‘You would be amazed.’ Tri-Cities astronaut chats from space with WA Gov. Inslee

The view from the cupola on the International Space Station brings home just how fragile the Earth’s atmosphere is, said astronaut Kayla Barron.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday arranged a chat from space with the astronaut who lists Richland as her hometown, and the two bonded over their interests in addressing climate change, science and encouraging students.

Barron arrived at the space station Nov. 12 for her first NASA space mission and is scheduled to stay until April.

She’s made the state proud, Inslee said, both with her career as an astronaut and in her Navy career, where she was served on the USS Maine submarine in the first class of women commissioned to be a submarine officer.

She saw some amazing views from the submarine in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, she told the governor.

Standing watch at night she saw more stars than ever before as the ocean glowed with bioluminescence, she said.

But she had to rate the view from the space station as even better.

The view of Earth from space was one of the experiences she most looked forward to she said before the launch to the space station.

In July she was in Washington state and scrambled up a cliff face by Lake Roosevelt. “Earth is the best planet,” she remembers telling herself.

But the view of the Earth from space brought home how fragile its atmosphere is, she said.

“Looking out the window out here you would be amazed how thin our atmosphere is,” she said.

At night there is an orange glow as the edge of the atmosphere that looks “just paper thin.”

“I think we need to be really conscientious as the human race to affect that future for the generations that come after us,” she said.

Inslee said he would be quoting her as he works for legislation to reduce carbon pollution in the coming year.

How to become an astronaut

Barron said she studied nuclear engineering in graduate school because of her interest in climate change and understanding solutions for the nation’s energy future.

At Inslee’s request, she offered some advice for Washington students who would like to follow her into space.

“The most important thing you can do is find things you are passionate about,” Barron said. “...You will be amazed where they take you.”

Barron said her education in the Tri-Cities from seventh grade through graduation at Richland High was marked by teachers, mentors and coaches — including her mom Laurie Sax, who coached her in high school track and cross-country — who provided a strong foundation for her as an astronaut.

But she never thought about being an astronaut then.

The main requirement to become one is to have a degree in science, technology, engineering or math, she said.

“Besides that you need to learn is how to work on teams and care about making a contribution, wanting to serve and learn how to work in expeditionary environments,” she said.

Barron has focused on finding the things that she liked and would challenge her.

“Doing hard things is actually pretty fun when you enjoy them, when you are passionate about them and when you see the growth they are bringing to you,” she said.

Barron is working with other astronauts now on about 350 science experiments keyed to the microgravity environment of the space station during her six month stay there.

Space station research

“We’re doing a lot of interesting medical research where we are the subjects actually,” she told Inslee.

“They are trying to understand the effects of microgravity on our body, both to plan for future missions that are farther from Earth and longer than they have ever been before,” she said.

Barron is part of NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon and NASA plans to follow that with a visit to Mars.

Medical research she is working on now on behalf of scientists on Earth also could lead to better understanding of diseases and new treatments and medications for diseases like muscular dystrophy and eye issues.

Other research is focused on understanding how liquids boil and condense, which could be used to design better boilers and heat exchangers for use on Earth and for future space missions.

Astronauts live efficiently on the space station, making clean air and making water out of their body waste.

But they are trying to understand how to be even more efficient as voyages to the moon and Mars are planned or possibly to better use Earth’s limited resources, she said.

Talking with Barron was a highlight of his governorship from a mileage standpoint and an inspiration standpoint, Inslee told her.

He invited her and her family, including parents Scott and Laurie Sax of Richland, to lunch at the governor’s mansion, noting his grandchildren were also eager to meet an astronaut.

“We’ll definitely have to set something up when I’m back on the planet,” Barron said.

This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 12:57 PM.