  Q. How did you become interested in space exploration?  I think I started to be interested in space in high school. Science fiction, reading stories about Mars, going to Mars, was exciting. And my background being mathematics and engineering, the challenge was to figure out how you could do it. When Sputnik happened in 1957, that was a big moment. It was clear that the most exciting thing that a student could do was to be part of the space program. And I think that helped motivate me.The reason we spend billions of dollars around the world to explore other worlds is that we want to understand ourselves. Is life unique, or is life everywhere? Are we limited by our planet, or are we something that will move out into the universe? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I want to learn about that. Some discovery about life in the universe would be extremely important. Some capability, finding that humans could make it on Mars, this is why I support human missions to Mars. Knowing more about life in the universe, and the question of whether we can to cope with the limits of living on another planet, is what motivates me. |
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