Out of This World

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Queens, NY: Did space travel change your view about what's important in life?

Charles Simonyi: No; family, work, learning and many other things are important without space and with space.

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San Antonio, TX: What's next -- visiting the bottom of the ocean? (I'm not being sarcastic; I'm really wondering what you could possibly do that would ever equal this.)

Charles Simonyi: I think travel is just one dimension, there are many challenges in other dimensions, for example in software engineering, the area where my company is active. I am not a adventurer or a collector of travel experiences so I may not be the best person to make such comparisons.

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Highland Park, TX: Had you thought about becoming an astronaut? Would it be too late for you to enter the NASA program now?

Charles Simonyi: I am pretty excitable: when I visited an aircraft carrier for two days, I was ready to join the Navy - fat chance, I am way too old. I certainly liked the company of Astronauts, and they liked to be with me, I think, but that was because of our differences, not because our similarities. I was never cut out to be a professional sailor or astronaut. But you have a point, I can really appreciate now why many Astronauts make multiple trips - once you get the hang of it, you become much more effective in space, so in a sense I have an advantage.

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Fort Lee, NJ: What most surprised you about being in space? Was there anything you didn't prepare for?

Charles Simonyi: The trainers have done this hundreds of times, so they pretty much prepared us for everything. In a way going to space was like watching "Casablanca" (or any favorite movie) again and again: one does not expect surprises, one is looking for subtle details, or the "big picture", or see it on the big screen, high definition.

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San Francisco, CA: What did you think of Eric Anderson? How did he convince you to take part in the program?

Charles Simonyi: I think he has fantastic imagination but he is also an engineer so he focuses on stuff that is barely possible - he is still pushing the limits, for example, planning a trip around the moon? What a concept. But now having flown in the Soyuz, I do not think it is completely crazy.

He was just using his experience to tell me that my early doubts about the physical demands were misplaced.

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Boston, MA: Do you think we'll ever colonize the moon?

Charles Simonyi: depends if there is anything interesting there - there are also places on Earth we have not colonized. The book "Moon is a harsh mistress" which I took with me is talking about a moon colony. We are way behind the book's schedule, although the books' idea of what a big computer memory would be (10^7 bits, or one megabytes) sounds old fashioned today. So one never knows.

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Portland, OR: What advice would you give someone who wants to travel in space?

Charles Simonyi: Work hard, make some money, and take care of your health.

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