Multilingual communication, shared cuisine and abundant floating characterized NASA astronaut and retired Army Col. Robert "Shane" Kimbrough’s recent experience in space, prompting him to call the International Space Station a "great model for society," a Defense Department release said.
Kimbrough returned to Earth on April 10 after 173 days in space serving as commander with crew hailing from Russia, France and Japan as well as the U.S. He spoke highly of his colleagues, remarking that the team shared a high level of rapport, the release said.
"As space station commander, you've got to integrate all those different types of people, personalities and culture to make an effective team," he said in the release, noting that the crew had little trouble collaborating. The astronauts learned a bit of one another’s languages and even shared food, especially on weekends, Kimbrough said.
“You can eat upside down, rightside up, toss an M&M to your buddy across the room or send him a drink,” Kimbrough said in the release. “We played around a lot with our food. We tell our kids at home not to do that, but we do it in space."
Equally enjoyable, he said, was gazing out the window at “our beautiful planet Earth.”
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