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"There is no better feeling you'll have in life, than achieving something or succeeding as a team,," says NASA Astronaut and retired U.S. Navy Captain Stephen G. Bowen.

He would certainly know.

Steve's career, so far, has included four flights to the International Space Station and ten spacewalks

On his most recent spaceflight, Steve served as Commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission. On March 2, 2023, he and his crew launched for the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. This particular mission would mark his longest stay aboard the ISS: a total of six months.

On this most recent stay aboard the ISS, Steve had the opportunity to see how well his previous projects had gone. During his previous three, shorter trips to the International Space Station, he and his fellow astronauts had rebuilt parts of it!

A view from the ISS

While aboard the International Space Station, he and the crew conducted scientific research--with experiments from all around the world.

"We're doing hundreds of experiments at a time," Steve says. The space station, he explains, is a national laboratory, and he found a couple of the medical-science experiments, especially, "incredibly exciting".

But intense workdays didn't preclude having fun.

"Every mission had its incredibly enjoyable parts," Steve says.

"...Just the people I've been able to spend time with on orbit...incredible human beings to have the opportunity to spend time with, and that just makes it so much fun."

Steve talked about his background, offered a look at life aboard the International Space Station and explained some of the ways astronauts' work in space can improve life on Earth.