International Space Station Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, estimated that he and his Expedition 10 crewmate, cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, have traveled “many millions” of kilometers through space since their mission began last October.
The Expedition 10 crew marked its 100th day in space January 21. Chiao made the comment in response to a question put to him January 19 during an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact between NA1SS on the ISS and F6KFA at Robespierre School in Rueil Malmaison, France.
“If you figure we orbit Earth once every one and a half hours, and we’re going to be up here six months, you can figure it out. It’s going to be many millions,” Chiao said, inviting the youngsters to do the math for themselves.
As hard as he worked to become an astronaut and earn a place on an ISS crew–he and Sharipov trained for more than three years for their mission, and Chiao described getting into the astronaut program as “pretty competitive”–Chiao said he had no desire to spend his life off the planet.
“I really love being in space, I love being on space missions, but I miss my family and friends and other things about the earth,” Chiao said. “I miss nature and fresh fruits and vegetables, so while I like being in space, I do want to come back to Earth.”
While he’s in space, however, Chiao said looking at Earth is one of his and Sharipov’s favorite pastimes, and he said they can see a lot with the naked eye, including continents and cities. “I’m still looking for the Great Wall [of China],” Chiao said. “I haven’t seen it yet.”
An audience of more than 300 turned out for the event at the primary school near Paris, more than 200 of them students. The enthusiastic crowd erupted into loud applause as the QSO drew to a close, and cheers broke out after Chiao offered his now-traditional parting comment to “follow your dreams and reach for the stars.”
ARISS http://www.rac.ca/ariss/ is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.