An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth Chapter 3: The Power of Negative Thinking Chapter Summary

Chris does not feel fear when the engine starts for take-off. Chris feels relief. He has been trained for any situation. At last he gets to go to space!

Fear comes from not knowing what to expect. Chris is afraid of heights! He used to be afraid of flying in a plane. Now he has experience. He knows that he is safe and he cannot fall from a plane. He does not feel helpless and knows that he has control over his situation.

Astronauts are not superhuman in their bravery. They simply have a lot of knowledge and know what to expect from their jobs.

Being ready to do something doesn't mean that you will always succeed. Being ready comes from knowing everything that could go wrong.

Chris practiced every day what could go wrong in a spaceship. Things that could go wrong were: explosions, computer breakdowns, and engine trouble, just to name a few. After doing this so many times, he felt confident that he could deal with any problem that arose. Chris remembers one time when he was in space at the International Space Station. The fire alarm went off. There was possibly a fire on board the space ship. This was a very dangerous situation to be in. The problem was dealt with calmly and with curious investigation. It turned out that the fire alarm was defective. There was no fire. Chris felt good and calm. They had handled the situation like they had in all of their practices. The crew was confident because the were extraordinarily prepared. They also had the ability to 'work the problem'.

One problem that Astronauts and other team members simulate is what if someone died in space? The problem solving they do helps them make decisions such as: What to do with the body? Who will contact the family? Everyone helps things to run smoothly. This is not a sad exercise. It makes everyone aware of all the things that could go wrong.

One small mistake with big consequences was made during a simulation flight of the Russian craft, the Soyuz.

This was a big wake-up call and made the astronauts think more about the importance of their decision making. Before going on a mission, Chris gets everything in order on earth in case he dies. He makes sure his finances are in order. He reviews his will. This makes him feel good about how his family would survive without him. This preparation allows him to concentrate on the task at hand; arriving back from space alive.

The disaster of the Columbia Space Shuttle in February 2003 was a great shock and loss for all. Chris and his family lost many friends. The tragedy made Chris even more resolute in his job as an astronaut. He would continue to make flight in space safer.

When Chris became the chief of robotics at NASA, they developed new technologies to monitor and assess the most fragile parts of the craft. They were successful at making the Space crafts safer.

Astronauts are not adrenaline junkies or dare-devils. Their passion is to reduce the risk to the lives of the astronauts and the very expensive equipment that they use. They do not wish to die. Being prepared helps you deal with a problem. Being prepared also helps you to not make a problem worse.

When astronauts do simulations of problems, they work out one problem, then they work on problems that occur together, then they work on problems that create problems (cascading problems). This type of exercise is exhausting, but worth it. The worst possible scenarios get dealt with. It becomes so that the designation of the 'worst possible scenario' is not knowing how to cope.

Sometimes the simulations can be based on wrong assumptions. This happened when astronauts were sent to space to catch an errant satellite. The simulation they had practiced was based on faulty physics. The result was that the astronaut was not able to catch the satellite. The team on earth worked frantically over the next day to figure out how to catch the satellite and do the job they had come to space to do. With instructions from Earth, they finally did catch the satellite. The moral is that sometimes what you practice is not going to work in real life. It is possible to come to the wrong and perfectly polished conclusions.

For the most part, it is possible to be prepared for any situation. To make sure things go right, you have to know everything that could go wrong. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth Chapter 3: The Power of Negative Thinking Questions

1)What are some of the real or simulated fearful situations Chris talks about in this chapter?

2) How did Chris respond to them? OR What helped him to respond to them in a positive way?

3) What is your favourite piece of advice from Chris in this chapter?

4) Do you have any advice for people who are afraid?

5) Do you imagine everything that could go wrong in any given situation?