By Dr. Ellen Curran
Can you imagine being an astronaut and travelling into space
for MONTHS? KidForce Magazine was given the opportunity to chat with Dr. Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut, just a few weeks after she spent 205 days in space.
Dr. Meir’s journey began on September 25th 2019 when she and a crew of astronauts launched into space. Dr. Meir served as the Flight Engineer for the expedition. Together, she and the crew performed many experiments, recorded data and reported results. The experiments focused on topics including biology, Earth science and technology. She visited the International Space Station and shared the job of upgrading an important part of the research equipment. On October 18th 2019, Dr. Meir completed the first ever allfemale spacewalk with her crewmate, Christina Koch. She would complete two more spacewalks, with the time outside tethered to the spacecraft totaling 21 hours and 44 minutes. Dr. Meir returned from space on April 17th 2020. On her experience being on the launchpad, Dr. Meir states, “We fly a lot: high altitude aircrafts, the g-force training. Nothing really prepares you for what it really feels like to lift off of the planet.” Before Dr. Meir was walking in space, she was a young girl exploring in the wooded areas of Maine. “My mom who is Swedish is very passionate about the outdoors and showing things to me, my nieces and nephews…so growing up where there were a lot of trees and a lot of outdoor things to explore that really fueled my desire to understand the world around me.” Understanding the world around us may be just what we need at this time according to Dr. Meir. “I think it’s a difficult time right now and it’s a time that’s a challenge for everybody especially kids…but you know what? I think we need to get outside to explore a little bit to take advantage of some of these aspects of nature.” Dr. Meir graduated from Brown University, here in Rhode Island and went on to earn her doctorate in marine biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “I have a lot of memories in Rhode Island. I would say one of my really memorable ones was that I learned how to scuba dive in Narragansett Bay. I took my scuba certification courses at Brown University in the pool and then we did our final test out in Jamestown.”
NASA astronaut and Expedition 62 Flight Engineer Jessica Meir photographs the Earth below from inside the International Space Station's "window to the world," the cupola. The orbiting lab was flying above the Pacific Ocean about to cross Baja California at the time this photograph was taken.
Fast forward to her time on the space station and Dr. Meir was busy with her research while taking breaks to enjoy the view from the observation window. “I really enjoyed the work that we did, but in my free time I tried to get to the window whenever possible. That view we had was just extraordinary. We were going around the planet every 90 minutes. With the perspective from up there you can see all these things that you can’t actually appreciate from the ground, like the giant lava flow of a previous volcano that erupted.“
When the space crew wasn’t working or gazing out the window, they made sure they celebrated. Although Dr. Meir was the only crewmember who did not have a birthday in space, she made it her mission to recognize her friends. “I am very passionate about birthdays. I actually made birthday cakes for all of my crewmates.” Dr. Meir reported that she used what she had to assemble a space cake. She used muffin tops from their breakfast pantry along with frosting to make a cake. There was a little problem, though. Since the crew was in zero gravity, all of the parts of the cake were floating as she was trying to put it together! “It’s all just floating there. I used the frosting to glue the muffin top to the cutting board and kept using the frosting to make layers of more muffin tops. I made a decoration with frosting on the top layer… I really appreciated those moments together with the crew.”
Four Expedition 61 crewmembers unpack fresh fruit and other goodies from a stowage bag delivered aboard Japan's HTV-8 cargo craft. From left are, NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir, Andrew Morgan and Christina Koch with Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency).
Along with these crew moments, Dr. Meir also emphasizes the importance of good music to help during missions. “If I have a good soundtrack playing, I have the power of music helping to get through it and then you know it elevates my mood and I think it really helps us to perform better. I think there is a natural connection between all types of art and science.” She went on to talk about her photography out the shuttle window. “I love the combination of thinking about the natural history of our planet in terms of the geology, biology and all the ecosystems and understanding the beauty of it and thinking of it in an artistic mindset.”
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir cuts Mizuna mustard green leaves grown aboard the International Space Station for the VEG-04B space agriculture study. The botany research is helping scientists to learn how to provide fresh food to space crews on long-duration missions. The Expedition 61 crewmembers also tasted the leaves for edibility and stowed the leftovers in a science freezer for scientific analysis.
The mindset to complete her missions successfully is something that Dr. Meir credits to her intense training, a willingness to make mistakes and those thousands of people who are part of the NASA team working together. “You have to be willing to take a risk and you have to be willing to fail. It’s a good thing to fail along the way because that’s when you truly learn a good lesson and acquire the knowledge you need to take the next step. That’s something that has happened to me and all the other astronauts. We’ve all failed along the way.” When asked how she manages to take that first step to do something brave, Dr. Meir stated, “I think I’ve always kind of lived my life in the way that without risk, there’s really no reward.” Well said, Dr. Meir and thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us!
Write your answers below and then compare them with Jessica Meir’s answers at the bottom of the page!
1) Lemon-flavored, Watermelon or Cherry Frozen Lemonade? 2) Quahogs or Coffee Milk?
3) Bakery Pizza or Pizza with Cheese?
1) Dr. Meir Prefers … Lemon-flavored! 2) Dr. Meir Prefers … Coffee Milk! 3) Dr. Meir Prefers … Bakery Pizza!
Congratulations Madelyne and Liam, whose questions were chosen for our very special interview with astronaut Jessica Meir! Was it different/harder being a girl to try and become an astronaut? -Madelyne K. Age 8, West Kingston, RI Dr. Meir: “It is equally hard for everybody. It is difficult to do, but the cool thing about it is you know it was my dream from the time that I was five years old and it’s proof that dreams can come true. I think for everyone, no matter who you are, it’s first really important to make sure what it is you’re passionate about. I think the only way that you can be truly successful and really truly happy doing something, is if you are really passionate about it. Once you have found what you are really passionate about then be ready to work hard and put in a lot of dedication and perseverance and then those dreams can really come true for anybody. Don’t let it stop you if you think a certain job is only for a certain type of person or you have to look a certain way or have a certain background. Really the sky is the limit these days, so anyone can achieve their dream.”
What was your most difficult adjustment coming home after being away for so long? -Liam R., Age 10, East Greenwich, RI Dr. Meir: “Well, most of the adjustment is really just dealing with gravity again. It’s quite interesting, when you come back. You feel that everything is extraordinarily heavy. I remember just picking up a tablet on the airplane on the way back home and it felt like the tablet weighed at least 30 pounds because your brain has become used to things being weightless. It’s a really interesting adaptation for both your brain and your body to re-experience gravity. One of the most difficult things is running. When you jump up and you lift your foot up, that feels normal. But when you come down, you feel like you’re being pushed down into the ground and that you weigh five times as much as normal. I’ve been back for about three and a half weeks now and I’m starting to feel quite a bit more normal. When you’re doing a rigorous workout, for example, they say it takes about two months to feel back to normal.”
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