Astronaut Ron Garan returned to Earth on Sept. 16 after a nearly six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. During his mission, a Russian Progress spacecraft, which uses the same booster as manned Soyuz vehicles, failed to reach orbit. Science writer Eric Berger spoke with Garan about that incident, and his experience in space.

Q. Was there a sense of anxiety on board the station after you found out the Progress vehicle was lost?

A. You know, we obviously understood the implications there, that this was the same boosters we launch on with the Soyuz, and that we weren't going to launch another crew on a Soyuz until we knew what went wrong and could make sure it wasn't going to happen again. So we knew that was going to have some schedule impacts, which it did.

Q. What had to be done before you left to prepare the station for an extended period of a crew of three, and maybe even a period with no crew at all?

A. One of the things is crew training. We have a very limited hand-over period now, and potentially no hand-over period, so Mike Fossum and the other astronauts on board right now are making some videotapes as they're doing some critical maintenance so that's available for training purposes.

I'm going to try to do some face-to-face with Dan Burbank and his crew before they launch to just go over some of the lessons we have learned. It will be a little bit challenging. It's not the way we'd like to do it. But I don't think there's going to be any issue whatsoever.

Q. In terms of scientific experiments, did you have to put anything on hold? Or is it pretty much business as usual with the next crew probably launching in November?

A. So far we haven't been doing anything. In fact we've been breaking record after record for the amount of science that's being conducted on board. Now, if this is an extended period of time with fewer crew, we're going to have to cut back on the science being done. If we go to the point of de-manning the station, then some of those experiments that require human interaction will have to be curtailed. But for now we're still full speed ahead with the science.

Q. Any concerns about the robot, Robonaut 2, coming to life and taking over the station?

A. No, not now, because I'm not there any more. But when I was there I was very worried about that. You'd hear the scratching, and things like that. Seriously, it's an incredible technology demonstration that we're doing with Robonaut, and some of the other robotics on board. Down the line this is going to be an incredible capability for spaceflight.

Q. What's it like to live in space aboard the completed station?

A. It's actually a wonderful place to live. There are some noises, you've got fans and pumps, a lot of things going on. But it's not nearly as loud or as distracting as I had imagined.

From a quality of life standpoint, it's very sanitized, so those are really the only sounds you hear. You don't hear the birds, or the sounds associated with life on Earth. Music is a good thing to have up there to feel a connection to home.

Q. Does it smell? Is it messy? Is it like a college dorm?

A. It depends on the residents. It's not a confined space, it's a big, vast complex that we've constructed. There have been a lot of items brought up to keep the station operating through the end of the decade, so we do have some issues with stowage, and making sure we have a place to put it where can find it. Those are challenges we have to overcome.

Q. Looking down on Earth from the station what did you find the most amazing view? I know it's hard to choose. You saw everything from hurricanes to auroras.

A. I think I'd answer with the biggest surprise. There was one time when I was trying to get a time-lapse series set up in the cupola, and I took a couple of practice pictures. When I looked at the pictures later I saw this line that went for hundreds and hundreds of miles.

I just wrote it off as maybe moonlight on a river, or something. But it turns out it was not natural, but a man-made border between India and Pakistan. I've always said that you can't see borders from space, but apparently I was wrong. But I don't think the point is whether we can see borders from space, I really think the point is that you really do have this sense that we are all in this together when you look down on Earth from space.

eric.berger@chron.com