Their mission comes as NASA increasingly partners with private aerospace companies like Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, which now transports astronauts and cargo to the station using its Dragon spacecraft system<\/a>. Hathaway referenced that partnership while describing the moment his launch finally felt real.<\/p>\n \u201cThat moment when we got into the Tesla [product of company founded by Space-X founder Elon Musk] and we drove to the rocket, and you’re like, all right, this is real. We’re in spacesuits. We are in the car. We\u2019re going to the launch pad,\u201d Hathaway said. \u201cSuch an incredible journey.\u201d<\/p>\n The broader mission involves scientific research aboard the International Space Station while also helping NASA prepare for future deep space exploration missions, including planned returns to the moon and eventual missions to Mars.<\/p>\n FILE: NASA astronauts (from left) Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, SpaceX Crew-12 Pilot and Commander respectively, are photographed in their pressure suits and inside the Dragon spacecraft during the Crew Equipment Interface Test at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 12, 2026 .The goal of the training is to rehearse launch day activities and get a close look at the spacecraft that will take them to the International Space Station. <\/p>\n A veteran guiding a rookie crew<\/b><\/p>\n For Meir, this mission differs sharply from her first trip to space.<\/p>\n \u201cMy role has really changed this time,\u201d Meir said. \u201cAs the experienced one on board, I’ve taken over in kind of a mentorship role.\u201d<\/p>\n She said watching first-time astronauts experience weightlessness and see Earth from orbit for the first time has become one of the mission\u2019s most rewarding aspects.<\/p>\n \u201cThose first moments in weightlessness, those first moments looking back on our planet, they are simply extraordinary,\u201d Meir said.<\/p>\n Different paths, shared mission<\/b><\/p>\n Hathaway arrived at NASA through military aviation, while Meir built her career through scientific research. Both astronauts said those differing perspectives strengthen teamwork aboard the station.<\/p>\n \u201cWe actually have more in common than we do differently,\u201d Hathaway said. \u201cThat\u2019s really one of the great things about the International Space Station, that we can all come together despite these small differences and accomplish a really great mission for all humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n Meir said research consistently shows diverse teams perform better under pressure.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we’re presented with a new problem or a challenge, having different ways of thinking and different experiences in our past really helps us consider all sides of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n FILE: Weekends on the International Space Station are for housecleaning and haircuts. NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway trims the hair of fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, both Expedition 74 flight engineers, using an electric razor attached to a vacuum that collects loose clippings to keep the station\u2019s atmosphere clean in microgravity on March 1, 2026. <\/p>\n Life in orbit<\/b><\/p>\n The astronauts described daily life aboard the station as both strange and joyful.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing can really prepare you for being able to let something go and it doesn’t fall,\u201d Meir said, describing the challenge of adjusting to a truly three-dimensional environment in zero gravity.<\/p>\n Hathaway offered another detail about life in orbit that amuses him.<\/p>\n \u201cAstronauts don’t wear shoes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just wear socks all the time because we don’t want to kick any of the equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBetter socks than others,\u201d Meir joked.<\/p>\n \u201cShe does have a better sock game than I do,\u201d Hathaway replied.<\/p>\n Keeping New England close<\/b><\/p>\n Both astronauts said they look for chances to photograph their home regions whenever the station passes overhead.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we get to fly over New England, there is sometimes a little bit of a battle for the window to take the best picture,\u201d Hathaway said.<\/p>\n Meir said connecting with people back home matters because it helps young people see themselves in the astronauts they watch from Earth.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re from their hometown, if there’s some other thing that they can resonate with about you, it helps people understand that really anything is possible,\u201d Meir said.<\/p>\n FILE: NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, left front, Jessica Meir, right front, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, back right, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-12 mission launch, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n A new era of space exploration<\/b><\/p>\n Meir described the current moment in spaceflight as one of the most exciting periods since the Apollo era<\/a>, with multiple spacecraft, private companies and lunar missions all expanding human access to space.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are really at an incredibly exciting time,\u201d Meir said. \u201cOne that I would say we’ve not been at since 50 years ago, since the original Apollo missions.\u201d<\/p>\n She pointed to NASA\u2019s Artemis moon program<\/a>, commercial spaceflight companies and future Mars ambitions as signs that exploration is accelerating rapidly.<\/p>\n![\"FILE:](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778259010_945_.jpeg\"\/)
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