Astronaut inaugurates lecture series

At first glance, the most impressive thing about Franklin Chang-Diaz is his space flight experience. Having traveled 22 million miles over 1,269 hours on six shuttle missions, Chang-Diaz has logged more time in space than any other American astronaut.

But perhaps the most important trip he ever took was the journey from his native Costa Rica to the United States at the age of 18.

Speaking barely a word of English, Chang-Diaz found his way to Connecticut, where he began an education that would eventually make him one of the world's premier astronauts and plasma physicists.

"I came in 1968 from Costa Rica after finishing high school. I hardly knew any English, but I made it up to Hartford, Connecticut and convinced the principal to let me enroll in high school there," he said in an interview.

Earlier this week, Chang-Diaz ventured to Princeton, where he shared his experiences and scientific knowledge with the University community. On Monday evening, he inaugurated the Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series, sponsored by the Program in Plasma Science and Technology, with a presentation titled "Space Exploration in the 21st Century." The next day, Chang-Diaz ate lunch with Wilson College students and held a more technical discussion with University scientists and aerospace students.

Chang-Diaz said being an astronaut has been his lifelong goal. "I came to the United States because I wanted to be an astronaut," he said. "It's been my dream since I was seven years old."

But the fulfillment of his childhood dream was far from assured. "Everything seemed to come together perfectly. I was stunned when [NASA] called me in for an interview and then selected me," he noted afterwards.

As he stepped out from behind the podium and conversed with the audience at Monday's lecture, Chang-Diaz's enthusiasm was evident. "Being an astronaut has been every bit what I dreamed it would be," he remarked. "There is nothing more fun than what I do."

Chang-Diaz spoke in glowing terms about the perks of being an astronaut. "The view of Earth from the orbiting shuttle is the most amazing thing imaginable!" he exclaimed.

According to Chang-Diaz, the sensation of weightlessness is much like one might expect. "With no gravity, it's just like you're floating," he said. "You can fly like Peter Pan."

But many impressions people get about space travel from Hollywood films are not as authentic, he noted. " 'Apollo 13' was an almost perfect — no, it was perfect — a perfect depiction of how it was," Chang-Diaz said. "Other than that, the movies go in varying degrees of accuracy."

Beyond his accomplishments as an astronaut, Chang-Diaz has done outstanding work as a NASA scientist. The purpose of his visit to Princeton was partly to share with the academic community the theory behind a new propulsion system he is helping to develop that would make a manned mission to Mars a realistic proposition.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Such a mission may take place around 2018 to 2020, according to Chang-Diaz. "Eventually, we will put a human on Mars," he asserted.

Chang-Diaz said he was excited about the possibility of life on other planets, perhaps even Mars. "I think it's only a matter of time before we find life for certain," he said. "Just looking at the statistical odds, you would have to expect that some form of life, even if it's only the most primitive of organisms, is out there."

"Whether any intelligent life exists I can't say," he added.

Regardless of the opportunities and discoveries that his work as a plasma physicist may make possible, Chang-Diaz said being an astronaut will always be his proudest professional achievement. "I have achieved my ultimate dream — to fly in space. That will always be the most important thing to me," he said.

Space travel and plasma physics have been complementary callings for Chang-Diaz. "I have always associated being an astronaut with being a scientist, so the two pursuits went together for me," he said.

"I always thought that the future of space travel was in nuclear power, so I began studying fission and then transitioned into fusion," he added. "I knew that the chances of becoming an astronaut were incredibly slim, so it was nice to have the science as a career to fall back on."

Chang-Diaz said he hopes his example will help alleviate the academic bias of many students against science. "It's really not that students are intimidated, but that they don't see the worthiness of science when they can just go make money on Wall Street," he said.

"I think what needs to be done is to inspire youth and give the pursuit of science a greater excitement and energy. NASA and space travel are a fantastic way to infuse that attitude."