Also we will be carrying food and clothes for the Expedition Two crew. And as well as spare parts for the EVA that will be conducted from the station in the following months.

I was, I remember, I still remember when the first time I pointed the telescope at the sky and I saw Saturn with the rings. It was a beautiful image.

During that space walk there will be some repositioning of the power so that the arm can be fully controlled by the robotic station that is in the Lab.

And so, I will be probably, since I am not involved in all the activity, I will have some spare time to devote to document all this busy part of the flight.

And then my chance really happened in 1996 when we added the second flight of the tether satellite.

And since Italy was involved in the space station as well as signed an agreement with NASA. And when the possibility to enter the 1996 Mission Specialist class.

For the first time in history all the major countries in the world are pushing together to reach this goal... building something in space that is really for all humankind.

At that point, there will be the handover between the shuttle arm and the station arm so that the shuttle arm will take the cradle and put it into the cargo bay.

And then I graduate two years later, in 1998, with my class. And, since then I've been here in Houston for training basically. And I was very happy to be assigned to this mission.

I remember; I was 15 years old when Neil Armstrong put feet in the moon.

But, what we need to get out of the first EVA is to have the arm completely unfolded and powered so that they can keep the temperature under control. That will really the call of the first EVA.

Make your life a meaningful one

You owe it to your destiny to never allow your mind to become a playground for negative thoughts and beliefs.

I wanted to fix things, obviously. You know it’s like… the planets are out of alignment when we’re fighting.

It's not much of a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it.

As far am I'm concerned, I don't listen to radio anymore. They play the same ten songs over and over again, so why would I?

Self-pity? I see no moral objections to it, the smell drives people away, but that's a practical objection, and occasionally an advantage.

I was...labelled as an advocate because...I measured something.

It is the lash of hunger which compels the poor man to submit. In order to live he must sell - 'voluntarily' sell - himself every day and hour to the 'beast of property.'

Britain has bred many great explorers, but they seem to get so little coverage compared to soccer and rugby players.

One of my core beliefs is that belief itself is a choice that can be made of our own free will.