I think in a lot of ways, science and exploration
is just innate to us as human beings.
That's why toddlers ask so many “why” questions.
It's just part of who we are.
In many ways, I think trying to explore space
generates solutions to problems that we didn't even know we had.
My name is Zena Cardman, and I am the Commander of NASA's SpaceX
Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station.
I was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but I grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia.
I grew up almost like an only child.
I have two older brothers, but the younger of the
two actually went off to college when I was five years old.
And so I learned to play in my backyard a lot, play with friends,
use my imagination, and explore the natural world around me.
I studied biology as an undergraduate student.
This is largely because I had a really excellent
high school biology teacher who inspired me
to pursue research on my own, even as a high school student.
But while I was at college, I also got to know, microbiology.
I got to know geosciences and chemistry.
I wound up doing a lot of research in oceanography, marine sciences department
and studying in remote locations like Antarctica.
I also, while I was an undergraduate, became a creative writing minor.
And I've always really valued that chance to study the creative side
of my brain and explore our natural world through that side as well.
I love being an astronaut right now because there are many pathways
to get to the international Space Station.
We spend long duration periods, so, many months long living
and working on board that space station, and it's really focused on research.
A lot of that research is on our home planet,
and a lot of that research is on us as human subjects.
I'm very excited to be actually a test subject
for a lot of the medical research that we're doing on board the ISS.
I've signed up for a very large, all encompassing medical study
called CIPHER, and this, I think, is going to be critical
as we start thinking about going for longer
durations and farther and places like the Moon and Mars.
My role as commander is to bring out the best in my crewmates,
From the moment we start training until the moment we get back to Earth
and then some.
And so I'm always thinking about that larger mission overview
and how my crewmates are doing and what we can do for each other.
Spaceflight by definition, requires collaboration
and requires more than one person, and the chance to be part of something
much larger than myself has been humbling and inspiring and deeply fulfilling.
Even since I was a child, looking up at the stars,
looking up at the cosmos is inspiring.
It helps me answer questions like, what are we doing here?
Who are we? Where are we?
I don't think we grow if we don't challenge ourselves.
I think that's true for myself.
It's true for teams, and it's true for us as a society and as a species.
We have to take some risks.
We have to challenge ourselves in order to push ourselves.
And I can't wait to see what we discover during my career
and for generations to come.