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In awe, I watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an ambered chariot towards the ebony void of infinite space wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang, for ever festooned in their orbital majesty. And as I looked at all this I thought... I must put a roof on this toilet.

Scientists are peeping toms at the keyhole of eternity.

I've been approached to do some things with astronauts and the preparation that astronauts go through.

Like any traveler, I'm always looking for those experiences that are almost unique to any place, and watching films around Alaska of the skies in winter made me want to taste those unworldly showers of light in person.

There are no wishy-washy astronauts. You don't get up there by being uncaring and blase. And whatever gave you the sense of tenacity and purpose to get that far in life is absolutely reaffirmed and deepened by the experience itself.

Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts.

To me, NASA is kind of the magical kingdom. I was sort of a geek, and you go there, and there are just these wondrously strange things and people.

When you take a shower in space, you have to press the water onto your body to clean yourself, and then you gotta vacuum it off.

When the guys come back in from the spacewalk, there really is a distinct smell of space; it's something I will never forget.

When we meet people who are astronauts or deal in astronomy, it's always really fascinating.