Astronaut Scott Parazynski Talks Space from Mt. Everest

The scoop: Space is perhaps the most extreme environment in the universe, but Earth has its fair share of difficult places to be -- including the top of Mt. Everest. So why not get the skinny from someone who has survived in both places? We interview former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski about his activity on Mt. Everest and how it matches up to working on the International Space Station.

Dave Mosher: Hi Scott. Great to hear from you all the way on Mt. Everest. How are you doing up there?

Scott Parazynski: Great! Outstanding, very excited -- heading out on my summit bid soon. Looking forward to potentially summiting ... on May 20.

DM: Excellent! How long have you been on the mountain?

SP: I've been in Nepal since March 24 and arrived in base camp on April 26. So, I've been in base camp here for over a month now. I've been up to camp three, at 24,500 feet, two times. And this third trip will hopefully see me to the top.

DM: Mount Everest is an extreme environment, to say the least. How have you prepared and trained to do this summit?

SP: I get this question a lot, living in Houston Texas -- about the flattest place on Earth. Prior to coming to coming to Nepal I did a lot of spin aerobics, which shoot you beyond your comfort zone. So aerobic exercise that is very intense, plus lots and lots of weight training. But once you get to the Himalayas it's a slow process called acclimatization wherein your body adjusts to higher and higher altitudes. We say "climb high, sleep low." So we'll climb up 1,000 feet and then come back down, then spend the night. Then we'll go higher and higher on the mountain.

All the while, our bodies are building additional red blood cells and other adaptations are taking place inside of our bodies that are allowing our bodies to function well at high altitudes.

DM: Sounds pretty familiar to the process you make before a spacewalk. How would you contrast what you're doing now to venturing outside of the space station for some orbital construction?

SP: In the broader scheme of things, preparing for a spacewalk is a very tightly structured, very highly choreographed activity. We know the modules and elements we're going to be working on from training in the swimming pool. A lot of very detailed steps, and there's physical training for that as well. Of course when we go out on a spacewalk, we're in a big bulky space suit -- a pressure suit -- to allow us to operate in a unique environment. It's a unique environment that's both not similar and similar to here in the mountains.

When I head up to the summit, I'll be wearing a large down suit, have an oxygen mask on, helmet lights, a backpack, thick mittens. So for all intents and purposes we'll be going on an EVA (extravehicular activity), or spacewalk. The physical workload, however, will be much, much higher. Unlike free-floating in space I'll be carrying all of this weight. The oxygen tank weighs quite a bit, I'll have cameras and all other kinds of equipment. So I think the views will be comparable -- extremely beautiful -- but the physical workload is a lot higher here on Everest.

DM: You were talking about equipment in both environments. Any match-ups or similarities between what you do in space and what you're doing here?

SP: Absolutely! In fact, I've brought one of our EVA hooks and I've modified it for use in the ice. Basically, as we go up across dangerous terrain we'll be using fixed lines, and we'll hook carabineers to them. They're very commonplace, but they take a lot of dexterity and tactility to operate.

Well, one of the things that we do in space is to develop tools to work in a bulky pressure suit, so I have one of our EVA hooks that was downgraded from flight. It was being used in training, in NASA's spacewalk training pool. I attached some webbing to it and I'm going to see how it functions for very quickly detaching and attaching to fixed lines. And I think it actually might be quite promising.

So there might be some spin-off technology from space down here to the mountain. And there are other examples; hydration systems and safety systems that I've been working on just in my own home garage. So we're going to test those out here, see if they have promise or commercial utility.

DM: Thanks. Aside from bringing up some NASA equipment, are there any special things you plan on doing once you get to the top, being a former astronaut and all?

SP: Yes, we have some really big surprises on the summit and we're somewhat prey to the weather. If it's howling wind and biting cold, I'll probably just do a touch-and-go on the summit and we'll think about commemorating things. But I do have some special things that I'm bringing that link human exploration of space with exploration here on Earth, in particular Mt. Everest.

But we're trying to keep those surprises -- so stay tuned! Hopefully we'll have some satellite phone coverage on Mt. Everest and be making some calls. I can imagine standing on the top of Mt. Everest satellite coverage should be pretty good.

DM: If you could ever summit Olympus Mons or some other huge mountain in the solar system, which one would it be?

SP: You picked it right away!

As a young boy, I dreamt of being the first person to walk on Mars. The space program, however, turned for more science and other objectives along the way. So that person won't be me, but the lessons learned through the space shuttle and station programs, and here on Earth terrestrial mountaineering, will play a huge role in that first summit of Olympus Mons.

DM: Thanks for calling me from all the way in Nepal, and best of luck on the mountain -- be safe.

SP: You got it Dave. Nice talking with you, and maybe we'll get a chance to chat after the expedition.

Article posted May 18, 2009.

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