COLLEGE STATION, March 21, 2011 – Texas A&M University graduate and NASA astronaut Mike Fossum will return to space in May as part of the International Space Station Expeditions 28 and 29.
Fossum, a 1980 Texas A&M mechanical engineering graduate, will serve as a flight engineer on Expedition 28 and as commander of Expedition 29, and serving under him will be Satoshi Furukawa of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov. The trio is scheduled to launch to the station aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 30 and will return Nov 16.
Fossum says the team will conduct numerous experiments while in space, plus replace a faulty pump module on the station that went out several months ago.
“We (the crew) are sort of the lab rats on these expeditions,” Fossum says from NASA headquarters in Houston.
“We will be part of numerous bone mass experiments and cardiovascular projects. We will study changes in the heart during space following some rigorous exercise routines. We’ll also be doing some nutrition experiments with sodium intake, plus doing some work on how space affects your eyes.
“In addition, we’ll conduct some experiments on flames and different fuel mixtures. It’s always a race to get everything done we hope to when we’re up there.”
A veteran astronaut, Fossum made two previous missions aboard the space shuttles, once in 2006 and again in 2008. He made three space walks on each mission
During a NASA news conference, Fossum was asked about the most challenging aspect of returning to space.
“It’s always being away from your family that’s the hardest part,” he notes. “I have four kids and a 3-week-old granddaughter, and I will really miss seeing them.
“But this is what I have trained to do for the past 25 years. The opportunity to return to space is always exciting. I’ve always dreamed of doing this type of work since I was a child.
“When you’re in space, you see images that are just incredible,” he adds. “Thunderstorms and lightning from up there are awesome, plus the sight of seeing the major cities of the world lit up at night are beautiful. You can also see how man is changing the planet, such as the burning of the rain forests in the Amazon, and you can see the smoke easily from up there. When you are in space, it’s the greatest adventure of all.”
It’s customary for astronauts to take aboard personal souvenirs in space, and Fossum says he won’t bypass the chance to do on his upcoming trip.
“I won’t take my Aggie boots because there’s not enough room for them, but I may take some Aggie rings on board,” he jokes. “Plus, I might sneak a few other things up there, too.”
Contact: Keith Randall, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4644 or keith-randall@tamu.edu For more news about Texas A&M University, go to http://tamunews.tamu.edu.
Tags: Mike Fossum, NASA