1. I was the first female Shuttle pilot, and, after piloting two missions, I became the first (and currently only) female Shuttle commander.
I commanded STS-93, on which the Chandra X-ray Observatory was deployed.
My hometown is Elmira, New York.
In 2005, I will command the STS-114 Return To Flight mission, which will carry a crew of seven to the International Space Station.



2. I was the last man on the Moon. I was the commander of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to land on the Moon in 1972.
Alan Shepard was my hero. I was named as Alan Shepard’s backup commander for Apollo 14. By the time of that flight, I actually had more spaceflight experience than Shepard.
As a pilot, I became the second American to walk in space during the Gemini IX mission in 1966.
In 1969, Commander Tom Stafford and I piloted a lunar lander to within 8 nautical miles of the surface of the Moon, in preparation for the Apollo 11 Moon landing.


3. I am a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions, including the first U.S. flight to carry a Russian cosmonaut. Today, I am involved in spaceflight, as the director of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
I flew with the first Japanese astronaut on the Shuttle during my first flight.
Persistence was a key to my success. I applied to the astronaut program three times before being accepted.
I was a mission specialist on Endeavour STS-47, Discovery STS-60, and Discovery STS-85. Science experiments were conducted on a Spacelab module during the STS-47 1992 joint U.S.-Japanese mission. I served as payload commander on the STS-85 1997 Shuttle flight.

4. I was NASA’s science officer on the Expedition 7 mission to the International Space Station from April until October 2003. Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and I were the first two-person crew to live on board the Station following the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February 2003.
I became the first NASA astronaut to both launch and land aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
I was one of the first American astronauts to return from a long-duration spaceflight with almost no loss in bone density and little loss in muscle strength. The crew was given an “exercise prescription” for the workout they had to perform. “And, I did extra on top of that on my own."


5. I am a United States Air Force pilot and test pilot, and have flown over 5,000 hours in 45 different types of aircraft.
I served in Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Since becoming an astronaut, I have piloted two Space Shuttle flights and have flown over 8 million miles in space.
On STS-92 with my crewmates, I used the Space Shuttle’s robotic arm to assemble key elements to the International Space Station. On STS-112, the crew completed more installation of the Space Station, taking three space walks. STS-112 was the first Shuttle mission to use a camera to view the External Tank, providing a live view of the launch to viewers and flight controllers.


6. I am preparing for my first Space Shuttle flight. I will be a mission specialist aboard STS-114, the Return to Flight voyage of the Space Shuttle program!
As a kid, the Mercury 7 astronauts were my heroes. I studied science and engineering, and aimed for a career with NASA. The first time I applied for an opening as a mission specialist in 1978, I didn’t have enough experience at that time and wasn’t selected. I reapplied 18 years later, and that perseverance paid off.
I first worked for NASA’s Langley Research Center as a research scientist, working with Space Shuttle-related projects. I have received over 21 NASA awards for technical innovations and accomplishments, an award for one of the top 100 technical innovations of 1983, and hold seven patents.
After 2 years of astronaut training, I have worked in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems and Operations Branch, and have been a backup crew member of the International Space Station Expedition 8 crew.


7. I spent 6 months on the International Space Station and was the Station’s first Science Officer. As part of the Expedition 5 crew, I was in space for over 184 days.
In space, I really liked peanut butter.
I developed a process for separating blood cells from plasma for storage on the Space Station.
I am from Beaconsfield, Iowa. I love gardening, especially taking care of flowers. My father is a soybean farmer. In space, I worked on a soybean experiment, taking seeds, growing them, harvesting new seeds, and seeing if the genes changed in anyway.
I performed a 4-hour space walk to install parts of the Space Station structures.


8. I am a former football player. I played football at the University of Richmond. I still hold Richmond’s career records for receptions and receiving yards. I played football for the Detroit Lions in 1986 and later spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before retiring due to injuries.
My parents are educators. My favorite subject in school was mathematics. Some of my favorite books were Curious George and The Little Engine That Could. Curious George reminded me of myself—curious to the point of getting into trouble sometimes. The Little Engine That Could gave me the motto I use to this day—“I think I can, I think I can.”
I worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center helping to develop fiber optic sensors.
My hobbies are photography, skateboarding, and cross cross-country motorcycle riding. I have also been a tennis instructor.