Image above: Expedition 14 crew chats with Martha Stewart. Image credit: NASA TV

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Expedition 14 talks to Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart, homemaking expert and popular television personality, chatted with the crew of Expedition 14 Monday morning. The event started at 11:40 a.m. EST and was shown on NASA TV.

Stewart asked the Expedition crew members about their experiments on station, the view of Earth from their vantage point, and life in their orbital home away from home.

Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, showed off her green thumb with a sample of bean sprouts she had been growing as part of a horticulture experiment for long-term living in space. Pickles and shrimp cocktail were the crew member’s top choices when asked of their favorite foods in space.

Martha Stewart talks with space station astronauts Michael Lopez- Alegria and Sunita Williams via a video link. The chat was taped for her TV show

After giving a glimpse of their personalized sleeping areas, Williams and Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, told Stewart they were open to any home decorating or cooking tips for their home in space.

“You are helping us learn so much about space travel,” Stewart said. “Just seeing you enjoying yourselves while you’re doing such fantastic research is really wonderful.”

A Russian resupply ship loaded with propellant, oxygen, experiment hardware and other gear arrived at the International Space Station Friday at 9:59 p.m. EST. The ISS Progress 24 docked to the station’s Pirs docking compartment. The Progress is carrying supplies for Expedition 14 and the upcoming Expedition 15 mission.

Two days earlier on Wednesday Jan. 17 the cargo spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan achieving Earth orbit about 10 minutes later. A series of pre-programmed engine firings fine tuned the Progress’ arrival at the station which finally led to its automated docking.

See also:
• Martha Stewart suggests making the most of space
In a telephone interview, Stewart said she has always been interested in astronomy and "the heavens" and grew more interested in the space station when the man she's dating was picked as the next space tourist. Billionaire Charles Simonyi, an architect of Microsoft's Word and Excel programs, paid Russia more than $20 million for a round-trip ride to the station and a stay aboard the orbiting lab.  Read this USA Today story

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