Famous astronauts of Naoko Yamadzaki and Edward Fink told the agency “Anadol” about how they came to this profession.
The astronaut noted that since childhood they dreamed of flying into space and contributing to the study of the universe.
– It all started with love for anime and stars
Naoko Yamadzaki is the second woman-astronaut in the history of Japan.
Yamadzaki received certification as an astronaut in September 2001. The first flight into space made in 2010 as part of a mission at the International Space Station. In 2011, Yamadzaki resigned from the Japanese Aerospace Research Agency (JAXA).
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In general, Yamadzaki spent 15 days 2 hours and 47 minutes in space.
Yamadzaki said that since childhood she dreamed of becoming an astronaut, as she loved to watch cartoons about space and was interested in stars.
“I did not think that my dream would come true. However, when I was 15 years old, the first 3 Japanese astronauts flew into space. The flight was shown on television live. I was very excited, and decided that I would still become an astronaut” – she said.
According to Yamadzaki, she first applied for participation in the program for the training of astronauts in 1996. However, she was refused due to lack of experience.
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“For the second time I submitted an application in 1999, I was accepted. In 2001, I completed my studies, and then went to study in Russia,” she said.
– I began to study space as soon as I learned to read
NASA astronaut Edward Michael Fink spent 381 days 15 hours and 11 minutes in space. The astronaut Fink began to build a career 27 years ago.
Finn said that in 1969, when he was 2 years old, he watched with excitement as the first astronauts landed on the moon.
He continued to observe with interest the development of astronautics in childhood. “It seemed very interesting to me. Since then I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and fly into space. As soon as I learned to read, I began to read all the books about space,” he said.
Finn said that when he first saw the Earth from the Cosmos, his breath caught his breath.