Six Months in Space | Astronaut Loral O’Hara | Ep. 001

Astronaut Loral O’Hara recently returned from 204 days in the International Space Station as part of Expedition 69 and 70. During that time, Loral conducted important science, worked out a surprising amount, and along with her best friend, fellow astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, completed a six hour EVA, commonly known as a “spacewalk.” And now, for whatever reason, she’s hanging out in the TBM studio to talk about the ultimate backcountry – space!

In this episode, we cover: 

• Job applications for astronauts and astronaut basic training 
• An astronaut as the head of HR
• Getting selected for a mission to space and mission-specific training
• The events leading up to launch 
• Spaceflight 
• Day-to-day life on the ISS 
• Drinking purified urine
• Conducting an EVA, aka a “spacewalk” 
• What is awesome/what sucks about being an astronaut
• Putting international politics aside in space
• Returning to Earth and throwing up (a lot)

If you’re into science, adventure, space flight, or have just always been curious about what life for an astronaut is really like, this episode is for you. 

Links mentioned in this episode

• Loral and Jamin’s EVA

Connect

• Catch up with Hayden on IG, TikTok, and more
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• Get yer limited-run TBM X Out Yonder Co. merch
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Partners

• Special thanks to our partners at Shared Pour! Visit SharedPour.com! Promo code "BACKCOUNTRY"!
• Special thanks to our partners (except Grady) at Out Yonder Company! Use code "BACKCOUNTRY 15" for 15% off site-wide!

Many thanks to the folks that made this episode possible

• Featuring Loral O'Hara
• Special thanks to NASA
• Produced by Andrew O'Neill with Hayden Sammak
• Additional Graphics by Andrew O’Neill
• Production Assistance by John Stock
• “Welcome to the Backcountry” theme song by Logan Roth, Will Brown, Arjun Dube and produced at Treacle Mine Studios, Phila, PA