Space Crew Reflects on NASA Future, World Peace

Feb. 14, 2003 -- The three men on the International Space Station insist they are well, having had a chance to grieve for the loss of their colleagues on board Columbia. If the grounding of the space shuttles delays their return to Earth, they say they will be fine because they enjoy space.

NASA made them available for an interview with ABCNEWS. The commander, Kenneth D. Bowersox, answered most questions, with help from the station's science officer, Donald R. Pettit. The third member of the crew, cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin, speaks little English, and floated quietly next to his colleagues.

The three were supposed to be picked up in March by the shuttle Atlantis, but now they are much more likely to ride home in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. NASA officials have said they'll decide by next week how much longer the crew will need to remain on the space station, and what happens after that.

Here is a transcript:

Q: "I guess, gentlemen, the most urgent question to ask is: How are you? How have you been since the news of Columbia, how are you doing now?"

KENNETH D. BOWERSOX, COMMANDER: "We were sad and shocked by the loss of our friends, but we have a mission, here, a very important mission, that we believe in, and we're making good progress getting back on track and having a normal expedition from here on out."

Q: "You've said you're comfortable with the notion of staying in orbit longer. A lot of people would want to hurry home and hug their loved ones."

BOWERSOX: "Well, I'd love to hug my loved ones too, but we like it here. The space station is a great place, we've built a tremendous facility with our international partners, and we're enjoying our stay.

"For me, it's a little bit like being Peter Pan. Everywhere I go, I fly. It's just like flying in the movies or in a dream; when I look out the window the views are the most spectacular you can imagine."

Q: "Everybody who's involved with the space station has their own reasons for why it's important. I wonder what yours are."

BOWERSOX: "It's NASA's fundamental mission, to try and spread human presence away from Earth and out into our solar system and farther into space.

"From there on down we're fulfilling many other objectives. We are trying to learn as much as we can about the human body; we're studying different materials and processes in microgravity to help make life better on Earth.

"And we hope that by watching us, young explorers on the ground may someday take the torch and carry us on out to Mars and Jupiter and beyond."

DONALD R. PETTIT, SCIENCE OFFICER: "Space station right now is sort of the paragon of exploration that human beings can do, and that in itself is an activity which provides a future for our babies and our grandbabies.

"Societies that do not invest in exploration do not stay in world prominence very long."

Q: "Do you think a lot would be lost if only a crew of two is on board the station for a while?"

PETTIT: "No, I don't. It would be better to have a crew of three, for sheer collection of scientific data.

"But sometimes you just have to realize that setbacks like this happen, and you work through them and you continue to do the best job you can."

Q: "I'm sure you're aware life is a bit unsettled down here these days, between Iraq and terrorism warnings. What's it like to watch all that from afar?"

BOWERSOX: "Well, it's amazing, as you fly over the world you look down and you wonder why we squabble over lines between countries, and why we have to pick fights with each other.

"We've got a beautiful planet, we need to protect it, and we need to honor each other."