Astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer, in a recent Q&A session, came out to answer questions sent by space enthusiasts who await the Crew-3 launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 30. Talking about their excitement ahead of the launch, the astronauts also weighed on their plans when they reach the ISS. Here are some of the highlights from their LIVE Q&A.

What will the crew be dressing for, for Halloween?

A smile spread across the face of all four astronauts when they were asked about their plans for Halloween costumes aboard the ISS. In response, Kayla Barron, Crew-3 mission specialist replied, “I don’t think we have necessarily decided yet, but I heard a rumour that Mark Vande Hei, who is currently on the space station might have some plans in store for our Halloween costumes”. She further added, “I think we may have a surprise in store when we cross the hatch”. 

What places on Earth are they excited about photographing?

In reply to this question, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer said that he will be revisiting the places he has travelled before becoming an astronaut, but this time from space. “I also want to discover Africa, because I haven’t seen a lot of Africa, and perspective from Space is something really fabulous and every time I think about it, I get goosebumps”, Maurer said. 

What did the crew of previous flights tell Raja Chari about return to Earth?

Raja Chari, who will be leading the flight crew said that the previous flights, Demo-1 and Crew-1 have provided data about landing in both daytime and nighttime respectively. He further revealed that crew of both the flights expressed their satisfaction with the quickness of recovery after splashing down. He also lauded NASA and SpaceX’s efforts to make the process extremely efficient. “We’re physically and mentally very excited about the recovery”. 

Tom Mashburn about his flight in third different spacecraft

NASA astronaut Tom Mashburn will be going on his third trip to space about which he said that “it is a huge amount of excitement”. Moreover, he said that he loves to talk about it and will be “looking forward to talk about it when I get back”. 

Meanwhile, Chari recently announced “Endurance” as the official name of the SpaceX spacecraft which he said is a tribute to human tenacity.

Image: Twitter/@Space_Station