Astronaut Jim Newman was a guest at the Scientists' Night at the Technion
Astronaut Jim Newman was a guest at the Scientists' Night at the Technion. Newman, who holds a doctorate from Rice University, said that "studying science is the most interesting way to prepare for a life of interest and adventure. There are many good reasons to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are difficult but very rewarding studies - they will help you, and you will find many opportunities to apply them."
Newman, born in 1956, dreamed of becoming an astronaut from a young age. "I was 13 years old at the time of the moon landing, and I dreamed of getting there myself. Unfortunately, I did not fulfill this dream, but I reached space." In 1990 he was accepted into NASA's training program, and since then he has flown into space four times and spent (cumulatively) 43 days in space. He was a central figure in the construction of the International Space Station (ISS).
Newman accumulated a mileage of 27 million km in space, and 43:13 hours in spacewalks. One of his tasks was to install a new camera in the Hubble space telescope. "Ahead of the flight, we talked to astronauts who worked on the Hubble, and they told us: 'The camera you are installing costs 'only' $70 million, but the 'Hubble' is worth about $6 billion. If you spoil it, you have nothing to return home to.' That's why I say, thank God we weren't spoiled."
In another mission - installing solar panels on the Hubble space telescope - Newman had to extend his spacewalk due to a screw screw problem. "Since there is no atmosphere in space, the solar radiation is very strong and the temperature outside is one hundred degrees Celsius. Being outside the shuttle is very stressful, and yet you have to be efficient and focused on the task.” Newman told about other experiences from his flights into space, including the launch and the fact that being in space, in conditions of no gravity, raises a person by about 3 centimeters. He said that "the shuttle circles the Earth every hour and a half, so it's not too bad if you miss one sunrise - you have many of them in a day." At the end of his lecture, Newman said that it is likely that aliens do not exist - if there were aliens, NASA's budget would be inflated quickly, and this is not happening."
