Soledad O'Brien would definitely go to space.
The host of the "Live From Space" TV program airing tonight (March 14) explained that she would fly to the International Space Station if given a chance. The tw- hour TV show hosted by O'Brien and airing on National Geographic Channel at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT (0000 March 15 GMT) tonight will feature live interviews with two people already aboard the space station: NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.
"You know, I definitely would [visit the space station] because I think that I'm the kind of person who hops on a plane and goes somewhere anytime there's an interesting story to go cover," O'Brien told Space.com's Rich Bonaduce in an exclusive video interview. "I don't think I would ever pass the physical exam. I can barely do like 45 minutes on the treadmill. So I'm fairly confident that I would not get to go, but I would love to go. I would love to go."
The "Live From Space" show aims to capture the wonder of life aboard the space station, O'Brien said. Wakata and Mastracchio will talk about everything from the mundane aspects of living in space to the dangers of a spacewalk outside the space station.
"Our goal is to tell people about the International Space Station," O'Brien said. "I think very rarely people look up 250 miles and think, What are those guys working on, what are those men and women doing at this moment … They're living and doing regular things, but also doing incredible work as well. We really want to bring that to people. The video is just phenomenal; the quality is so amazing. I think it'll be really a time that people can be inspired by what's happening literally right above their heads."
O'Brien will host "Live From Space" from Mission Control in Houston with veteran NASA astronaut Mike Massimino working alongside her. Check local listings for more information.
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