WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — If you look up into the sky at just the right time, you might catch a Hampton Roads native orbiting by. Rest assured, Zena Cardman is waving to her hometown of Williamsburg.
Aboard the International Space Station for the first time, the NASA astronaut has a view very few of us get to see. The SpaceX Crew-11 blasted off from Florida last Friday, with Cardman, 37, serving as the mission's commander.
On Tuesday, while floating in space, Cardman took a few minutes to speak to News 3. She told us how after several days after the launch, she's still in awe.
“I’m not sure that view is ever going to get old… When I first looked out the Cupola window, it was kind of twilight, so we had these really long shadows. We had these 3D textures of the clouds and you’re going over the ground so quickly. It takes us only 90 minutes to get all the way around the Earth," she said.
Cardman was joined by astronaut Mike Fincke, who is approaching 400 total days in space. It's also his fourth time aboard the International Space Station.
"To welcome Zena to space was a really special moment and then when she got to see Earth for the first time, it was just as cool for us to watch one of our friends," said Fincke.
Cardman, a 2006 Bruton High School graduate and University of North Carolina alum, has been training for this since being selected for the astronaut program in 2017. The crew will stay aboard the station for at least six months.
An initial surprise, she says, was how quickly she adapted, much of which she attributes to her intense training.
"It's also been amazing to see how the brain just adjusts to this kind of environment. It's totally 3D. You can be upside down and different orientations and your brain just reorients," she said.
Cardman and Fincke tell News 3 they'll have a hand in several different types of research, including the impact space and low-gravity has on the human body. Some of those experiences are similar to what immunocompromised and aging populations go through, Cardman says, adding that the research will also help equip humans for longer trips through space, including future planned missions to the moon and Mars.
NASA's Artemis mission aims to return humans to the lunar surface in the coming years, including landing the first woman on the moon. Cardman, who joined NASA under the Artemis program, could get the nod, but kept an even keel when News 3's Anthony Sabella asked about it.
"Officially, everybody who is an active astronaut right now is eligible to be assigned to future Artemis missions, but we're all deeply involved in preparation for those missions, whether it's development on the scientific side or some of the landing vehicle development or some of the rovers we'll be working with," she said.
Asked about her time growing up in Williamsburg, Cardman says her mom still lives locally and that her family will celebrate Thanksgiving in Hampton Roads while she's still orbiting above. But she looks back fondly at her upbringing.
“For me, one of the most influential parts about being in Williamsburg were some of the teachers I had. I went to Bruton High School and public schools growing up in Williamsburg and I had so many wonderful mentors there. One of the most important ones for me was my high school biology teacher, Mr. Davis. He really sent me on the path of not only loving science and life science, but also pursuing my own research.”
Cardman says her advice to young people in Hampton Roads and around the world is — "Don't hold yourself back."
