ASTRONAUT DR. DAN BARRY: CHOOSE WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO
JB, 3 Nov – The former NASA Astronaut, Dr. Daniel T. Barry charmed and wowed a 1000-strong crowd over at Dewan Sultan Iskandar in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) campus Friday afternoon with stories about space travel, working and living in a spacecraft and daring to dream and making it happen.
He was here to deliver a public lecture entitled “A Dream Comes True: From Becoming a NASA Astronaut to Adaptation for Life!” in collaboration with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT).
Dr. Barry brought the audience down memory lane on his journey towards becoming a NASA astronaut and fielded a variety of questions from his young and old fans during his Friday afternoon lecture.
Never losing sight of one’s dream
Dr. Barry has always dreamt of becoming an astronaut since young. As a little boy, he enjoyed watching airplanes flying at the local airport. Inspired by Sputnik’s successful space exploration, a career in space became every American child’s dream career. “Every kid in first grade wants to be an astronaut,” he explained.
“By the time they turned 12, they didn’t want to be astronauts anymore. They want to be doctors, lawyers… I still do.” He held on to his dream as yearswent by. At 16, he was told the harsh reality of the career being an unattainable one by his friends and guidance counselor. “The guidance counselor said, ‘You are not good enough to be an astronaut.’
“From first grade till then I was the only one remaining who wants to be an astronaut. People didn’t take me seriously anymore. I feel shy of talking about my dreams. I stopped talking about it altogether.”
When he turned 23, he managed to meet all minimum requirements to be an astronaut. Dr. Barry started sending in his application in call for interviews by NASA. He was rejected in each application. Along the way, he completed two Masters degree and a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University, and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Miami. He also started his clinical work on top of supervising graduate students and conducting research projects with the university.
“I was still rejected.”
It took him more than 15 years of applications and rejections before he was finally given an opportunity by NASA for an interview. “I spent one week in NASA with 20 other people who believe in the same things that Ibelieved.” Dr. Barry remarked.
He became an astronaut by the time he turned 36.
“There were 23 of us working together. All of us eventually go to space.”
“Things that we did in space are not rocket science”
Dr. Barry walked through his experience through an interactive video featuring snippets of an astronaut’s work in space.
His academic qualifications as both an engineer and a medical doctor enabled him to carry out multiple roles i.e. as a technician and a medical doctor for fellow astronauts. All astronauts undergo prior training to acclimatise themselves with the zero gravity condition within the spacecraft; however, they still need time to adjust to the actual scenario. The astronauts’ roles include maintaining the spacecraft and conducting pre-designated experiments on space, such as the unique state of water surface tension.
According to Dr. Barry, “The culmination of an astronaut’s career is the moment when I walked out of the spacecraft and look at the beauty with only one transparent layer protecting our eyes.“ He marveled at the sight of the earth on every space walk, which was the highlight of each space mission.
As the space mission can go weeks and months on end, each astronaut is required to stay healthy and being in great spirits. There are specific exercise regimes to be done daily by all astronauts to maintain their physical health. Dr. Barry also shared some light moments with the audience, such as tricks and moves fellow astronauts do for entertainment on the spacecraft.
A challenge for the astronauts is the post-space mission adjustment on earth. Depending on the length of stay, an astronaut need time to reintegrate his senses of direction after each space mission. However, as explained by Dr. Barry, the body has its own mechanism to adapt and remember its adjustment experiences. It took him a week to readjust to earth on his first space visit, one day on the second space visit and one hour for the third space visit. The astronauts also have to brace for the occupational risks involved in their space missions. The risks include radiation, induced cancer and changes in their bone structures. Dr. Barry noted that while he was lucky not to face such risks to date, some of his colleagues are not.
Quirky questions, witty responses
The Q&A session was a hit among the audience as students and staff, young and old alike grabbed the opportunity to probe more on his space missions and his opinion on dreams, life and general current issues.
Dr. Barry remarked that encounters with “aliens” or other beings on space are nonexistence and that even if such encounters are true, he is not allowed to talk about it, bringing the audience to stitches with his responses. On a little boy’s question with regard to his experience in space, he explained, “…it felt like I havemagic powers… At first it’s dangerous, but you’ll get to enjoy it.” He also described the astronaut’s routine of relieving themselves off bodily waste through a mechanical device with secured straps, which stores all the waste in an enclosure.
He believed that corporatization of space travel should be pursued as it would take a big load of financial subsidization off from the government. It would also open up a whole range of opportunities for space work, travel and living for those who do not have the opportunity to train under NASA. Additionally, living on space benefits people with disabilities and those suffering from particular medical conditions, such as spinal cord injury. The zero gravity inhibits their senses from pain and enabled them to have a better quality of life. He also acknowledged the efforts that governments placed on exerting military controls inspace, as this is detrimental to the global population.
On man’s exploration to Mars, Dr. Barry is fully behind such pursuits. The space explorations enable scientists to gather actual evidence of existence of other planets and living beings outside earth. He said, “We might be the only species surviving, and we need to know if there’s other species out there.” Shouldthere be a calamity befallen on earth, it will put the only living species to extinction.
Dr. Barry commented on pursuing dreams, believing in one’s aspiration and having the determination to see through its actualization. Speaking as a father, he said parents have simple wishes for their children i.e. to obtain good education, and to provide grandchildren for the parents. He believed that the difference between Dan Barry before and after space exploration is his belief that dreams do come true if he works hard to achieve it. Answering a little girl’s questions on flying, he remarked that “… A lot of fun things are scary… it’s a little scary the first time around when flying, and the way to get past fear is to try.“ He emphasized that “… You’ve got to do what you really want to do,“ and that one should “… choose what you love to do. If you choose that, you’ll have a great career.”