RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Yesterday, three women walked into NPR here in Washington, D.C. wearing flight jackets. They were dressed in the casual wear of astronauts, which is what they are. They held a social media chat with our science blogger Adam Cole, who moderated questions from all over the world.
ADAM COLE, BYLINE: From Eden (ph) in Israel, what does it feel like to be in space? Do you feel the organs floating inside your body?
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Wow, that question went to the Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who spent seven months on the International Space Station.
SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI: I felt instantly at home in space. I enjoy so much that feeling of being light, especially for the first weeks. And I just enjoyed going to eat on the ceiling or hanging out on the wall. I just felt like I had to take advantage of this living in three dimensions. So that was awesome.
MONTAGNE: American astronaut Cady Coleman took a question about dreaming in space.
CADY COLEMAN: I definitely dreamed weightless. And then I would dream that way when I got home. And then part of me would go, oh, no, it's not the right way anymore.
COLE: Was that an unpleasant surprise, to wake up and feel...
COLEMAN: Well, you know, there's that waking up in the middle of the night when you might, like, get up and, you know, use the bathroom. And I would just think, oh, I'd have to walk. I'm not going to do that.
(LAUGHTER)
MONTAGNE: Both women said they loved the experience of space, though not the food.
CRISTOFORETTI: My biggest craving when I got back - and so I wish it had been up there - is, like, a big salad with a lot of, like, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and nuts.
COLEMAN: I missed things that were crunchy because things like potato chips were just impossible to eat. You'd have a cloud of potato chips. One day, I hope they're able to get warm oatmeal chocolate chip cookies up there. That would be awesome.
INSKEEP: Now I'm hungry. Those are the astronauts Cady Coleman and Samantha Cristoforetti, who, along with NASA colleague Dr. Serena Aunon, took questions from NPR on social media yesterday. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.