Then During The Mission Itself,

If It Wasn't For The Women's Movement, I Wouldn't Be Where I Am Today.

The View Of Earth Is Absolutely Spectacular, And The Feeling Of Looking Back And Seeing Your Planet As A Planet Is Just An Amazing Feeling. It's A Totally Different Perspective, And It Makes You Appreciate, Actually, How Fragile Our Existence Is.

I Never Went Into Physics Or The Astronaut Corps To Become A Role Model. But After My First Flight, It Became Clear To Me That I Was One. And I Began To Understand The Importance Of That To People. Young Girls Need To See Role Models In Whatever Careers They May Choose, Just So They Can Picture Themselves Doing Those Jobs Someday. You Can't Be What You Can't See.

I Think Maybe It's Too Bad That Our Society Isn't Further Along And This Is Such A Big Deal. I Think It's Time...that People Realize That Women In This Country Can Do Any Job They Want To Do.

You Can Picture Pretty Easily If There Were A Paying Passenger Aboard A Rocket That Failed, Like Challenger Failed. Certainly It Would Be A Tragedy, And A Tragedy For The Company. They Would Have A Hard Time Recovering From It.