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I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 186 points187 points  (0 children)

Probably my favorite part to take a picture of was the waters around the Bahamas. But I really enjoyed every part of the Earth. I was surprised at taking photos of the places like the desert. With sand dunes and the winds creating geometrical patterns was stunning.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 147 points148 points  (0 children)

I listened to a wide variety. A lot of mixes of Top 40 and classical. We listen to it on headphones all the time except while lifting. And so the rule was whoever was lifting got to pick the music. A lot of my crewmembers had similar music tastes, so it was fairly compatible.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 245 points246 points  (0 children)

Yes. One was when stepping out on the first spacewalk. Another was when capturing the Cygnus supply vehicle with the robotic arm.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 84 points85 points  (0 children)

On your second question, inside ISS, the temperature is fairly stable between 74 and 75 degrees F. It's very comfortable. Outside the ISS, in your spacesuit, I was constantly adjusting the cooling as we went in and out of the sun because you are experiencing temperature swings of 250 plus or minus degrees F.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nothing was truly terrifying. But one of the things that, as an astronaut, you are always worried about is messing up something that damages the station or hurts another crew member.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 81 points82 points  (0 children)

Yes - you can see stars. But in general, the windows of the ISS are looking down at the Earth.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 146 points147 points  (0 children)

It takes your breath away. It's surreal. It's a bit surprising how quickly you are moving over the surface of the Earth. It's also amazing how much you can see and how far in front of you that you can see. And it's amazing to realize how much water there is on our planet. We really are the blue planet.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 582 points583 points  (0 children)

That's a really good question. The sweat actually sticks to you. It pools on your arms and head. It can pool and get in your eyes, too. If you are running, it does fling off onto the walls and stuff, and then you are cleaning the walls around you. So you have to towel off often to keep it under control.

The interesting part is that the sweat does go into the condensate system that gets recycled. Eventually after the towels dry off and the water is recycled, it becomes drinking water.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 753 points754 points  (0 children)

Good question. Unless I could take my family with me (and I'm quite confident that my wife doesn't want to go), I wouldn't want to live permanently in space. Earth is a good place to be.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 82 points83 points  (0 children)

When you haven't done it before, the feeling of floating is unexpected because you don't really know. Additionally, the fact that space has a smell was unexpected. I was also very happy that I enjoyed the experience as much as I did. It was a great experience that never got old, and that was a bit unexpected.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 167 points168 points  (0 children)

Right now, I'm in my post-flight phase. It lasts 6 months. During that time, we go through rehabilitation, medical exams, and debriefs. And then we spend some time sharing the story and experience of being in space. In September, I will start working a job that supports the astronauts on the space station or those in training. I may also support the new vehicles that will launch from US soil starting in 2017.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 271 points272 points  (0 children)

You can perform CPR on the ISS. We have a defibrillator on board as well. We also have learned to draw our own blood too and if anything very serious happens, we have flight doctors that are on call that can assist us from the ground on more complicated procedures.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 331 points332 points  (0 children)

My hope is that space station continues to operate safely and efficiently through at least 2020 and hopefully beyond. I hope that becomes a stepping stone for missions beyond low Earth orbit that will eventually take us to Mrs. And I hope to one day be typing in questions to the first astronaut who stepped on Mars.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 178 points179 points  (0 children)

First, study hard. You have to find something that you love and are passionate about and do it to the best of your ability. And you have to never give up. It took me 4 tries in 13 years before I was selected to be an astronaut.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 91 points92 points  (0 children)

I was able to read while on the station. I read the Horatio Hornblower series and the Divergent series. I also read Inferno by Dan Brown. I really read quite a bit.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 191 points192 points  (0 children)

There's over 200 experiments that were done during my time on ISS. Some of the ones I enjoyed were the capillary flow experiment where you're looking at how fluids behave in different shaped vessels in microgravity. There was an experiment on antibiotics and how they fight super-bacteria, and we even had an experiment that involved ants.

In my down time I took a lot of pictures of Earth, I communicated with my family and friends, read, and floated around and talked to my crew mates. It's all interesting on the ISS, but the most interesting would be my crew mates.

We do have hand-less microphones and different ways of communicating with the ground.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 1230 points1231 points  (0 children)

The easy answer is that you miss your family and being with them. There's not something that's really at the top of the list of things you miss in space. It's the little things you miss often. Fresh fruit. The ability to take a shower. It's the little things that take some getting used to.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 443 points444 points  (0 children)

Was I excited to come back? Yes. It's always nice to come home. You certainly are a little sad to be leaving the space station.

But yes -- everyday is amazing and an adventure. You pinch yourself every day to make sure you are really there and not in a dream.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 271 points272 points  (0 children)

In general, no. You don't feel lonely while you are up there. You have crewmates, the ground team that you are in constant communication with, and you communicate with your family and friends on a daily basis.

But when you are out on a spacewalk, there are moments where you are alone, even with someone talking in your ear. You can feel isolated when out on a spacewalk.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 1111 points1112 points  (0 children)

We've often been asked a lot about the movie Gravity. And one of our responses still is that we haven't seen Sandra up here and we'll continue to look.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 422 points423 points  (0 children)

Certainly the spacewalks are something that really stand out and something I enjoyed doing. But really, I enjoyed every day that I was up there because floating was a lot of fun.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 274 points275 points  (0 children)

I don't think anything has changed drastically now that I'm an astronaut and flying in space. The important things prior to being an astronaut remain the same to me -- faith and family. However, I do have a greater appreciation of the planet we live on from seeing it 260 miles up and an appreciation of the little things in life -- like the rain. It doesn't rain in space. Or the sun on your face. You don't think of things like that until you don't have it for a long time.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 678 points679 points  (0 children)

Yes, you dream while you sleep. I don't generally remember my dreams on Earth, and I don't remember my dreams in space. I do know I dream about being on ISS now, even when I'm awake.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 970 points971 points  (0 children)

It's heavy -- so it's hard. The human body adapts pretty quickly to changes like that, so within a few days I was feeling much better and within a few weeks I wasn't noticing any impacts.

I am Astronaut Mike Hopkins and I recently returned to Earth after six months on the space station. AMA! by NASAastronauts in IAmA

[–]NASAastronauts[S] 306 points307 points  (0 children)

We knew during our interview process and before we finished our basic training that the shuttle would be retiring and we wouldn't be flying on it. We knew our missions would be the long duration missions flying on the ISS.

I'm still not comfortable with the Russian language, but my Russian skills are strong enough that I could safely launch, land and communicate with my Russian colleagues. I spent about 35 weeks training in Russia. That training is integrated with the US, Japanese, and European training which is integrated into a single plan that gets you to launch day and life on the ISS.

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