Selected Questions and Clayton's Answers

The first set of 10 questions were submitted to Clayton and returned on October 10, 2007.

Joel, Age 7 - Exeter, NE
Q:	Did you want to be an astronaut when you were a kid like 7 or 8 years old?
A:	Yep! My folks got my brother and sister and I up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve in 1968 to watch the Apollo 8 astronuats fly around the back side of the moon! Really cool...I was hooked! I knew then, that I wanted to be a part of NASA. I just got lucky when they selected me to become an astronaut.
Aaron, Age 8 - Lincoln, NE
Q:	What do the stars look like from orbit?
A:	They look pretty much like they do from Earth. But, without the atmosphere to look through, they don't have that "twinkle" that you see from the ground. They are just a steady bit of light!
Trystan, Age 8 - Exeter, NE
Q:	How do you know when it is time to sleep?
A:	I just look at my watch! We are on the same type of schedule that you are on down there. It's just that we are on Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. That means our clocks are about 5 hours ahead of yours in Nebraska. We also have a computer program that shows our work schedule for the day. It clearly lists when "sleep" is supposed to start (it never does because I usually stay up a bit later than that), and then when our wakeup time is. I set the alarm on my watch for wake up time...I have only overslept once!
Nathaniel, Age 8 - Beatrice, NE
Q:	I would like to know if any of the knots you learned to tie has been helpful in space and Do you know how big space is?
A:	First, I have no idea how big space is...but I do know that it is too large for our human minds to even be able to comprehend it! As for knots...I am sorry to say that I have forgotten many of them, but still use the slip knot, the square knot and sometimes the bowline!
Alex, Age 13 - Nebraska City, NE
Q:	Will you expect to have any health or physical problems when you return from space?
A:	I expect to have some minor ones...like back aches and such. But I will be on a pretty strict rehabilitation schedule that should get me "back to normal" in about 2-3 weeks. Other than that, I expect to be my usual healthy self!
Matthew, Age 13 - Lincoln, NE
Q:	How did your experiences in Boy Scouts help you to prepare to become an astronaut?
A:	I think that being well rounded is very important. That's one of the things that scouting provides. The other aspect is living with people in cramped quarters, just like I did when I was at Boy Scout Camp as a youth. You need to be able to work together as a team (meal prep, clean up, putting up the tent, etc.) and also to take care of yourself...your health, your gear, your mental attitude. That's what we astronauts call "good expeditionary behavior." I learned many of those lessons as a Scout and they have served me well in space!
Tyler, Age 13 - Nebraska City, NE
Q:	You have got to like the Huskers right? :) and do you need 20-20 vision to be an astronaut? (I have Glasses)
A:	I love the HUSKERS! Go Big Red! Win or Lose! You need to have vision such that it can be corrected (glasses or contacts) from 20/200. Most folks have vision that is that level or better. Good luck!
Joshua, Age 13 - Nebraska City, NE
Q:	What is it like to experience zero G's ? And what do you do to prepare for this?
A:	We train in a huge swimming pool for space walks and the feeling of no gravity. We also have an airplane that flies a special trajectory (parabolas) to provide us with about 30 seconds of weightlessness for each parabola...we do around 40 of them, so we get about 20 minutes of floating in zero g! It's really cool. I love to fly around the Station pretending I'm Superman!
Nicholas, Age 14 - Nebraska City, NE
Q:	What do astronauts do for NASA when they are not on a mission?
A:	We have "ground jobs" where we support the folks that are flying. For example, we train on space walk techniques that might help them when they go "outside." Or we review procedures that the ground team is proposing the crew use on orbit. We also work to solve issues for the crew, like when the 6 Russian computers failed at the same time during STS-117!
Adam, Age 14 - Lincoln, NE
Q:	What kind of things does being a part of NASA involve? (Schooling, training, space experiments, etc.)
A:	There are so very many parts of NASA! If you want to be part of the missions and control team, then it requires you to go to college and study a field that gives you lots of background in math and the sciences. But NASA also has lawyers, teachers, scientists, secretaries, firemen, security guards, SCUBA divers, machinists...you name it, we've got it! NASA just looks for dedicated people that believe in the missions that we are trying to accomplish, like going back to the moon and on to Mars. Good luck to you all!

Selected Questions and Clayton's Answers

Joel, Age 7 - Exeter, NE

Aaron, Age 8 - Lincoln, NE

Trystan, Age 8 - Exeter, NE

Nathaniel, Age 8 - Beatrice, NE

Alex, Age 13 - Nebraska City, NE

Matthew, Age 13 - Lincoln, NE

Tyler, Age 13 - Nebraska City, NE

Joshua, Age 13 - Nebraska City, NE

Nicholas, Age 14 - Nebraska City, NE

Adam, Age 14 - Lincoln, NE