I went to the space education center in my city today, and since it was a weekday afternoon, the place was pretty empty. Which worked out better than I expected. One of the astronauts who worked on Spacelab was there doing a talk, and with so few people around, I actually got to have a real one-on-one conversation with him. He was laid-back, sharp, and super generous with his time. We ended up walking over to the Spacelab exhibit together, and he pointed out specific gear he used during the mission, telling me little details you don’t get from the plaques.

He even signed my NASA hat. Honestly, the whole experience was better than I could’ve hoped for. Just a positive guy who clearly loves science and wants other people to get excited about it too. No ego, just good energy and a head full of stories. I’m definitely hanging onto that hat.