The Crew-10 mission is going to be
a rotational mission to the International Space Station.
So we will launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket.
I'm just enjoying the way towards the launch.
Of course, I'm looking forward for the day of launch.
And we are going to stay there about a half a year.
So the first goal of Crew-10 is to continue learning about the Dragon,
and the Falcon 9 rocket that we're going to be flying on,
to enable SpaceX to continue their development of rockets
and even private astronaut missions in the future.
The other mission is to get us safely to the International Space Station
so that we can crew this incredible, national, orbiting laboratory
that we have and continue the science experiments that we have ongoing there.
One of the unique characteristics
of the International Space Station is microgravity.
We get to learn how humans and plants and other types of hardware react
in the space environment and the microgravity environment,
and it helps us to deal with all kinds of new
materials, medicines, and it helps us to push our knowledge forward.
The discoveries that we make onboard the International Space Station
then inform what we do on Earth, and it allows us to further
both humankind here on Earth and get to further places in the universe.
So I've often been asked why we explore, and I think it's different for everybody.
When people are born, they naturally want to explore their environment.
First as babies,
and then as kids, and finally as adults.
That's how we expand our world,
and that's how we find something new.
Every time that we make a further step, we learn something
and we learn how to adapt,
and that is so important to humanity.
This is probably the main things
which drives us forward and helps us to survive as a species.
There are so many unknowns in space, and, as explorers and as humans,
we want to find out what's in that unknown.
For me, it’s the fact that
I get to be a small piece of figuring out what the unknown is, in taking
that next step to get to the Moon and to Mars and the Artemis program.
Our ultimate goal is to go to Mars.
But it's not an easy journey.
And when we face a new challenge, we must solve it step by step.
I think that's one of the biggest benefits of the International Space Station.
We're outside of the atmosphere,
and, now we don't have the protection of the atmosphere,
what happens and how do we better prepare our people, our hardware,
our food, our water systems for that deep space exploration?
It's really important on the space station
that we learn those lessons now when we're in low Earth orbit,
that way we know what we need to bring with us
when we go on to the Moon with the Artemis program.
One of the things that we do on the International Space Station
is work with our international partners all across the world.
I think it's hard to overestimate the value of international cooperation
in space exploration, because we all know that it takes much time and effort.
Space is hard.
It's very challenging.
It's sometimes unpredictable.
And that's why I think cooperation is the key to success.
The International Space Station wouldn’t be international
without all of our partners.
And our goal is to be a beacon of hope for all of humankind
so that people can look and say,
this is what we can accomplish if we work together.