Astronaut Says He Practiced Faith in Orbit

"People somehow create an artificial barrier between science and religion. I see God and his inspiration in our scientific curiosity. I haven't seen anything in my work as a scientist that disrupts or causes me to lose faith in God or his work in my life," former NASA astronaut Tom Jones, a Catholic, tells the Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Minnesota. Jones, who flew on four space shuttle missions, says his faith was "especially a great comfort to me when I was actually preparing for these space flights. It was good to step aside from all the technical stuff and actually focus on the spiritual and ask for some extra help there."
Keep an eye out for Jones' next book project, Planetology, which will hit the bookshelves in November. Co-authored by planetary geologist Ellen Stofan, the book will include amazing images along with explanations of the physical processes that shape Earth and the other planets. —Heather Wax