From Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, explore the world of human spaceflight with NASA each week on the official podcast of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Listen to in-depth conversations with the astronauts, scientists and engineers who make it possible.
On episode 409, Part 2, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei reflects on his time aboard the International Space Station and his experience calling space home as part of our ISS25 series. This episode was recorded September 26, 2025.
Transcript
Nilufar Ramji
Houston We Have a Podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, Episode 409: A Place in Space to Call Home, Part 2. I’m Nilufar Ramji, and I’ll be your host today. On this podcast, we bring in the experts, scientists, engineers, and astronauts, all to let you know what’s going on in the world of human spaceflight and more.
For the last 25 years, humans have lived and worked aboard the International Space Station… turning what was once a dream into a permanent home in space. What started as a bold idea has grown into a symbol of international cooperation, a cutting-edge laboratory and a launch pad for humanity’s future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
On this episode we’ll be speaking with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei. He’s had two stints aboard the station, the first from 2017 to 2018 during expeditions 53 and 54 and the second, a nearly year-long stay across expeditions 64, 65, and 66 from March 2021, through March 2022. That mission put Mark in second place for the record of longest single spaceflight for a NASA astronaut, and overall, he comes in fifth on the list for cumulative stay in space. Here’s my conversation with Mark.
Mark, welcome to Houston. We have a podcast.
Mark Vande Hei
Thank you. It’s good to be here.
Nilufar Ramji
We’re so happy to have you, and we are celebrating 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station. And that’s partially thanks to you. So thank you so much for all that you did while you were doing your two rotations on station, and we’d like to get to know you a little bit before we dive into the topic of the International Space Station. So tell us a little bit about when you joined NASA and what your experience was like, whether i …