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I think in a lot of ways, 
science and exploration

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is just innate to us
as human beings.

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That's why toddlers ask so 
many “why” questions.

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It's just part of who we are.

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In many ways,
I think trying to explore space

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generates solutions to problems
that we didn't even know we had.

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My name is Zena Cardman,
and I am the Commander of NASA's SpaceX

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Crew-11 mission
to the International Space Station.

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I was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois,
but I grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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I grew up almost like an only child.

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I have two older brothers,
but the younger of the

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two actually went off to college
when I was five years old.

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And so I learned to play in my backyard
a lot, play with friends,

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use my imagination, and explore
the natural world around me.

15
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I studied biology
as an undergraduate student.

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This is largely
because I had a really excellent

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high school biology teacher
who inspired me

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to pursue research on my own,
even as a high school student.

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But while I was at college,
I also got to know, microbiology.

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I got to know geosciences and chemistry.

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I wound up doing a lot of research
in oceanography, marine sciences department

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and studying in 
remote locations like Antarctica.

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I also, while I was an undergraduate,
became a creative writing minor.

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And I've always really valued
that chance to study the creative side

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of my brain and explore our natural world
through that side as well.

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I love being an astronaut right now
because there are many pathways

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to get to the international Space Station.

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We spend long duration periods,
so, many months long living

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and working on board that space station,
and it's really focused on research.

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A lot of that research
is on our home planet,

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and a lot of that research is on us
as human subjects.

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I'm very excited
to be actually a test subject

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for a lot of the medical research
that we're doing on board the ISS.

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I've signed up for a very large,
all encompassing medical study

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called CIPHER, and this,
I think, is going to be critical

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as we start
thinking about going for longer

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durations and farther and places
like the Moon and Mars.

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My role as commander
is to bring out the best in my crewmates,

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From the moment we start training
until the moment we get back to Earth

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and then some. 

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And so I'm always thinking
about that larger mission overview

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and how my crewmates are doing
and what we can do for each other.

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Spaceflight by definition, requires
collaboration

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and requires more than one person,
and the chance to be part of something

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much larger than myself has been humbling
and inspiring and deeply fulfilling.

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Even since I was a child,
looking up at the stars,

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looking up at the cosmos is inspiring.

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It helps me answer questions like,
what are we doing here?

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Who are we? Where are we?

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I don't think we grow
if we don't challenge ourselves.

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I think that's true for myself.

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It's true for teams, and it's true
for us as a society and as a species.

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We have to take some risks.

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We have to challenge ourselves
in order to push ourselves.

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And I can't wait to see what we discover
during my career

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and for generations to come.