It was remarkable to see from space how predictable people are. Our homes and towns are almost all in places with moderate temperatures, and they generally have the same shape – a thinly occupied outer...

I’ve had a chance to see something that is way outside everybody else’s frame of reference and gives a perspective that is very different from everyone else’s.

I’ve had a chance to fly a lot of different airplanes, but it was nothing like the shuttle ride.

And then finally, I’m the commander, so I am fundamentally responsible for the lives of the other people on board and the health and longevity of the space station. I need to bring six people...

I think Canada in general should be very proud of our capabilities. We are absolute world leaders in space robotics,

As an astronaut, especially during launch, half of the risk of a six-month flight is in the first nine minutes.

Nothing focuses your mind quite like flying a jet. That’s one reason NASA requires that astronauts fly T-38s: it forces us to concentrate and prioritize in some of the same ways we need to in...

My optimism and confidence come not from feeling I’m luckier than other mortals, and they sure don’t come from visualizing victory. They’re the result of a lifetime spent visualizing defeat and figuring out how to...

Russians aren’t perfect. Their politics are messed up, and they keep going through self-defeating economic cycles. But I have a lot of respect for Russia, and a lot of love for Russians.

The Soyuz craft weighs tons, and you’re lying on the floor of it on your back. But the Russians do tell you, remember, before you land, stop talking so you don’t bite your tongue off.

The best simulator for spacewalking is underwater – it allows full visuals and body movement in 3D. Virtual reality is good, too, and has some advantages, like full Station simulation, not just part. Like all...

I think there are lots of ways to exercise ambition and accomplish things using leadership without going into elected politics. So, categorically, I have no intention of going into elected politics. None.

When I was nine, I wanted to be an astronaut but at that time there weren’t any Canadian astronauts. You had to be American or Soviet. So many things will be possible in your lifetimes.

For whatever reason, I decided: ‘I’m 18, I’m a man, I’m going to grow a moustache’ – and it was pathetic for years – it was awful.

One place that I looked at a lot from space and which looks alluring is New Zealand, especially the North Island. It’s a big broad valley with a river flowing through it, and you can...

Life off Earth is in two important respects not at all unworldly: you can choose to focus on the surprises and pleasures, or the frustrations. And you can choose to appreciate the smallest scraps of...

You could look at something a hundred times from space, but the next time you come around the world, suddenly it’s very different and gorgeous-looking, just because of the change of weather or the angle...

It’s a really big deal to do a spacewalk. It’s much riskier than staying indoors. It’s complex. It uses up a lot of the precious resources onboard. It uses up oxygen. It uses up carbon...

If you don’t like airline food, you’ll probably have the same impression of space station food. I would not fly to space for the food.

I’ve been so lucky to have done two spacewalks. If you looked at your wristwatch, I was outside about 15 hours, which is about 10 times around the world. And, you know, there’s a whole...

You made the first space station docking look effortless,

My father was an airline pilot, so we travelled more spontaneously than a lot of families. On a Thursday, we could decide to go somewhere like Barbados the next day for a long weekend.

The beauty of the space station, and of human spaceflight, is that it is now at a level of maturity where you can invite people on-board, which is what I worked so hard to do...

Value the wisdom of humility, as well as the sense of perspective it gives you.

We have never lost a crew member on the space station, but of course, the Columbia accident. I was – I’d already been an astronaut for a decade when the crew of Columbia was killed....

Think about what happens on Earth when you throw up. You throw up and you have a bag of something horrible and then you throw it away, but if I have this bag, what am...

Our role is to develop techniques that allow us to provide emergency life-saving procedures to injured patients in an extreme, remote environment without the presence of a physician.

In the Soyuz, the little Russian capsule, you can actually hear the banging of the big shield, the big heat shield on the bottom, as it slowly erodes away from the heat and pieces of...

When we needed a long extension on the Canadarm 1 in order to be able to inspect the outside plus sensors on the end, NASA . ‘ . ‘ . looked through the whole world for who...

Some of the greatest reality television we ever had was the moon landings. When you think about it, that was human emotion and people, unscripted, working with each other – and millions and millions of...

When you look out the window of a spaceship, you see entire countries, vast swaths of continents. One turn of the head covers what once took thousands of years to traverse at ground level.

Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences...

When we first get to space, we feel sick. Your body is really confused. You’re dizzy. Your lunch is floating around in your belly because you’re floating. What you see doesn’t match what you feel,...

To be on my very first spacewalk, to be outside, and to have contamination in my suit to the point that I couldn’t see in either eye – that, I think, would cause some people...