Quotes from Peggy Whitson

My desire to contribute to the spaceflight team as we move forward in our exploration of space has only increased over the years.

I knew I wanted to be a part of NASA in any case, and so I chose my goals in education to be consistent with working at NASA even as, you know, a scientist.

In terms of goals for NASA before I die, we need to be living on Mars. And I might not live that long, so they better get on with it!

My undergraduate, I double-majored in biology and chemistry. Biology was kind of my love.

We want people to continue learning new things about what space does to the human body. It's important for us to understand that and make sure when we get ready to fly to Mars that we are ready for what we're going to be exposed to.

After floating for nine and a half months in space, gravity is not your friend.

Unfortunately, spaceflight takes a lot of time and money.

I think the International Space Station is providing a key bridge from us living on Earth to going somewhere into deep space.

I love working at NASA, but the part that has been the most satisfying on a day-to-day basis, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute, has been working on board the space station. Even if I'm just cleaning the vents in the fans, it all is important.

One of the astronauts I came to admire the most is John Young.

Viewing the earth from above gives you this sense of how special the planet is that we live on.

We are absolutely ready to go to Mars. It's going to be a fantastic journey getting there and very exciting times.