John M. Grunsfeld Quotes

John M. Grunsfeld

Profession : Astronaut

Birth : October 10, 1958

Hubble uniquely has been able to look in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a nearby star and figure out what's in that atmosphere.

John M. Grunsfeld

The surface of Mars is bathed in ultraviolet light, bathed in radiation. Mars's magnetic field is essentially gone, so the surface of Mars is essentially sterilized.

John M. Grunsfeld

I got lucky and got assigned to Hubble.

John M. Grunsfeld

InSight will get to the 'core' of the nature of the interior and structure of Mars, well below the observations we've been able to make from orbit or the surface.

John M. Grunsfeld

A deep ocean under the icy crust of Ganymede opens up further exciting possibilities for life beyond Earth.

John M. Grunsfeld

Hubble has really opened our eyes to what the universe is made of, its structure, and has helped us learn how little we know about the universe.

John M. Grunsfeld

Are we alone? Many, many people on planet Earth want to know. We are on the cusp of being able to answer that question... because of the investments we're making in space technology.

John M. Grunsfeld

There's no question that if we stay on planet Earth and never leave, that eventually we'll be wiped out.

John M. Grunsfeld

I thrive with high-performance challenges in front of me.

John M. Grunsfeld

A lot of people get home from work and sink into a good chair, the place in their life where they feel most comfortable. I get that comfort in space, the place where I most feel like I belong.

John M. Grunsfeld

I was not really scared on my spacewalks. We practice so much and need to stay so focused that it has a calming effect on me. I do a kind of visualization and meditation in the airlock prior to going outside, to guide my first activities once I get out in space.

John M. Grunsfeld

Our country... invests a tiny fraction of 1 percent in NASA, and this is what's so amazing to me, is with that small investment, we do so much for the country.

John M. Grunsfeld

The most striking thing to me about human space flight and my own personal experience is that I've seen dramatic changes on Earth. We humans are rapidly changing the planet. I've watched Amazonia as the rainforest has been cut down. That's something I've seen out the window. I'm very worried about that.

John M. Grunsfeld

To help enable the kind of science Hubble is performing makes my life worthwhile.

John M. Grunsfeld

Hubble showed us the marvel and majesty of stars being born.

John M. Grunsfeld

We don't know how many planets we're going to have to examine before we find life, and not finding it on 10 or 100 doesn't mean it's not there. This may be very tricky.

John M. Grunsfeld

We need to move off the planet. And Mars is the next best place.

John M. Grunsfeld

As a young boy growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I was inspired by the nascent space age.

John M. Grunsfeld

The strangest thing I've found is that when I got to space, I felt more comfortable in space that I've ever been on Earth before. I just felt this is my home.

John M. Grunsfeld

The only reason Hubble works is because we have a space shuttle.

John M. Grunsfeld