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What was your childhood
like, Dr. Mukai? |
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| Weightlessness training in an airplane. |
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I was born in the small town of Tatebayashi in Gunma
Prefecture. Because I had two younger brothers and a younger sister, I got
used to taking care of people from a young age, and in my class at school
as well, I was often an organizer. I played with nearby boys and was quite
an active, mischievous girl. I liked all kinds of sports. In elementary
school I joined the neighborhood softball team, and in middle school I played
on the basketball team. |
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When did you get
the idea of becoming an astronaut? |
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| The launch of the STS-95 Discovery
in October 1998. |
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The first thing I wanted to become was a doctor. One
of my brothers was three years younger than me, and he got a bad leg when
I was in third grade. He had to attach a support to it to walk around. When
I saw how other kids would make fun of him and tease him, I told myself
that when I grew up I would be a doctor so that I could help people suffering
from illnesses.
My chances of getting into a medical school would be better if I went to
a school in a city, and so in eighth grade, when I was 14, I went alone
to Tokyo and entered a school there. Many of the other students were much
better at studies than I was, and I almost gave up, but my ambition to help
people in distress gave me the resolve to keep trying.
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| Dr. Mukai standing before the T-38. |
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I became a heart surgeon and worked for several years,
and then one day I read a newspaper story on the first chance in Japan to
apply to become an astronaut. The idea of looking at the earth from outer
space excited me. Although I was 31 by then, it seemed like a great chance
to gain valuable experience, and I decided I had nothing to lose by at least
applying for a position. I also thought the medical research needed for
astronauts would be interesting. |
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