Life advice from a Fort Collins astronaut

There’s a lot one can learn from an astronaut.

With their extensive scientific and physical training, they are practically walking Wikipedias on topics ranging from the effects of long-term weightlessness on people and other organisms to how stars are formed in the heavens.

But the first thing most people want to know about space travel is how someone goes to the bathroom, said Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, retired NASA astronaut and graduate of Fort Collins High School.

Metcalf-Lindenburger shared that and other important information with Poudre School District students Friday at the launch of a three-day camp that uses space exploration as a platform to get students interested in STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math.

Toss art into the mix and it becomes STEAM.

The “Go For Launch” program sponsored by the nonprofit Higher Orbits is designed to teach the importance of teamwork, communication and leadership.

Those were among topics touched on by Metcalf-Lindenburger during a presentation to the 55 middle and high school students signed up for the program at FCHS.

A former science teacher and the daughter of teachers, Metcalf-Lindenburger was at ease describing the long and sometimes unexpected path that brought her to NASA and the astronaut class of 2004.

She trained and studied for six years before landing an assignment on the Discovery space shuttle and a 15-day mission. The mission focused on resupplying and repairing the International Space Station.

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Students in Go For Launch work in teams to develop experiments that could be sent to the International Space Station for actual research.

It’s always good to come back to Fort Collins, Metcalf-Lindenburger said in an interview, and to touch base with longtime supporters such as her parents and former teachers.

If there are life lessons to be passed on to students — or anyone, for that matter — finding one’s biggest team would be one of them, she said. Working with a team is a key to success.

“Because you are a piece of the team, and you are not the most important person,” she said.

Other life advice from Metcalf-Lindenburger includes taking care of the Earth, which needs a lot of help at the moment, and be a reader to explore distant places and fresh ideas through imagination.

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People also should stay active to ensure good physical and mental health, she said, and be flexible and willing to try new things. Think big: Don't set artificial boundaries for yourself.

“Because you never know where it will take you,” she said. “But I can tell you, that if you don’t participate and you check out of life early, your life will have been one that is not very fulfilling to you.”

Metcalf-Lindenburger, 42, retired from NASA in 2014. She works as an environmental scientist and consultant in Washington and helps "cleanup the messes I made," she said.

She’s not the only astronaut from our town. Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a NASA flight surgeon and astronaut, graduated from Poudre High School in 1993.

And if Metcalf-Lindenburger’s enthusiasm for learning, life and science captures the attention of a group of Fort Collins students this weekend, they won’t be the last.

Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg and on Facebook at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan.