans forward to the Moon and on to Mars in the Artemis program.

On Episode 219, the Crew-3 astronauts discuss their individual paths that brought them together on the third crew rotation mission of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This episode was recorded in June, 2021.

Transcript

Gary Jordan (Host): Houston, we have a podcast! Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, Episode 219, “The Crew-3 Astronauts.” I’m Gary Jordan and I’ll be your host today. On this podcast we bring in the experts, scientists, engineers and astronauts all to let you know what’s going on in the world of human spaceflight. Four astronauts are ready to launch from American soil on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon for the third crew rotation mission and the fourth crewed mission with SpaceX. On board are NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as Matthias Maurer of ESA, or the European Space Agency. On this episode we’re going to hear from each member of the crew and learn a little bit more about them and what they think about their mission. You’ll get to hear about their careers, their family, stories of their training, and you’ll hear their thoughts about the importance of the mission that they’re on, as well as the thoughts on their crewmates. They were a great group to interview, and they had a lot of energy and excitement. And even though three of the four of them will be first-time flyers, you’ll learn quickly that they have a lot to bring to the table. So here we go: the Crew-3 astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer. Enjoy.

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Host: First up is NASA astronaut Raja Chari, commander of the Crew Dragon Endurance and the Crew-3 mission. Chari is responsible for all phases of flight from launch to re-entry. Once on board station, he’ll serve as an Expedition 66 flight engineer. He was born in Milwaukee but considers Cedar Falls, Iowa, his hometown. He’s a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and joins the mission with extensive experience as a test pilot. Over his career, he’s accumulated more than 2,500 hours of flight time. This will be the first spaceflight for Chari, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017, and he’s also a member of the Artemis Team, so, he’s eligible for an assignment to a future lunar mission. Really enjoyed this conversation. So here’s a little bit more about Raja Chari.

Host: Raja Chari, thanks so much for coming on Houston We Have a Podcast.

Raja Chari: Thanks. Happy to be here and we get to talk about the Crew-3 mission.

Host: Yeah, yeah. It’s coming right up. Not, not too far until you actually launch. How you feeling?

Raja Chari: I’m feeling pretty good. It’s kind of surreal knowing that as we do some of these trips to SpaceX or different training locations, knowing that this is my second to the last trip here. This is, it is, yeah. We’re counting down, to use a really bad pun.

Host: Wow. So, so after this, so you’re at Johnson Space Center now. You go to Johnson Space Center one more time, and then really, it’s, you’re, you’re getting ready for the mission.

Raja Chari: Yeah. Yep. We’ve got yeah two more trips to Hawthorne, and more trip to the Cape. And yeah, we’re pretty much in the final stages.

Host: Wow. All right. Well I want to take this time to get to know a little bit more about you. You grew up in is it Cedar Falls, Iowa?

Raja Chari: Yep. Yeah, so I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But then moved to Cedar Falls really shortly after I was born because my dad got a job there. And then, yeah, grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Host: Cool. What was it like?

Raja Chari: It was a mix of a small town and a big city by at least by Iowa standards. So definitely not a, not a farm but also, still had that feeling of, you know, where the community was tight enough to know, you know, people knew each other whether it’s through church or school, but not in a creepy way, but in the way there, where people were interested in your success, whether it was teachers or, you know, other parents. Everyone had an interest in, you know, the kids succeeding and doing well.

Host: Yeah. Was there some moment or some series of maybe classes or something that really got you interested in engineering or science kind of field?

Raja Chari: Yeah. So I went to a place called St. Patrick’s School. And I think at some point in, you know I, I do have one memory of, you know, getting new tables and new equipment in the science lab there. And that struck, you know, sticks out in my mind. But I think just, you know, I was also, you know, I enjoyed doing math at the time. And so I think both those things were kind of a push towards the engineering direction. And I think, you know, my mom has pointed out that I always, always enjoyed space. I made little, you know, little spaceships out of random metal pieces around the house and would try construct, you know, little airplanes or spaceships. And then try to sell them, you know, kind of lemonade style stand on the curb. I think only my parents bought them from me. But so, some early things like that.

Host: So what, what was the inspiration for going the military route?

Raja Chari: For me it was the idea of, well, twofold. One, I really, I liked the idea of trying to fly. I think really the, the military piece of that, though, was, you know, I definitely had a, I wouldn’t been able to put my finger on it I don’t think as distinctly until I was more in my 20s. Looking back it’s really clear. But I had somewhere this innate, I don’t know desire or thought that I had to give back, that I had to serve. And I think it came from, well, I don’t think, I know, it came from now, my dad’s upbringing and sort of his background, his journey of coming to the U.S. as an immigrant and, you know, and working his way up, making a job at a place for himself in a new country after, you know, when I reflect on it, it was a hugely risky move for him to come start completely over in a new country. And I think, but the fact that that was something you could do really made me think that was those kind of values and the idea of having a country and a culture where you could do that, was worth, was worth fighting for and preserving. And so, I think that was really the reason that the military route appealed to me, of doing something where I felt like I could give back what I felt I had been given.

Host: Very cool. Give back and then also pursue that love of —

Raja Chari: Right.

Host: — flying and engineering. So, tell me about your time in the, in the Air Force Academy.

Raja Chari: So I’d say the Air Force Academy was four-year sleep deprivation exercise, basically. The first year, as I think most people expect is a pretty intense experience, but I think what I took out of the Air Force Academy was the idea that I could pretty much do anything or survive just about anything if I just persevere and, and I, you know, I think I learned the idea of resilience is where I first got, you know, that sort of drilled into me. And looking at things as half-full. And so, yeah, it was, it was a wonderful time to look back on; while I was there it was not as pleasant. I think if you’d ask me, you know, then I would have given you a different answer and a list of a litany of complaints. But looking back on it, it sort of one of those things you realize how formative of a time that was. And glad, glad I had that experience. It’s definitely colored most of my life after that.

Host: It geared you up for being a test pilot. So what was, what was that like? What do you do as a test pilot?

Raja Chari: So, as a test pilot, I think the easiest analogy I, I use the translator. And the translator is between the person doing the thing and the person who built the thing. And so, in test pilot world it’s the people who built the plane and the people who are flying the plane. And so, just like if someone was going to test drive a car, they could, to test drive the car and come back and tell the dealer, like, I don’t, I don’t like it. Well, that’s, that’s not very actionable. You know, they can’t change the car based on “I don’t like it.” And so, for us as test pilots we’re, we’re to take it to the next level, like, OK, I don’t like this because when, you know, because the human factors interface is bad. And here’s how you can fix it. So that’s sort of our, our job is to live in both those worlds.

Host: You were not only that, you were not only a test pilot, but you were a leader as well. You were a flight test squadron commander, you a, you were a colonel. So, so what was it like, you know, taking on that role, taking on that responsibility and, and what you had to do to — master that?

Raja Chari: I’m glad you asked. Because we talked about why did I go to the Air Force Academy, was to fly; I think why I stayed in the Air Force actually became less and less about flying and more and more about people. And so I, you know, people talk about when you’re in the military, like, to strive, like you’re, you’re, you’re end goal should be to become a commander. And you kind of just saying that because everyone says you should do that. But I don’t think I really realized until I was in it why, and it was amazing. It was exhausting physically, mentally. But it was, I mean, I think my wife would say the same thing. She was just completely exhausted by the end of that tour. Because, you know, I had the squadron and the test force to take care of; she had the spouses, the families. You know, it is a 24/7 job. And it’s not just commanding, you know, the, the actual unit’s actions, but you’re taking care of the people, it is a huge family. And that’s why it’s so rewarding, and, you know, whether it’s because you’re mentoring young airmen, you know, and helping them, whether it’s, you know, coming up with a financial plan or, you know, dealing with sickness or injuries or their job performance, you know, it’s, it is all these things across a huge spectrum. And it’s so rewarding to do but so, so exhausting. So, in the military we generally only have people be commanders for two years. And I realized about 18 months into it, like, there’s a reason because you could only handle this for about two years, and then you need to just decompress for a little bit.

Host: Yeah.

Raja Chari: But it, yeah, it was a, I loved it. I would, I would do it again in heartbeat.

Host: So then what made you start considering being an astronaut?

Raja Chari: So, I think I’d always had in the back of mind being an astronaut would be a great thing to do; I don’t think I thought it was really realistic until I was a test pilot and then and saw that other test pilots had gone on to become astronauts. And that’s at the point I think I started really pursuing it. And then the ah-ha moment for me was when I went to do interviews in 2013 at NASA, I was blown away by the people at Johnson Space Center and just the interactions, like, the other people interviewing but also the people, we went to some of the training facilities and every place I went, I, you know, I could see myself, like, this is a place I would like to come to work, this is a, you know, a great culture, a great workforce. And then I started thinking about my time in the Air Force and, also very high-performing organization. And, but it dawned on me that the reason I liked the Air Force wasn’t, I liked flying, don’t get me wrong, but it was really about the people.

Host: Yeah.

Raja Chari: And that’s what made me realize, oh, man I could, there’s a chance to do this job. Because in the Air Force at some point I have to stop flying. You know, at some point I’m going to get too old. But you’re never too old to hang out with really amazing people. And so, that really appealed to me to come to NASA, and the mission is, you know, clearly, the reason I get in the morning is to help with human exploration, solve humanity problems. It’s a pretty good reason to get up and come to work.

Host: And I feel like you got, I mean, just from talking to some of your crewmates, it seems like you guys as a crew really get along together. So, in terms of that people aspect, it seems like you guys are really a good unit.

Raja Chari: Yeah, absolutely. I would, I mean obviously, I would not say don’t send us to space. But would, I would also be just the fact that I get to train with these other three people and —

Host: Yeah.

Raja Chari: — and go on, you know, go on these trips to Russia, to Hawthorne, to SpaceX, and have these experiences, that in itself is great. I mean, I would, again, I’m not saying don’t launch us — please launch us — but if we weren’t to launch in October or November, I would actually still be pretty happy about, about the year.

Host: What are you looking forward to most? When you’re up in space, what’s really some of things that you’re really, really looking forward to?

Raja Chari: I think the things I’m most excited about are, you know, learning, basically, talking with the scientists as we’re doing the research for them. And so, trying to actually understand what, you know, what is this helping with? Or what are you, you know, so, our days are packed with, essentially setting up experiments, you know, getting the results, you know, and then setting up the next one. And then we’re tearing down something. And so, I think, you know, once we’re actually on the loops with them, so in training we don’t do a whole lot with the actual scientists because they never know exactly which ones we’re going to be doing, and so that’s one thing I’m looking forward to is once I’m actually on the loops — the radio — when you’re on the headset talking to them like, here’s what I’m doing, and then have chance to talk with the them after: like, what, what is that, you know, what is that going to teach you? Or what, what’s, what are the implications? And sometimes they don’t even know. Like, sometimes it’s you know, we don’t know. We’re trying this new protein and who knows what, you know, vaccine, or you know, treatment it could be used in.

Host: But that’s the idea is, it’s a, it’s a platform to explore…

Raja Chari: Right.

Host:…all the possibilities, is microgravity the only place you could take that out of the equation, let’s see what can happen.

Raja Chari: Exactly.

Host: Yeah. Very cool. You got a lot to do, Raja, so what’s some of the, you said, you said got some trips coming up until actual launch, and then you’ve got launch day itself…

Raja Chari: Yep.

Host:…so, so what’s coming up?

Raja Chari: So what we got coming up, we have two more trips to SpaceX out in Hawthorne. And out there we’ll focus on crew responses to off-nominal situations. And so, out in Hawthorne they have a whole capsule simulator, so that’s one of the few places we can do the physical tasks that are associated with those things, like getting the suit on in the capsule and reconfiguring it and stowing things that might be out and pressurizing the suit. All the things that might happen in the event of an emergency. We’ll spend a week at the Cape doing water survival. And so that’s all having to do with if the capsule came down and we had to get out early, or we came down in a place where we’re not expecting to come down, how do you get out of the water, or out of the capsule into the water, set up a life raft, all that, all that kind of stuff. Also while we’re down at the Cape we’ll also deal with emergency egress from the pad, the launch pad, and the rocket, so if there’s anything on launch day that, you know, they want us to get out of the rocket ourselves — normally they would come unstrap us and do all that for a launch scrub, but if there’s anything that it’s more time critical, we have to be able to do that ourselves. So basically, dress rehearsals of all those things. And very similar to the, the military in flight test world, we don’t think any of those things will happen, we hope they don’t happen, but all of our training is focused on what if it does happen? Like, let’s make sure we’ve, we’ve trained and prepared for all that.

Host: You got to be prepared for it. that’s right. Lots to do. And I’ll let you get to it. Raja Chari, thanks so much for coming out.

Raja Chari: Thanks very much. Thanks for having me on.

Host: Next is NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, pilot of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and second in command for the mission. He’s responsible for spacecraft systems and performance. On board station he’ll serve as an Expedition 66 flight engineer until he takes over as command[er] of the International Space Station. Marshburn is a Statesville, North Carolina native who became an astronaut in 2004. Prior to serving in the astronaut corps, the medical doctor served as flight surgeon at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and later became medical operations lead for the International Space Station. The Crew-3 mission will be his third visit to the space station, and his second-long duration mission, and the Crew Dragon will be the third spacecraft for Marshburn to fly in after the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz. He previously served as a crew member of STS-127 in 2009, and Expeditions 34 and 35, which concluded in 2013. A great guy to talk to. So, here’s Tom Marshburn.

Host: Tom Marshburn, thanks so much for coming on Houston We Have a Podcast.

Tom Marshburn: Thanks for having me.

Host: Hey, launch is right around the corner. How are you feeling?

Tom Marshburn: Oh, feeling ready to go. I think we all feel ready to launch tomorrow, but we know there’s some buffing around the edges we still need to do. And so, we’re, we’re excited to finish up the next couple months. It feels like it’s we’re going to launch tomorrow. And this times going to go by fast.

Host: What do you have left to do in this next couple of months to gear up for launch?

Tom Marshburn: We have a few more training sessions. You know, the training ramps up to where we’re finally at the stage where we as a crew train together, and not just myself and the commander. And so, we are learning our choreography, our communication skills amongst the whole crew, but also wrapping in mission control both at SpaceX and at Houston for the launch and landing portions of the flight.

Host: OK.

Tom Marshburn: So we’re, that’s still to come. We’ll, we’ll have a couple of NBL runs, or Neutral Buoyancy Lab spacewalk training runs. And then a whole slew of things, last minute touches on certain things that are require up to date motor skills, up to date knowledge.

Host: Try to squeeze in as much as possible…

Tom Marshburn: Right.

Host:…before that flight.

Tom Marshburn: Everybody wants to get a piece of the crew before, for good reasons say, don’t forget X, practice this one more time.

Host: That’s right. That’s right. I want to get to know a little bit more about you with this, with this time that we have. So I want to start with some of your, some of your early life. We got, we just got off the camera talking about some of the same stuff, but growing up in, it was North Carolina, right?

Tom Marshburn: Right.

Host: And being an outdoorsy kind of person and…

Tom Marshburn: Right.

Host:…your inspiration for, for space?

Tom Marshburn: So, small town North Carolina. Significantly, the last of seven kids; had a lot of people to look up to. A lot of things that, examples that I wanted to follow or not follow. And, you know, everybody growing up as teenagers and such.

Host: Yeah.

Tom Marshburn: But, had a farm in north Georgia that we’re, we had a chance to really explore and go off into the woods, and live outdoors for a while. And that really translated into a love of, of the outside. I became a backpacker and a climber, and, which was just a, just a first step in the whole idea of putting a human being out into a, an austere and maybe dangerous place. So space and learning about space became the most exciting aspect of that that I could imagine.

Host: And so, the way that you decided to pursue that love of space was through physics. Why physics?

Tom Marshburn: Physics, for me, was the most basic science. It was the science that explained it all. Everything else seemed to build up from physics. So, I loved asking those deep, sometimes philosophical questions, and that was why I fell in love with it.

Host: But then, so you started pursuing that in college; your, your bachelor’s, I believe, and your master’s were in physics. And then at some point you make the switch to medicine.

Tom Marshburn: Yeah, I switched to medicine when I found out that, after spending enough time in the laboratories and engineering, engineering work, that I was missing more contact with people.

Host: Hmm.

Tom Marshburn: I really enjoyed talking to people, getting to know them better. I had friends that were medical students; of course, my family was familiar with medicine, so it was not as such a strange idea to go off into medicine. But I figured that maybe was where my best skills were, what I could be best at. And so, I applied to medical school, got in, and made the transition from this purely analytical world to understanding the human being. And that was a fascinating switch.

Host: But that love of space never went away. And at some point, you were able to merge the two worlds: you got into, into medicine, and then next thing you know, you’re working at NASA.

Tom Marshburn: Yeah. The space interest went dormant for a while.

Host: Hmm.

Tom Marshburn: Medicine is so intense that you really have to put all your brain and all of your time and your body into it. But after I’d finished my training, I was in practice in Seattle, I got a letter from a former colleague who said, hey, I just heard NASA has this new training program for turning outside doctors into flight surgeons, to take care of astronauts and pilots. And I thought well, you know, I used to be interested in space; I keep thinking about how I can get into it…this seems like a perfect open door. So, I had to apply, but I got into the first class of the Space Medicine Fellowship at NASA.

Host: Very cool. So, from there, you worked at NASA, you got to learn from a lot of cool people, travel to a lot of cool places as a flight surgeon. At some point you were thinking, hey I could actually be an astronaut. When did that come up?

Tom Marshburn: My desire to become an astronaut kind of grew during that time. The opportunity arose as soon as I got here. And people said hey, you’re a doc, why don’t you apply? So I applied and I did not get in. And so, over the years, there was three more applications, but my fascination with space, my desire to work with these people that at that moment were my colleagues and patients, but to work with them in space, grew quite a bit. And so, after my fourth application I got in.

Host: Finally. Yes.

Tom Marshburn: Yes.

Host: And then you got to, you know, through a lot of training, you got to experience a flight from the shuttle, STS-127. So, tell me about that.

Tom Marshburn: Right. So, five years after we were selected, I finally got a chance to fly. The mission was very, very intense: 16 days, 11 days docked to the, docked to the space station, most of that time doing robotic operations; five EVAs (extravehicular activity). I mean, something was going on all the time. It was just a sprint. We were busy all the time. Even if you had time to sleep it was hard to sleep because your mind was buzzing with what you had to do and the work that had been done. And of course, it was my first spacewalk, and then I had two more after that, which certainly, kind of wraps up your whole brain. It’s hard to think about anything right before or right after a spacewalk other than getting that done.

Host: Especially with a, with a flight that’s just so jammed packed with activities. You have to do the spacewalk and then you got to go onto the next thing, right?

Tom Marshburn: Right. As a matter of fact, it all stacked on top of each other also. If we hit a stopping place and we couldn’t continue on, we only had a few days to solve it because the other spacewalks had to happen in order to get the work done before we came home. So, it was very intense. The ground team was working like crazy; if we ran into a problem, some bolt was stuck or some…

Host: Hmm.

Tom Marshburn:…object we had in our hands we couldn’t fit in the right place, we had to come up with an answer right away.

Host: Now that was different from your long-duration mission. A lot of people compare it instead of the sprint they call it a marathon. Now what was, what was that? This is Expedition 34/35.

Tom Marshburn: Right. Right. Went up there; space station has been growing in its capability to do science, and it was in this, this really exciting phase of some experiments with fluids and material science. And I was a guinea pig as well to where we were, we were, had a fairly punishing schedule. By the end of the work week we were tired. And occasionally working on the weekends. And the station has continued to grow since then. Didn’t have a spacewalk planned but at the very end we had an emergency spacewalk that we had to perform, it was only three days before I was supposed to come home. So that was a great surprise that, that had happened, and surprised that they were going to allow us, right before we came home, to get that job done and do that spacewalk.

Host: And so, you’re going to be returning for another long-duration mission.

Tom Marshburn: Right.

Host: Now that one was, was the Soyuz. This time you’re going on the SpaceX Dragon. So how have you been gearing up for this mission?

Tom Marshburn: Just like for the other missions, getting ready for spaceflight, I think humans kind of know how to get somebody ready. You do some academics, you get in the simulator early, you start working with your immediate crew, and then you build the team as you get closer to launch. There are certain motor skills you got to know like in spacewalking, keep that up, there’s some science experiments that require motor skills that we have maintain; robotics operations, how to fly that Canadarm so that you can grab satellites that, your cargo satellites out of, out of space and dock them to the station. So you’re keeping all those skills going while you’re also learning what science is going to be there so you can operate on a day-to-day basis effectively.

Host: Now you have three rookie crew members that are flying with you. And I say rookie, but just talking to you recently, they’re all just super-sharp people and they’re all very skilled but you’re the only person that has that experience that can share that knowledge of what it’s like to fly in space. So, how have you been doing that with your crewmates?

Tom Marshburn: So, making sure they understand at each stage of flight what our, our limitations might be.

Host: Hmm.

Tom Marshburn: What challenges that we might have from a physiologic standpoint, what it’s going to feel like? What it’s going to feel like to live there? What are their expectations for what they think they’re going to get done? And I want to make sure they can get everything done that they want, but I’ll be there to help, certainly; I know how I’m going to react, my body’s going to react, when I get to zero g. I know what my limitations are going to be. And so hopefully, I can help them if we have any gaps that need to be filled once we get up there. But also, helping the crew, I, we’re all very good at this anyway, but helping them make sure the crew has, that we have a good culture.

Host: Hmm.

Tom Marshburn: That we are, number one, that we’re safe. No question everybody’s going to want to get the job done. But I want to make sure everybody has a good time too.

Host: Absolutely. And it sounds like you’re going to. You have a pretty, pretty good crew with you. And it sounds like you guys get along.

Tom Marshburn: Yeah, we do. And that’s one of the values of training together. Not just in the simulator, not just during the workday, but getting out together, having dinner together…

Host: Yeah.

Tom Marshburn:…that’s absolutely essential to get to know each other.

Host: Very cool. Well, Tom, I wish you the best on your upcoming mission. Godspeed. Thanks for coming on.

Tom Marshburn: Hey, thanks very much. I appreciate it.

Host: Next, we have NASA astronaut Kayla Barron, a mission specialist for Crew-3. As a mission specialist she will work closely with the commander and the pilot to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. Once aboard the station she’ll become a flight engineer for Expedition 66 for her first trip to space. Barron was born in Pocatello, Idaho, but considers Richland, Washington her hometown. She earned a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 2010, and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge in England in 2011 as Gates Cambridge Scholar. Lieutenant Commander Barron earned her submarine warfare officer qualification and deployed three times while serving aboard the USS Maine. At the time of her selection as an astronaut candidate in 2017, she was serving as the flag aide to the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. What an incredible person to talk to, and seemingly always full of energy. Here’s Kayla Barron.

Host: Kayla Barron, thanks so much for coming on Houston We Have a Podcast.

Kayla Barron: Thanks for having me.

Host: Hey, launch is right around the corner. How are you feeling?

Kayla Barron: Good. I mean it is coming up really quick. I think for me as a —

Host: Yeah.

Kayla Barron: — rookie it doesn’t always feel totally real. You know, we’ve been in training since I got selected in 2017, and we do a lot of awesome simulated training. And it’s easy to forget sometimes that like, I’m going to be on the top of a rocket in a couple months going to space. So I think it kind of hits me in waves where I’ll have this moment, you know, like the first time I touched our capsule at SpaceX. Or certain moments in training where it just hits me in this really emotional moment, like, oh I’m going, it’s real, I’m doing this thing.

Host: I am going. Yeah.

Kayla Barron: And then it kind of fades back into this, like, I don’t know is this real life? Sort of, pinch me attitude.

Host: [Laughter] Well I want to, I want to understand how you got to this moment. How you became an astronaut to, to go on this mission, on the SpaceX Dragon to go to the International Space Station, conduct all kinds of great science. We’re going back to your childhood, and your early interest. I want to start with your interest in going into the military. I think it’s an awesome story of how, you know, you could have pursued a lot of different things, but there was that moment that inspired you that says a military career is something that I want to do.

Kayla Barron: Yeah, I mean it was something I started thinking about from a pretty young age. I think about twelve or thirteen I first started, you know, having an awareness of what it meant to serve in the military. I have some extended family in the military. I lived near the Air Force Academy during the part of my childhood when I lived in Colorado. And that was kind of something in the back of my mind that I was thinking about maybe going forward. And then at the beginning of my eighth-grade year, I was 14 years old, 9/11 happened. And that was just like this hugely eye-opening moment for me at a super-developmental time in my life. You know, just starting to understand how the world works, how complicated, how scary it can be. And that really traumatic moment got my attention. But then as I watched our country come together to respond to that super-tragic event, and really unite behind what it means to be an American, for me cemented my desire to want to serve. You know, I wanted to continue my education. I was interested in engineering. But I also was interested in how to challenge myself to develop as a leader, how to be a good person, how to support the people around me. And I was thinking about, you know, what can I do with my life that will have the biggest impact? How can I make the world a better place? And for me it felt like the military was the right place to start that journey. And that’s how I ended up at the Naval Academy.

Host: So, what were the things you were doing at the Naval Academy, first couple, you know, years? What were you doing?

Kayla Barron: Yeah, you know, at the Naval Academy we kind of have this three-part mission. The moral, mental and physical. So, the moral mission, it’s all about developing yourself as a person, a leader, a teammate. You know, being person of integrity, making the right decision even when nobody’s watching. Working as a team. Developing your leadership skills. The mental part for me, I decided to study engineering. So I studied systems engineering, which at the Naval Academy is control systems and robotics, a really integrated view of engineering, and got a lot of awesome experience in the classroom and in the laboratories there. And then the physical mission. I got to run cross country and track at the Naval Academy, and my teammates were really the core of my social group. And I got to learn how to push myself beyond my limits; you know, the, you think you’re capable of running a certain time in a certain race, and then you find out like how to push those challenging moments and beyond into new capabilities. And so, those sort of major things combined helped me prepare myself to serve in the military after graduation.

Host: That was, that’s perfect. Because then you, you had all these skills. I wonder at what point though you started thinking, you know, I’d like to, I’d like to pursue going into a submarine. When, when did that start coming up?

Kayla Barron: Pretty quickly after I got there. When I first showed up I, I knew for sure I wanted to be a naval aviator. I wanted to be a fighter pilot.

Host: Yeah.

Kayla Barron: And the cool thing about the Naval Academy is officers from every single part of the Navy serve there, and we also get a chance to experience those communities during our summer training. And so pretty quickly I found myself drawn to submarine warfare officers as mentors. I just really connected with the way they saw the world. They’re are nerds, funny, you know, kind of sarcastic. And it just seemed like a good fit from that standpoint. But what really cemented it was my chance to go underway on a submarine during summer training. We actually got to go, go out, submerge, kind of do a day’s worth of operations, and I was so impressed by the sailors in the submarine force. You know, the Naval Academy, you’re going to be commissioned as a junior officer, a junior leader in the military. And the people you’re leading are the enlisted sailors or Marines in the Navy. And these sailors were so smart, so intrinsically motivated, they really cared about what they were doing. And I could tell that they held the junior officers to a really high standard, but also, on the other hand, were willing to invest in shaping those junior officers into the kinds of leaders they’d be willing to follow. And so it just seemed like a super-challenging operational environment to operate a reactor or drive a submarine, with this really complicated equipment, really complicated team, but also, a really supportive team to help me develop along the way.

Host: It seems like that people aspect is something that’s super-important to you. And like it, it seems like you, you have a lot of passion for you know, the, the Naval Academy taught you a lot of good skills about systems engineering, you pursued nuclear engineering, you learned a lot. But it seems like that people aspect, just being with the right people surrounded by smart, driven people is something that’s pretty important to you.

Kayla Barron: Yeah. I mean I think that’s always been the core of where of where I found myself. Whether that was in athletics growing up, in my studies…

Host: Uh-huh.

Kayla Barron:…my family, the people I surrounded myself with. I — I’m always looking for ways to improve and become a better version of myself, because I want to figure out how to make my career, my life, my relationships count. I want to leave the world better than I found I found it. I want to serve. And so, to figure out how to do that I think you need to be around a supportive team who’s going to push you, challenge you, call you out when you make mistakes or have done something wrong, and also help you learn how to be better. And so, for me, I get the most energy from being on an awesome team. And I love working in a nerdy engineering operational environments, if I can with those teams. But for me, the people come first.

Host: I loved your story. We were talking a little bit earlier about, you know, when you went, when you started thinking about becoming a NASA astronaut and you’re surrounded, you know, in the interview process, you’re surrounded by all —

Kayla Barron: Uh-huh.

Host: — these super smart people, right? This —

Kayla Barron: Yeah.

Host: — and you said you had this, this feeling of imposter syndrome. Like —

Kayla Barron: Uh-huh.

Host: — what am I doing here? But I wonder, you know, if you can a little, share that experience one, but then also if you got that same sense that you’re talking about of being in this nerdy, you know, environment…

Kayla Barron: Uh-huh.

Host:…and, and, and you can, you know, call this place home.

Kayla Barron: Yeah. You know, I think when I first showed up for interviews, I really felt that imposter syndrome, like, like you mentioned. You just meet the other candidates.

Host: Yeah.

Kayla Barron: And they’re so smart, so accomplished. They’ve done all these amazing things. Been on all these crazy adventures. And I was just like, I don’t, what am I doing here, you know? The, even the idea of applying to be astronaut was pretty new idea to me, so I hadn’t had a lot of time to internalize all of the details of what it took to be astronaut, what it took to get selected. And so, I was kind of just like jumping in straight into the deep end. And for me the, meeting those other candidates, I was like, wow, I don’t know, they might have called me by mistake; I don’t know if I’m supposed to be here right now. But it also instilled sort like a healthy fatalism sort of. Like —

Host: Hmm.

Kayla Barron: — you know, I’m just going to be myself. I don’t know exactly what they saw on my application, why they were interested in meeting me. But if I try to be authentic, genuine, share who I am, good and bad. You know, if the committee of all of these fantastic accomplished people around NASA, in astronaut and outside the astronaut office, think I’ll be a good fit, they’re probably right; and if they think I’m a bad fit or I’m not ready yet, they’re probably right about that, too. So, I kind of took a deep breath and just decided to be myself. But now that I’m here, to your point, it’s just a group of super like-minded people.

Host: Hmm.

Kayla Barron: Everyone at NASA, it’s just such an inspiring place to work. Everyone cares about the mission. Everyone cares about each other. And everyone cares up — cares about showing up to be the best version of themselves, to put themselves behind that mission, to improve every single day. And so it’s impossible to come here and not be inspired by the people around you. Like even if you’re having a sort of a bad day driving into work, maybe you missed your coffee or whatever, you show up and the energy is palpable. Like you feel it and you want to show up for your team. So, it’s a great group of people to work with.

Host: And you, you got the astronaut job, you went through the training, and now you get a new set of great people. And that is your, your crew. What are looking forward to doing with your, with this crew, Crew-3, on the space station? Tell me a little bit about them.

Kayla Barron: I’m really excited to work with the other people on Crew-3. Like, I was so pumped when I found out I was going to be a part of that team because it’s just an incredible group of people with very different experiences and perspectives that I think are really complimentary. You know, Raja [Chari], he’s an Air Force test pilot. He has a ton of leadership experience in the Air Force, and really brings an awesome operational perspective but a really amazing disposition as a person, a teammate and a leader as well. He’s great at giving and taking feedback, he brings out the best in everyone around him and incorporates everybody, really utilizes the skills and perspectives of everyone on our team. Tom [Marshburn], he is one of the most experienced astronauts we have at NASA. He’s flown to space on the space shuttle, on the Soyuz to the space station, and now he’s flying on Dragon. So, he has years and years of experience and he’s worked with a ton of people across NASA and across our office, has a lot of unique perspectives. And he also just is an incredible mentor. He’s really invested in sharing that experience with us. But he doesn’t try to say like, oh, you have to do it this way because that’s way I do it; like, he really has gotten to know us. He’s a great listener, and he has a way of applying his experience in a way that will work for you. And then of course, Matthias [Maurer], our partnership with the European Space Agency: he’s from Germany, he’s part of our crew. And getting to know him throughout training, I really, really love working with him because he thinks differently than anyone else I’ve worked with at NASA. He really has a way of breaking things down to their fundamental elements: understanding, one, how things work, and two, exactly what is try, what we’re trying to accomplish.

Host: Uh-huh.

Kayla Barron: And he has a way of figuring out new tools, techniques, ways of thinking about things. And so, I feel like he’s really expanded my skill set as an astronaut because I’ve incorporated a lot of his techniques and ways of thinking into how I do things.

Host: So, what do you have left on the agenda to do with this crew to get ready for launch day?

Kayla Barron: You know, launch day is coming up pretty quick.

Host: Yeah.

Kayla Barron: But we still have some pretty important training. We’re going to head to Florida, to Kennedy Space Center, to really see what the launch pad configuration’s going to be like; how we’re going to get into the vehicle, we’re going to practice getting out of the capsule in the water in case we had to do that in an unsupported landing site. We have more emergency training in the Dragon and here, and for the space station in our mockups here. And then we all have a little bit of spacewalk training left, some robotics training left, and also, just getting our lives together so we can leave the planet for six months.

Host: True. A lot to do, Kayla. And I will let you get to it. Thank so much for coming on Houston We Have a Podcast.

Kayla Barron: Thanks for having me.

Host: Last but not least, we have ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, who is also a mission specialist for Crew-3 working with the commander and pilot to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. He will also become a long-duration crew member aboard the International Space Station. Maurer comes from Sankt Wendel in the German state of Saarland. Before becoming an astronaut, Maurer held a number of engineering and research roles, both in a university setting and at ESA. In 2016 Maurer spent sixteen days on an undersea mission as a part of NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, space analog. Like Chari and Barron, Maurer will be making his first trip to space with the Crew-3 mission. Overall a wonderful person with a fascinatingly unique perspective. Here’s Matthias Maurer.

Host: Matthias Maurer, thanks so much for coming on Houston We Have a Podcast.

Matthias Maurer: Well, thank you for having me.

Host: Your launch is right around the corner, Matthias. How are you feeling? You excited?

Matthias Maurer: Yeah. Yeah. Kind of, but I think the excitement will come on launch day.

Host: That’s right. We are recording this pretty, pretty early. So, there’s, there’s still a lot of work for you to do, a lot more training that you have to accomplish. I want to get to that Matthias. Before I do, I’m going to take a step from the very beginning. I want to learn more about you. Tell me about where you were born, what you studied, some of your early life.

Matthias Maurer: Yeah. So, I born in Germany and I grew up in Germany. Did the civil service as a paramedic. And then I studied in different countries. So, France, in the U.K., in Spain. So, it was all part of an integrated European study program in material science. And that’s how I discovered that traveling and learning languages and learning about different cultures, it’s a real enrichment.

Host: So you a, you would describe yourself as a people person then?

Matthias Maurer: Definitely.

Host: OK. Very cool. And what’s been your experiences traveling around and learning those new languages; what has it taught you that you’ve implemented in your life?

Matthias Maurer: Well, it’s like, the main lesson learned is like they’re a lot of different solutions to the same problem.

Host: Huh.

Matthias Maurer: And when you grow up in Germany, it’s like, you’re kind of, it has to be done this way. And but looking back from the outside and traveling to countries like India, for example…

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer:…you find that there are very unique solutions, very creative solutions to the same types of problems. So it’s, it broadens the horizons, and it also helps to see the world a little bit more globally.

Host: Very interesting. So, what’s, what’s interesting is you’re describing yourself as a people person. I wonder how that folds into some of your studies, because you went for material science. So tell me about some of the things, what interested you in materials, and what are some of the cool people that you got to meet along the way?

Matthias Maurer: Well, actually my initial interest was aerospace engineering.

Host: Oh, interesting.

Matthias Maurer: But kind of like, it’s a bit longer story, but when I started studying it was at the time when the Berlin Wall came down.

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: And so basically, I wanted to sign up in Berlin to study aeronautics. But these were the years when everything changed. And so, basically, I was kind of, I had to choose a different type of study at least for one year. So I started material science engineering. And the guys at the university who told me like, OK, next year you may then be able to switch to aerospace engineering in Berlin. They had told me like it’s all the same for the first two, three years; it’s basically engineering. And, but then I discovered material science is really interesting. I didn’t know anything about it. And basically, the, the origin of innovation is 70% in the material that you choose. So, well, I started it and I got so fascinated that I decided, like, OK, that’s exactly what I want to study. It’s probably much, much better than aerospace engineering.

Host: [Laughter] Well, you studied it a lot, right? You got a —

Matthias Maurer: Yes.

Host: — you got a Ph.D. in materials, right?

Matthias Maurer: Yes. I studied in several countries, and I got in total three engineering diplomas, in material science, material engineering, materials technology. And also a Ph.D.

Host: Very good. You threw in a little economics in there as well, right?

Matthias Maurer: That was an add on. Because —

Host: Oh, interesting.

Matthias Maurer: — like I was dreaming about, like, one day I want to like start my own company —

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: — and so, when I studied in France, for example, economics is part of the studies, and I liked this aspect because in Germany when you study an engineering title you, you never get into contact with economics. But I feel like when you want to start a company, you should also know about what’s important to also sell your product. So I felt like that’s helpful for, to become successful as an engineer. And so, I added all the economics, that was an add on.

Host: Very good. So, I wonder where astronaut comes in. Because it seems like you were thinking about a lot of different career paths sort of along your journey; it doesn’t, it’s not like, I mean, a lot of the stories I hear are, I always wanted to be an astronaut…that doesn’t seem to be the case for you.

Matthias Maurer: Yeah. So as a kid, I grew up in an area where we had a lot of fighter planes —

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: — flying across Germany. So, a lot of people know Ramstein, it’s the biggest American air base outside of the U.S., and so, I grew up around 50, 60 kilometers from there.

Host: Oh.

Matthias Maurer: So I watched all these people flying up in the sky. And thought like, wow, that’s good fun, I want to be become a pilot when I grow up. And later on, it’s like I learned how to fly a glider plane. So being always fascinated by flying and exploring the third dimension of our planet. But I also was interested in the technology. So that was why I decided to become an engineer, and to do research. And later on, I also combined my material science background with the paramedic background that I had when I developed new materials for medical applications. So I developed blood filters before becoming an astronaut. So, yeah, I was, I was interested in a lot of stuff, and I wanted to dig into the details and to learn about what is behind.

Host: OK. Well, tell me about your selection when you started applying, and then your interesting path to actually come on to ESA as an astronaut.

Matthias Maurer: Yes. So the selection started in 2008, and I remember well, I came back from work like developing my blood filters, and switched on the TV in the evening, and learned on the news, like, ESA is looking for new astronauts.

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: And I thought like hang on. It’s like I was, I wanted to study aerospace engineering before, and I’m fascinated by flying and technology; I’m an engineer, and I love science. So combining all these facts, I felt like an astronaut today does exactly that. He works, or he or she works, with a lot of, like, technology on the brink of what is possibly, what is possible, and we do a lot of experiments in space, we work in international teams — I love working in international teams — and with the excitement and the adventure that you have when flying to space. So this is a very unique package. And I thought like, wow, that’s finally, probably, the combination of all my interests in one job.

Host: And so, you applied.

Matthias Maurer: And that’s why, that’s why I applied.

Host: Very good. And it took you a while to actually get on to, to ESA, right?

Matthias Maurer: Oh, yeah. The selection took one year.

Host: Uh-huh.

Matthias Maurer: And after one year, from the eight and a half thousand Europeans that applied…

Host: Wow.

Matthias Maurer:…only ten persons passed all exams, all tests, and were considered to be suitable as astronaut. But then the director general of ESA told us, guys I only have six tickets, and I need to choose four persons, four of you who will not become astronaut. And so, Matthias, you’re unfortunately one of them.

Host: Ahh.

Matthias Maurer: But I want you to work for ESA because I think you guys are all very intelligent, very suitable persons and I want you to work for ESA. My three colleagues who were also not taken decided, no: either astronaut or nothing.

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: And so, they continued in their job. I was the only one who accepted his offer and started working at the European Astronaut Centre, in the beginning as crew support and Eurocom — Eurocom is like the equivalent of a Capcom (capsule communicator).

Host: OK.

Matthias Maurer: And after two years, I changed into a more management role. I was responsible for the, the evolution of European Astronaut Centre. So that’s when we started also talking to our colleagues in China, maybe to bring in China into the international community. But also developing EAC towards Moon exploration.

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: And so, yeah, that’s a lot of cooperation with universities, with scientists, but also, people within ESA.

Host: Very cool.

Matthias Maurer: Very exciting job.

Host: Yeah. So Matthias how did you go from there to becoming an astronaut?

Matthias Maurer: Well in 2015, the International Space Station program was extended four more years. And so, the director general came back to us and said like, I got more tickets to space, and I actually could hire one more astronaut — are you still interested? What a question.

Host: Of course, you were. [Laughter] Now you’re an explorer at heart. You got to do a lot of cool things. You’re about to launch to space. So you can call yourself an astronaut. But you’re also an aquanaut and a cavenaut. Can you tell me about those experiences?

Matthias Maurer: Yes. Part of the training that we are able to do is we go down into a cave, that’s in ESA training; we live six days, six nights, in a cave system. We explore this cave system. It’s between 10, 20 kilometers long. So much, much deeper and longer than we actually can explore in these six days. And it’s a training that is aiming at exploration, but at the same time at, like, strengthening your interpersonal skills —

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: — to discover how you are perceived by your teammates, your crewmates, as a member of the team. So you actually work your leadership skills, you work your fellowship skills, and you learn how to work with people in a challenging environment with people that speak different languages, people that have a different cultural background, and how to give feedback when things go wrong, and also, how to request help when you need help.

Host: Hmm.

Matthias Maurer: So it’s a very interesting training. And it also allows us access to a very hidden place, a beautiful, like, a beautiful place. These cave systems are so beautiful that you sometimes think like, wow, a master artist created this, and it’s all hidden underground, and not accessible to normal people.

Host: That’s right.

Matthias Maurer: The same I discovered living in the station, like on the bottom of the sea as a part of the NEEMO training.

Host: Uh-huh.

Matthias Maurer: I was an aquanaut during 16 days. And we explored Mars, so that was the analog simulation that we ran. This station is 20 meters below the surface of the sea, and so, on the bottom of the sea we lived there, and we explore the surface, a new environment. And I remember the very first day it felt kind of awkward having my helmet on, a helmet that actually is, like, locked onto my, my head, so I cannot take it off. So, in the beginning you think like, oh, what will happen if I feel uncomfortable, if I get kind of feeling of panic. But obviously, it’s a test, like if you panic in this situation, you’re not suitable for space.

Host: Uh-huh.

Matthias Maurer: And then you walk out there, and you concentrate: OK, do I fully understand all the, the, the mechanisms, the technology, what happens if, how can I do, how can I rescue myself, how can I help my colleague if he or she has a problem? The second day I went out there and, walking on the surface of Mars on the bottom of the sea, in our case, I felt like, wow, this is a completely new environment. This is so beautiful. And, and I felt like this is my new environment. I, I belong here; I’m part of this ecosystem. And all the fish that fly by, or swim by, they observe me and, and I enjoyed the beauty of this. And it was kind of a bizarre sensation, like, between the first and the second day: on the first day I was fully concentrated on myself, on being safe; on the second day I accepted being there. And it was very interesting to see that the human brain is so flexible and so fast in, in adapting to a new environment.

Host: Very good. And all, now that all the training, you do those experiences, and all the training that you’ve been doing so far is going to help you prepare for this mission on the Crew Dragon, Crew-3, going to the International Space Station for a long time. So can you tell me about some of your objectives there — what are you going to be doing when you’re onboard?

Matthias Maurer: Well, the, the flight to the International Space Station, I hope that it will be very straightforward. The capsule is highly automated so there’s very little for us to do, actually, in a nominal situation. We have to monitor with everything goes according to the plan.

Host: Uh-huh.

Matthias Maurer: After 24 hours we hopeful, hopefully dock to the International Space Station and start our roughly six months science program up there. I bring around 35 European experiments to the International Space Station. And counting also the American, the Canadian, the Japanese experiments, I hope to participate in roughly 100 to 150 different experiments. Some of them will be unique, only run once or twice. And some of them are continuation of what my colleagues have started several years ago. Because in life sciences you also need some statistics so we repeat like many times the same experiment. We hopefully have also the opportunity to see the station grow: we get new modules, the Russians want to bring two new modules, one of these modules carries the European robotic arm. And that’s kind of, like, exciting hardware that we developed in Europe. It’s similar to the Canadian robotic arm in kind of, like, performance, it’s a bit smaller, shorter. But, OK, it will not be able to, to catch capsules that are send up with resupplies. But OK, it’s a European technology that we want to check out in space and see how it performs. Then we have several spacewalks that hopefully will be upcoming. And we will also see different capsules coming, we will see the Boeing capsule flying to the International Space Station, we’ll see spaceflight participants coming with the Russian Soyuz capsule but also with the Dragon capsule. So lots of people, lots of experiments, and lots of excitement.

Host: And lots of excitement! Wow. There’s a lot that’s going to happen in your mission, that is for sure. And you get to do it with three NASA crewmates. Tell me about your, your crew. How, how are you guys all work together, and you’re going to be able to do all of this together. So how do you describe yourself as a crew?

Matthias Maurer: I think we are an extremely homogenous crew.

Host: Cool.

Matthias Maurer: So we are three rookies, but “rookie” sounds like as we are beginners and actually looking at my colleagues Raja and Kayla, they are absolutely experienced operators in piloting very sophisticated planes and piloting or operating a nuclear submarine. So I, I would say anything but rookie to them. Probably I’m the only rookie. Tom Marshburn, he has been twice to space, before becoming an astronaut he worked already as a crew surgeon in the, in the spaceflight program. So he has seen a lot, a lot of different crews, astronauts, different problems. So he prepared us, he helped us to like grow together as a team.

Host: Uh-huh.

Matthias Maurer: To be prepared for certain situations that might come. And so, I think I’m extremely happy with my crew. They are an excellent bunch of people. I enjoy every day of working with them, training with them, and I think we will have a very good time in space.

Host: Well, you’re a people person. You, you love exploring new cultures and that’s what, that’s what’s great about the International Space Station. You described all the things the Russians are doing, you have a NASA crewmates, and you’re going to see people from all over the world, really, with these, with these tourists and private astronauts. More NASA astronauts. It’s, it’s going to be an incredible time. All because of international collaboration. You being a part of this now, and this is part of your mission, how, how do you view that, the international, the commercial cooperation, this era that you’re going to be a part of right now.

Matthias Maurer: Well I’m very happy to see that our cooperation is actually growing. So, from the space agencies that started the International Space Station program, now, also, like having more and more commercial partners in there, it shows to me that we are on the correct path, on the right path. It’s a space program gets more and more robust the more actors we have, and the more clever people we have, the better our technology will become, and the more hardware we have and the more exciting new destinations we can fly to. So, I’m very excited to see also the flights to the Moon upcoming —

Host: Uh-huh.

Matthias Maurer: — the deep space Gateway station, like, coming to fruition. And so, we’ll have exciting, exciting times ahead.

Host: What a, what a cool time to be a part of. Matthias Maurer, thank you so much for coming on Houston We Have a Podcast. It’s been awesome to talk to you.

Matthias Maurer: Thank you for having me.

[ Music]

Host: All right, that is all four crew members of Crew-3. I hope you enjoyed the conversations and diving deep into some of their background. It was really a pleasure to get to talk to them. And they’re going to be launching here very, very soon, at least at time of this recording it should be tomorrow from the time that this podcast is released. But always stay tuned for the latest TV schedule on NASA.gov. You can engage with us and the Crew-3 mission by joining us on social and using the hashtag #LaunchAmerica. If you love podcasts, we’re one of many: go to NASA.gov/podcasts to find all the different ones we have across the agency as well as our full catalog of episodes. You can listen to all of them in no particular order. We’re at the NASA Johnson Space Center pages of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you want to talk to us, just use the hashtag #AskNASA on your favorite platform; to submit an idea for the show just make sure to mention is for us at Houston We Have a Podcast. The interviews used in the episode were recorded in the summer of 2021. Thanks to the podcast team as always: Alex Perryman, Pat Ryan, Norah Moran and Belinda Pulido. And again, thanks to Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer for their time in the studio to share their knowledge and thoughts with the world prior to launch. Godspeed. A big thanks to the production team for their support in the Crew-3 interviews, including Charles Clendaniel, Bill Stafford, and Josh Valcarcel. Give us a rating and feedback on whatever platform you’re listening to us on and tell us how we did. We’ll be back next week.