I find myself looking around for other new, interesting opportunities to dive into.
Three secrets to success: Be willing to learn new things. Be able to assimilate new information quickly. Be able to get along with and work with other people.
The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun.
Well, we spend an awful lot of our time working and doing experiments. It’s very busy up on the shuttle.
There might be very primitive life in our solar system—single-cell animals, that sort of thing.
The experience of being in space didn’t change my perspective of myself or of the planet or of life. I had no spiritual experience.
There are lots of opportunities out there for women to work in these fields. Girls just need support, encouragement, and mentoring to follow through with the sciences.
I was always very interested in science, and I knew that for me, science was a better long-term career than tennis. So I decided on science when I was in college.
I suggest taking a high road and a little sense of humor and let things roll off your back. I think that's very important.
The fact that I was going to be the first American woman to go into space carried huge expectations along with it.
Once you are assigned to a flight, the whole crew is assigned at the same time, and then that crew trains together for a whole year to prepare for that flight.
When you’re getting ready to launch into space, you’re sitting on a big explosion just waiting to happen.
"I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals."
All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.