Peggy Whitson on her space legacy and commanding a new mission for Axiom

Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, who has logged more time in space than any American or any woman worldwide, joined “CBS Mornings” to discuss a new mission for Axiom.

Whitson, who completed 10 spacewalks during her NASA career and spent 675 days in space, will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame next month. Despite retiring from NASA in 2018, she has returned to space through commercial opportunities.

“I love the research part of going into space, even though the ride is a blast,” she said.

Whitson retired in 2018 but returned to space through commercial spaceflight opportunities with Axiom Space. She is scheduled to command the Axiom Mission 4 in May.

“The opportunity through commercial space flight has opened up for me. I really never expected it to happen so quickly after I left NASA,” Whitson said. “Axiom Space really gave me an opportunity to have that chance to go again. And of course, I took it.”

When asked about the purpose of continued space missions, Whitson said they will always possess scientific value.

“We are going to be conducting research from 31 countries including over 60 different investigations,” she said.

Whitson said that will include studies on cancer cell growth in orbit and research that might allow people with diabetes to access space in the future.

For those feeling nervous about space travel, Whitson offered reassurance.

“I just think about all the people, the engineers that have worked on every single tiny aspect of making that rocket ready to go.”

Whitson also described the profound experience of seeing Earth from space, calling it “extremely dramatic” and noting how it creates perspective on humanity’s shared existence.

“It really gives you this perspective of how important our planet is, and that we really are one living here on this planet,” she said.

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Watch live coverage of “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King’s trip to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket on Monday, April 14, starting at 9 a.m. ET on CBS, CBS News 24/7 or Paramount+. King is joining a historic all-women flight crew, traveling to space alongside Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen and Kerianne Flynn.