continued… We hustled over to the building the Astronaut Talk was in and took a seat in the mostly empty theater. The astronaut of the day was Bob Cenker, who did one mission aboard the Space Shuttle as a private contractor — he wasn’t an actual NASA astronaut.

Bob was chosen for the mission because he was a satellite specialist and they needed his specialist services on this particular mission. He talked about what it was like to be in space – the first day, he was very sick. Once he adjusted, he could eat fine, but preparing food was a challenge. He also talked about the challenges of using the toilet. He was very detailed about his experience — what day to day life was like, how his body changed, etc. He also talked about adjusting back to Earth upon return. He told a funny story about dropping dishes because he forgot they didn’t float. 

Next on the to-do list was an exhibit called Journey to Mars, which was in a building across the way from the theater. On the way over, we stopped to look at a vehicle called the Mars Rover Vehicle Navigator that was parked near the Journey to Mars. According to the signs, it was a prototype of a high tech mobile laboratory. The vehicle was electric and designed to traverse the demanding landscape of Mars. It could seat 4 people, cruise at 2 – 4 mph (3.2 – 6.4 kph) and had a max speed of 5 – 6 mph (8 – 9.7 kph). We found it interesting that the sign said “Not funded by taxpayer dollars.”