Lombard astronaut longs for a sushi bar, Chicago-style pizza in space

If his astronaut gig doesn't work out, Lombard's Dan Tani said he can always get a job as a hot dog taster.

In a quirky interview Thursday based on questions submitted by Daily Herald readers, Tani relaxed a little bit and joked around about some of his experiences over the past three months in space.

Yes, he wants to get home.

His expected eight-week tour turned into a three-month stay with a hazy return date, and was marred by the tragic death of his mother, Rose.

More Coverage Video Watch the interview

But there's no job in the world like that of an astronaut, he said.

Now, if only they delivered Aurelia's Pizza to the International Space Station.

During the course of the 10-minute interview with Tani and expedition commander Peggy Whitson, the crew traveled about 3,000 miles while orbiting about 212 miles above Earth.

In terms rabid Cubs fan Tani would love, that 3,000 miles is roughly the round-trip distance between his childhood home in Lombard and HoHoKam Park in Arizona, where his team starts spring training next month.

If the latest shuttle launch schedule pans out, he should even be back on terra firma in time to attend a few games.

Here's what Tani and Whitson had to say.

Q. I've noticed when you exercise you're watching a laptop. Is it some secret astronaut training videos or are you catching up on the latest "Desperate Housewives" episode?

Peggy Whitson. Actually, we get news almost every day and other shows that we like to watch on TV. It's a good way for us to take a break while we're exercising and keep us entertained. So we'll exercise for the full amount of time every day.

Q. Dan, what are you looking forward to when you get back to Chicago?

Dan Tani. Well, of course, seeing my family, that's the primary thing. But there's some things I miss about Earth -- and Chicago specifically -- primarily the food. Like any Chicagoan, I'm pretty partial to pizza, and I've got my favorites. It's all good in Chicago, but I love Aurelio's down the street from where I live, and I can't go to Chicago without eating some hot dogs and a good Italian beef. These are things you can't get anywhere else in the world, really, other than Chicago. So I'm really looking forward to that.

Q. Dan, I know it's been hard for you being up there while you and your family are grieving the loss of your mom. Were you able to eventually see the memorial service for her?

Tani. No, not yet. They have it on video for me. We've been staying pretty busy up here. So I can wait until I get back.

I was able to listen to the service while I was in orbit as it happened live. The folks on the ground in Houston did a great job of figuring out how to get me the audio in real time.

And it was really a wonderful experience to sit by the window and listen to the service and, of course, think about my mom, but then watch the earth go by. We go around the world in about 90 minutes. So I was able to go all around the earth in the time of her service and it was very special to me. I'll certainly remember that and it was a wonderful way for me to experience the service.

Q. Madison Elementary fifth-grader Casey, from Lombard, asks: "If you didn't make it as an astronaut, what would be your fallback?"

Tani. I was gonna try to be a hot dog taster. No, actually, when I applied to be an astronaut I was an engineer at an aerospace company in Virginia. I had a wonderful career there. I was doing some exciting things. I was launching rockets that were taking satellites into space. But I was also looking at other careers when I applied to be an astronaut and I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do, but I was thinking of going into some sort of business.

Becoming an astronaut is a job and I applied for it and was lucky enough to get selected. But if I didn't get selected, there were a variety of other things I would have liked to have done.

Q. Judy Stanhope, Glendale Heights asks, "When my husband shaves his face with his electric razor, little whiskers get all over the sink. What happens in space?"

Tani. That is a great question because little pieces of debris that normally fall to the floor or in the sink obviously float around and can be kind of dangerous. They can get in your eyes. We do have electric razors. I don't know exactly how they work to keep the whiskers inside, but they do a pretty good job.

If we use the electric razors, sometimes you want to be near ventilation so it gets sucked into a filter if it does get out. But most people here, I think, use a shaving gel and all the little bits of whiskers stay in the gel and it's much easier to clean it up that way.

It's a great question, and it applies to all sorts of little things, anything you might open -- the corner of a little packet of ketchup. You have to keep track of that, otherwise it will float away.

Q. Quinn Corcoran, Elmhurst, fourth grade, "Astronaut Dan, do you have space ice cream?"

Tani. Sadly, we do not. We don't have a freezer to keep it in. But I think he's probably referring to that freeze-dried ice cream that sometimes you can buy at the science museum or some other shop. We don't have that.

But we do have all sorts of food that is dried like that ice cream and most of it we add water to. But we have strawberries that are dried up and you can open up the package and eat them almost like little pieces of candy. But we don't have the ice cream stuff he's talking about.

Q. Five-year-old George Granskog, Itasca: "Would a fish in the water in a tank float all together or would it float as a fish, water, and a tank all separate?"

Whitson. Actually, we have had experiments with fish on the shuttle before, I believe, and those are completely contained -- for good reason -- to keep the water inside. But the fish do have problems swimming. Their neuro-sensory system is affected by being in micro-gravity, as well, so they end up swimming in circles.

Q. Trystan Stone, Americana School, Glendale Heights: "If the International Space Station could have any restaurant attached to it, which one would you choose, and what would you order first?"

Whitson. Well, actually I'd like a whole mall's worth of different choices right now. I'd probably pick Mexican or Thai. Something really, really spicy.

Tani. And of course, just like previous answers, I'd like a good pizza place, I'm a hot dog lover, and a good sushi restaurant.

Whitson. All four.

Tani. We'll go with all of them.

Q. Yeah, Dan, I heard you had some special hot sauce shipped up there. Peggy, did you have any special food deliveries?

Whitson. I had a lot of different salsas and sauces shipped up because after a while food starts to taste the same. Typically, when we get ready for dinner we ask what we're having with our sauce.

Q. Six-year-old Andelyn Granskog of Itasca asked: "Do you have to clean the space station?"

Tani. That's a great question and we absolutely do.

As I said, everything floats around. So even if you're drinking coffee and a little bit gets out, it will float away -- a little bubble of coffee or juice or whatever will get on the wall and you need to clean that up.

So about once a week we dedicate about half a day to cleaning the station and that includes vacuuming the air filters so the air filters stay clean, and wiping down surfaces.

Q. Emily Dible, fifth grade, Lombard, asked, "How does it feel to bring glory to our little, quiet, unnoticed town?"

Tani. It's an honor for me to be one of the many things that brings honor to Lombard.

I've always proudly said it was a stop on the Underground Railroad and I'm very proud of that fact. And it's the home of Morris the Cat, and VeggieTales and all sorts of things.

But I'm very proud to be from Lombard, and if it brings attention to what a wonderful town it is, I'm very pleased.

Q. "My dad said when you come back to Earth you need physical therapy because you got used to having no gravity. Is that true?" Juanito Boligor, Addison.

Whitson. We do require some readaptation time. Every crew member's different in how they readapt.

We do a lot of exercise up here to prevent most of the major effects so our muscles will stay strong and so our cardiovascular fitness will be good. But we do feel the effects of returning to Earth.

I actually felt somewhat ill for the first day. My neurovestibular system (which involves the inner ears and eyes), I think, was still going around me at 17,500 miles per hour.

Q. Dan, I understand you've had some difficulty putting your socks on while in space. I wonder if you could give us a demonstration of that?

Tani. And the story is that the way we're restrained right now there are little bars that you put your feet under. Generally, you put your feet under these bars and that way you can move around a little bit easier and restrain yourself. Well, when you put your socks on you need your feet, and then you can't use your hands because putting on socks requires your hands, too.

I've gotten pretty good at it, but I'll show you a demo of how it's done and it's pretty funny looking.

Whitson. See, now he's doing pretty good. He doesn't have very good fast (spin) rates, but I can help him out. That makes it more challenging for him

Q All right, well, thank you guys for talking to us and have a safe journey home.

Tani. I'm going to be known as the guy who puts his socks on in space.