Don't be afraid to reach for the stars

I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out.

What everyone in the astronaut corps shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire - the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery.

It's fun to work the robotic arm in part because it's really a team effort.

Education is what allows you to stand out

Astronauts are very professional and when they're preparing for launch, they prepare for it as the most serious endeavor of our lives.

I feel very privileged. But what I really hope for young people is that they find a career they’re passionate about, something that’s challenging and worthwhile.

We are involved in technology development for, you know, missions that we hope to plan that would take us to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.

That's what we want to do here at Johnson Space Center. I think what we have always brought to NASA and brought to the country is trying to push the boundaries, trying to go to the next level.

I realized how important it was to know something about aviation, and it was something I was interested in, so I followed my brother's footsteps and obtained my pilot's license.

I'll tell you, being involved in human space flight, it is an emotional endeavor. I think it brings in the highest highs and the lowest lows.

I found out very early that the more you want to hold people the more they want to be free.

Thousands of Mexicans gathered in Mexico City to protest high food prices. The protest only lasted an hour, because everyone had to leave for their jobs in Los Angeles

I'm going to make America safe. We're going to have borders in our country, which we don't have now. People are pouring into our country, and they're coming in from the Middle East and other places.

Army life don't agree with me.

If a nation's literature declines, the nation atrophies and decays.

I have always valued quiet, and the eternity of it that I face is no more dreadful than the eternity of quiet that preceded my birth.

Camo never goes out of style as far as I'm concerned.

Anything that strengthens the private sector vs. the state is protective of personal freedom.

Let's build Paradise again.

Although they are some of the hardest working folks I know, rural Americans earn, on average, $11,000 less than their urban counterparts each year. And they are more likely to live in poverty.