A NASA astronaut who flew on the final mission of the space shuttle Discovery has said his children are indifferent to what he does for a job.

Doctor Michael Barratt, a mission specialist aboard the STS-133 mission, made the revelation during a visit to the Isle

of Man this week.

He visited the Island along with his astronaut colleagues, as guests of Tynwald.

Michael joined NASA in 1991 as a project physician before being selected as a mission specialist in July 2000. He was then assigned to long duration flight training and travelled to the International Space Station as a member of Expeditions 19 and 20 in 2009.

He completed 199 days in space onboard the International Space Station and it was during this time that he was told he would be taking part in Discovery's 39th and final mission into space this February.

isleofman.com reporter Tessa Hawley spoke to Michael about his time in space:

If there was something in space that you could share with people on Earth what would it be?

"I would have to say there are three things:

"One - the view of Earth as it's just so overwhelming. I think all of us are wired to appreciate natural beauty and those senses can be overwhelmed in space when you are looking at the planet – oceans, clouds, recognising continents – it's really amazing.

"Two - experiencing weightlessness and I don't just mean a few minutes. I mean being up there adapting and just how wonderful it is to float and to fly, to effortlessly move, to just move objects and to play with our food! Weightlessness is just magic.

"Three- is the time with shipmates and the fellowship and camaraderie we have. When I flew the first time I flew with two Russians, a Belgian, a Canadian, a Japanese and I was the token American. You're all up there looking down at the world and there are no borders and you think 'can't everyone get along?' But the fact that you are all up there getting along really puts a stroke to that notion that space is a venue for everybody.

"The other thing I would do if I could share something would be to have one person up for dinner every night – to listen to the conversation, the fun, the music and to play with our food in zero gravity! Those times around the table were absolutely precious. If we could have had every head of state up there for dinner I think we really could have brought a new perspective to the world and I would have liked to share that with everybody."

You've completed two missions now – do you have a highlight moment?

 "I've flown twice and those three experiences I've mentioned – floating, looking at the Earth and being with shipmates are incredible but in some ways it is the space walks.

"Being out there is the closest you are to the space environment. When you're out there you're looking through your helmet only and you're not constrained by the window frame. You can see the Earth and your space station and the space ship that brought you there and you're outside – that's pretty spectacular. That's incredibly memorable and something I'll never forget."

This was the last ever mission for Discovery – did that make the trip more special?

"When you fly a mission you're really focussed on your duty, you're focussed on what they have sent you to do. The stakes are high and the consequences of a mistake are fairly significant so that's really where your head is.

"It's more when we landed and everything was done – the mission was completed and we were successful and we returned Discovery to its home, to the people who had taken care of it for so long – and then it did get emotional.

"You realise that ship will never fly again. It flew 39 times and it flew brilliantly on its last flight and that was it – it was never going to fly again."

Part of your job on this mission was to look after the health of the crew – what did you have to do?

"As the medical officer you're always looking at your crew for majors of health. So every day I would look at each person and see are they getting enough sleep? are they doing their hygiene? are they getting their exercise? – you have to do two and a half hours a day to keep the bone and muscle up – morale and appetite. You are always looking after the health of the crew. This crew were all veterans and everybody flew brilliantly and we didn't use a single barf bag!"

What do your family make of what you do for a living?

"I have five children and I think they are fairly indifferent! I think they do get a little nervous during launch and landing just like the spouses and the parents do – they understand the risks just like we do. Unlike us they have nothing to think about except for the risks, where as we are focussed on our duties and what to do if a problem comes up.

"We ask a lot of the families – no question about that. For a longer duration flight you obviously leave them for a longer length of time, both for training and for flight, so nobody likes that.

"We have an internet protocol telephone with a satellite link so I was able to call my children on their cell phones periodically and at first they weren't interested but then they say "hey my dad's calling from space" and pass it round to their friends - to them it wasn't that cool but watching their friends reactions was fun.

Do you know when you will next go to space?

"It's my plan to go back to space. I'm hoping it's NASA's plan as well! I think all of us would like to fly long duration again but coming back from a recent mission means automatically you're at the back of the line. But I would go back in a heartbeat."

Can you describe your time in space in three words?

"Privileged, exhilarating and I would have to say fulfilling – that sounds like a Hallmark card!

"We were chosen to be last crew and Nicole and I were still in space when they actually called us and said 'do you want another mission?' I thought that door was long closed.

"When I left to go to Russia to launch on the Soyuz I actually took all my shuttle training material and threw it in the recycle bin because I felt sure that all those seats were promised. There were only a handful of missions left and I never dreamed that would be possible for me. I was on station for maybe five and a half months when the word came that I was chosen to be on the shuttle mission and I was really really blown away. I was just really really honoured.

"Flying in space is just exhilarating – it's an experience I wish everyone could have."

Click to read the interviews with NASA astronauts Nicole Stott, Steve Bowen and Eric Boe.