NASA astronauts discuss future of space travel during Ohio Space Week

CLEVELAND — During Ohio’s Space Week, scientists, astronauts and industry leaders have descended on northeast Ohio to discuss what’s next for space travel. 

At the Glenn Space Technology Symposium, NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock discussed his career and NASA’s plan to send astronauts back to the moon.  

“This is a real great gathering of innovation and creative minds,” Wheelock said. “So, now when we work together we will be able to see what magic happens from this meeting.”

He spoke about the Artemis III mission, which aims to put astronauts on the moon by mid-2027.

“My task is to train to the mastery level to be able to get in this craft and land on the moon and then come back home safely,” Wheelock said.

He said the mission is uniquely challenging due to its landing location. 

“We’re going to the lunar south pole, which is a bit more rugged terrain, than at the equatorial landing sites of Apollo,” Wheelock said. 

Later in the week, he echoed this sentiment at the City Club of Cleveland, where he moderated a discussion with his colleague, NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams. The pair also discussed Williams’ latest mission, where she was stranded on the International Space Station for nine months. 

“We knew that there were some issues when we docked,” Williams said, addressing her last mission to space. “We knew we probably weren’t going to come home in the ten days that we had originally planned. We were pretty much ready for that.”

While she said she wasn’t jumping for joy at the mission’s length, Williams said she was grateful for the opportunities she had to connect with people here on Earth. 

“Folks could come along on the mission with me and the journey with me and know what we were doing up there,” Williams said. “They could see what it’s like to live in space by having the camera on us in space with, you know, big hair and then, you know, showing how what, how we actually live and eat and work up there.”

As part of Ohio’s Space Week, Williams threw out the first pitch at the Guardians game Thursday. 

Ohio’s Space Week ends with NASA Discovery Days at Great Lakes Science Center on Friday and Saturday. Wheelock and Williams will meet with the public on Friday and Wheelock will also attend Saturday’s events. 

Williams and Wheelock will close out Ohio’s Space Week with a meet and greet at NASA.