From Texas Standard: NASA astronaut Tim Kopra will soon break a record for the number of days a Texan has been in space – five months, to be exact. He'll be visiting the International Space Station, conducting experiments in coordination with ground teams, and bringing materials up for scientists already on ISS.
He'll also conduct spacewalks to repair equipment as needed.
"Thankfully, we have a lot of help," Kopra says. "We have people who help plan out the clothes that we’ll bring, the food that we’ll eat, and they’ll give us some allocation for our personal effects as well."
Kopra says when he was around six when Americans first landed on the moon.
"It was a natural childhood dream, and I was very fortunate for things to work out in the long term," he says.
Kopra says he will bring a little piece of the Lone Star state on the ISS.
"I have a handful of Texas flags, for example, that I am bringing up... photographs and books that are important to me, to make it feel like home," he says.
A career as an astronaut may sound like a dream gig, and Kopra says he knows how lucky he is.
"At the end of the day this is a job," he says. "I would just say it is just about the coolest job I could ever have."
