But when I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.
Sally RideRead
I did not come to NASA to make history.
Interpretation
Sally Ride emphasizes that her motivations were not centered on fame but on her passion for space exploration and science.
In this quote, Sally Ride expresses her intention for joining NASA and contributing to space exploration not as a means to gain recognition or make history, but rather out of a genuine desire to pursue her interests in science and discovery. It highlights the importance of intrinsic motivations and the pursuit of knowledge over external accolades.
In practice
During a speech at a scientific conference.
But when I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.
When the space shuttle's engines cut off, and you're finally in space, in orbit, weightless... I remember unstrapping from my seat, floating over to the window, and that's when I got my first view of Earth. Just a spectacular view, and a chance to see our planet as a planet.
All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.
Yes, I did feel a special responsibility to be the first American woman in space.
Even though NASA tries to simulate launch, and we practice in simulators, it's not the same - it's not even close to the same.
If we want scientists and engineers in the future, we should be cultivating the girls as much as the boys.
I believe that the extraordinary should be pursued. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Back in my days as a chemistry student, I used to be quite a technocrat. I was firmly convinced that scientists would have cornered God and photographed Him in color by 1951.
Freedom is absolutely necessary for the progress in science and the liberal arts.
Do not imagine that mathematics is hard and crabbed, and repulsive to common sense. It is merely the etherealization of common sense.
nd now that man's history has been for the first time systematically considered as a whole, and has been found to be, like all other phenomena, subject to invariable laws, the preparatory labours of modern Science are ended.
It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.
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