04/03/06: Expedition 12 and 13 Crews Talk to Media.

Reporters' questions ranged from dreams to scientific accomplishments aboard the International Space Station. Expedition 13 crewmembers, Commander Pavel Vinogradov and NASA Science Officer Jeffrey Williams, held their first news conference from the orbiting laboratory on Monday morning.

Expedition 12 and Expedition 13 crewmembers greeted each other inside the Destiny Laboratory on April 1. From left are Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes, Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, Expedition 13 Flight Engineer Jeff Williams and Expedition 12 Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev. Photo Credit: NASA TV

With them were visiting Astronaut Marcos Pontes of Brazil and the Expedition 12 crew, Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev. Questions came from reporters at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Mission Control Moscow.

Pontes was asked about his dreams aboard the space station. He said he had dreamed that he was flying by himself, without an airplane. When he awoke, he found the dream was true, in the microgravity of Earth orbit.

Vinogradov said that after a 20-hour day, his first night in orbit had been dream-free. Tokarev said he rarely dreamed in space.

McArthur said he was looking forward to going home and seeing families, but that he and Tokarev, after 4 ½ years of training together and six months in orbit, had become "space brothers," so family was not totally missing.

With a two-member crew, McArthur said, "We're very pleased with the science we have accomplished." Williams noted with the arrival of European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter on the next shuttle mission, crew size will grow to three and enable them to accomplish still more science. McArthur said one thing he would like to see aboard the orbiting laboratory was even more people. That would enable greater use of the unique orbital facility.

McArthur and Williams will tonight be sleeping in the Quest airlock. Camping out the night before a spacewalk reduces the time the crew must breathe pure oxygen to avoid decompression sickness - commonly called 'the bends' - from hours to minutes.

The plan calls for the crewmembers to shut themselves in the airlock and lower the air pressure to 10.2 pounds per square inch, or psi - the Station is kept at 14.7 psi, or near sea-level pressure - and then camp out for the night.

Mission Control will be keeping a close watch to make sure the dress rehearsal goes well. If the test is a success, the crew will use the new plan later this year.

- courtesy of NASA