CNN’s Wolf Blitzer talks with NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain about their important mission on board the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Nicole Ayers and Anne McClain, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), discussed their mission in a live interview. They described their daily routines, which include regular meetings with mission control centers worldwide, station maintenance, scientific experiments, and exercise to counteract the effects of microgravity. The astronauts highlighted ongoing research projects, such as DNA studies and protein structure experiments, which have implications for developing treatments for diseases like cancer, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's.

Ayers and McClain also reflected on their participation in an all-female spacewalk, emphasizing the teamwork required for such operations. They spoke about the rapid growth in space exploration, driven by new partnerships and technological advancements, and stressed the importance of humanity's drive to explore and innovate.

CNN speaks with astronauts aboard the International Space Station

You're looking at live images from the International Space Station where seven people have been living since their mission began back in April. The ISS crew includes NASA astronauts Nicole Ayers and Anne McClain. And they're joining me now live, some 250 miles above the Situation Room. Nicole, where are you over Earth right now? Hey, good afternoon or good morning, depending on where you're at in the world. Welcome aboard the International Space Station. We're excited to talk to you this morning, this afternoon, about all the fantastic things that we're doing up here. And you know, it's kind of crazy. We are out over the ocean right now. We generally fly over the ocean for the most majority of our time. We're actually out in the Pacific. And we will go over the southern portion of South America today. So we see a lot of the world, but mostly ocean. It's surprising once you get up here, the point of view that we have. We see a lot of ocean. But we do get some amazing land views. And we're going to go right over the Andes here in a few. And walk us through what a typical day up in space looks like for you. Yeah, every day is a little bit different, but we do have some structure. The structure of our days and weeks are actually pretty important to maintain our mental health and sanity. So it kind of sounds unexciting, but it's a little bit kind of banker's hours. We kind of do our 9 to 5, except for our 9 to 5 is set at a 730. So Monday through Friday, we wake up, we have a meeting, a sync meeting with all our mission control centers around the world. We talk to not only Houston, but Huntsville, and Japan, and Munich, and Moscow. And so we sync up in the morning. And then throughout our day, we do about six to seven hours of either space station maintenance or science. Right now, we have some visiting Axiom crews who are helping with the private astronaut mission. We do a couple hours of exercise, actually as a countermeasure to bone and muscle loss during that day. And then we definitely have some breaks in there. And then the weekends are off, except for some cleaning for the most part. And then anytime we have a dynamic operation, that would be a spacewalk or a visiting vehicle docking, anything like that, then that kind of throws our schedule off. But we're pretty used to that. Nicole, what kind of research is being conducted during this mission? We actually are doing a ton of research up here, especially when the cargo dragon was up here from SpaceX. It brings a ton of science up, and then it also takes it back down. So actually, Ann and I worked on some DNA research. Recently, we just concluded a ring-shear drop experiment. So looking at protein structures and using computer models to figure out how they shear or break. And that actually will help inform how we build medications that can counter cancer, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. So we're doing some really important and neat research that we get to be a part of. It's a privilege to spend just a few minutes each day working on a science experiment that scientists have spent their entire lives building to learn more about the Earth, to learn more about medication, technology, all sorts of things. At any given moment up here on the International Space Station, there are over 200 science experiments going on, both inside. Every single rack that you see here has a payload or a science experiment going on right now. And then outside the station, looking out at the universe, and then also looking back at Earth. So we're doing a ton to help inform how we do life on Earth and life out further in the universe. It's very exciting for me to be speaking live with two astronauts who are on the International Space Station. First time I've done that. And Nicole, let me follow up. I know you both were part of one of the few all-female spacewalks. What was that like? Yeah, so it was actually my first spacewalk. Anzald had it, spacewalking at this point. But you know, I think that our spacewalk was a huge success and a huge testament to teamwork and how many different people have to work on just this one event. So you know, we were the two that got the glory and we got to go out the door and everybody knows our names. But you know, Toc and Johnny were our crewmates who helped suit us up. We worked with a bunch of people on the ground. You know, Marcos Barrios is another astronaut from my class who worked with us and he was the communicator that talked to us. Deanna Trujillo was our flight director and she led the entire ground team through a bunch of adversity and a bunch of game plan changes. And so I think it was a true testament to teamwork. You know, the way that we got out the door. We got all the tasks done that needed to get done, the high priority task with the antenna. We got some game plan changes in the middle of it and we were able to problem solve and figure out how to leave the station in a better state and then also do a little bit of maintenance on the station. So you know, it was pretty fantastic to see the teamwork together, but you know, can't beat the view through the visor, you know, when it's just you and a space suit and your buddy outside. It's pretty fantastic. It's amazing and fantastic what the work you're doing. We are so proud of both of you and the entire crew. Thanks so much for doing it. And let me follow up with this question. Why is space exploration so important and what do you think it will look like in 5, 10, 20 years from now? Yeah, I think this is a really exciting time in space exploration and we're really hitting an exponential growth and expansion. So I think 20 years ago, it would have been easy to project five years. I will tell you honestly, right now, I don't know what the next five years hold. There are so many new companies, new countries, new partnerships and new programs coming into play that it is an absolutely interesting time in space exploration. And you ask why we explore space and I honestly think that that's a different answer for each of us. We as a society explore space because as societies, we always ask what's next, what's around the next corner. You know, if we go back hundreds of years, thousands of years, people said what's across this land? What's on the other side of this ocean? And then when we kind of filled in, we figured out our earth a little bit, we said, okay, how do we take to flight? How do we go higher in flight? And the next logical place is what else is out there? And humans have always had that propensity to explore. So maybe why we explore is because you're one of those explorers that deep down in your heart feels a passion and wonders what else is out there. Maybe you are an engineer and you are fascinated by the technology that it's going to take to get there. Maybe you're an artist or a storyteller and you're fascinated by the human condition and being able to be part of something like that. And I think for each of us, why we're part of this is different. And I think another important question would be what type of society we would be if we didn't explore. And I don't think that's a society any of us would want to be with or be in. So I think over the next five years, I'm really thrilled and very lucky to be part of this. We're thrilled to have both of you there at the International Space Station. And when you're back here on Earth, I hope we get a chance to meet. Thanks to both of you for all that you are doing.

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