What is Your Favorite Chris Hadfield-ism?

By Nancy Atkinson May 13, 2013
What is Your Favorite Chris Hadfield-ism?

What a fun day! This type of event is what the years of training were for. A happy, busy crew, working hard, loving life in space.

What a fun day! This type of event is what the years of training were for. A happy, busy crew, working hard, loving life in space.

There is no try - only do. May the 4th be with you. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

There is no try - only do. May the 4th be with you. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

"This is a marvelous, marvelous human experience," Hadfield said in his first news conference after assuming command of the ISS in March. "The only thing that gets me mad is I have to sleep. My resolution has been to make the absolute most of it -- to spend as little time sleeping as I can."

"Decide in your heart what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow and the day after that." "Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. You may not get exactly where you thought you'd be, but you will be doing things that suit you in a profession you believe in. "Don't let life randomly kick you into the adult you don't want to become."

Good to know that after 5 months, my Sokhol pressure suit still fits. It's what we wear in the Soyuz. High fashion. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

Good to know that after 5 months, my Sokhol pressure suit still fits. It's what we wear in the Soyuz. High fashion. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

It is sort of like being inside your mother’s womb where your body is floating, your knees come up your arms go out, your head comes down. You are completely relaxed, it’s a wonderful way to sleep.

"It is spectacular. From about five minutes in, when we knew for sure that we were going to have the weather to go, the smile on my face just got bigger and bigger, and I was just beaming through the whole launch. I mean, it is just an amazing ride." Then later during a press conference: "Going to space and going from acceleration to weightlessness is like you’re being beaten and pummeled by a big gorilla on your chest and suddenly he throws you off a cliff."

You can see how high we are when you see how close this jet trail is to the ground. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

You can see how high we are when you see how close this jet trail is to the ground. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com