Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut splashed down off the Florida coast early Friday, capping a nearly eight-month science and research mission to the International Space Station.

Few humans have had the opportunity to see Earth from space, much less live in space. We got to talk to one of these lucky people — NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara. She will soon conclude her nearly seven month stay on the International Space Station.

Transmitting from space to your ears, Loral talks to host Regina G. Barber about her dreams in microgravity, and her research on the ISS: 3D-printing human heart tissue, how the human brain and body adapt to microgravity, and how space changes the immune systems of plants.

Have questions you want us to send to outers pace? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!

A robotic assistant recently arrived at the International Space Station to perform a simulated surgery that will be controlled by a surgeon 250 miles away on Earth.