While most Americans spent Thanksgiving Day gathered around a table with family and friends, feet firmly planted on the ground, one Maryland-raised man spent the day journeying to the stars.
Chris Williams, who grew up in Potomac, Maryland, has been an astrophysics researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a clinical physicist at Harvard Medical School. He has helped build a low-frequency radio telescope array in Western Australia, studied supernovas at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in D.C. and volunteered as an emergency medical technician and firefighter.
But Williams always dreamed of going to space, floating weightless and seeing the Earth as a tiny blue ball.
Last month, the 42-year-old father of two took off from Kazakhstan in a spacecraft headed for the International Space Station. He’ll be in space for about eight months. The crew is doing stem cell research and working with artificial intelligence, among other things.
After settling in at the ISS, Williams talked with The Washington Post this month about how the start of his time in space is going and how it feels to shoot for the stars and finally reach them.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
What made you want to become an astronaut?
I mean, I actually don’t know. When I was a little kid, I was always fascinated by exploration and in particular, space. I think it’s one of those things that a lot of kids have fascinations with. So it was something I dreamed about as a kid and never let go.
Your parents told me “Star Trek” was a big inspiration for you.
Absolutely.Growing up, we didn’t watch a lot of TV, but that was one of the shows that we watched sort of together as a family. I think that the ethos they express on “Star Trek,” of wanting to explore for the benefit of all, that’s certainly something that’s really imprinted on me and something I firmly believe in.
How does it feel physically to be up there? I know you trained for it, but I’m sure that it’s different.
It’s definitely different. Being weightless and in microgravity, it’s a super interesting experience. I think it took me a couple days for my brain to kind of get used to it. You work in three dimensions. So we have lockers and drawers and experiments that are on the walls, but are also on the ceilings and on the floor. …
It’s been an interesting experience seeing how your brain adapts to being in this weightless environment. And it is a lot of fun to fly around and let go of things and have them float.
Will you get to do a spacewalk?
We have some spacewalks on the schedule coming up in January, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go out and be a part of that. I think that’ll be a really great experience.
Is there a tiny part of you that’s a little scared to walk in space?
When it’s something you train so much for, you understand the risks, but you also understand all the things we’re doing to mitigate those risks. When you have a deep understanding of what’s all going into it, at least for me, that helps take a lot of those fearful emotions out of it.
I wanted to ask how your experience with the Montgomery County schools fostered your interest in space?
I do not think I would be where I am today without the upbringing I had in Montgomery County, in particular, the fabulous public school system. I felt like growing up I had so many opportunities to pursue my interest in science. I went to Blair High School, which just had fantastic opportunities to really push my passion for science and to give me the opportunities to really explore what it would look like to be a scientist.
I was also able to take advantage of the fact that there are a ton of wonderful opportunities with federal research labs. As a high-schooler, I was able to do astronomy research at the Navy Research Lab in D.C.
One other thing that I think is pretty special about Montgomery County is its diversity, the fact that you’re surrounded by people who come from all over. In the International Space Station, we’re a collaboration of 15 different countries. And my work every day involves interfacing with people from all across the world. Growing up in Montgomery County, you get really comfortable with that, which is really, really wonderful.
What are you doing in your downtime up there? Do you have downtime?
We’re pretty busy up here, but we do have a little bit of downtime. Most of the time, I try to call my friends and family. One of the challenges is that even though we are only 240 miles above the surface of the Earth, we’re still pretty far away. And I’m going to be up here for an eight-month mission. So staying connected with my friends and family back home, and my daughters is really important to me.
The other thing that’s really nice to do is to … look out the window. Pretty incredible views from out here.
What does it look like?
That’s one of the things that just doesn’t disappoint. You see these fabulous pictures of what the Earth looks like from space, and that’s what your view out the window looks like every day. You can see huge swaths of the world moving by, the view of city lights at night or just the wonderful natural beauty of Earth.
What does that do to your perspective?
I think the biggest emotion for me when I look out the window is this sense of how everybody that I care about and know and love is on this thing that I can see the whole extent of and … just how small and fragile Earth looks. That really leaves an impression on you.
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