With your father's experiences as an astronaut you've probably gained some insight into what it takes to train for a space mission. Has your training for the space station voyage been about what you expected or has it been surprising or revealing in some ways? What have you learned about yourself from the experience?

I started training on my own last year, hoping to make sure my body is physiologically ready for whatever comes my way.

Turns out that my own work out is more strenuous than the physical work outs that astronauts and cosmonauts are expected to do, so I was prepared there. However, the experiences of doing 9-G centrifuge runs simulating ballistic re-entries, and survival training in the Black Sea were very interesting.

This year has been a very mind expanding year. On the one hand, my respect and admiration for the astounding complexity and sheer quantity of activity it takes to put people in space is pretty awe inspiring. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised that my abbreviated educational background and self-taught math and science has in fact left me well prepared to participate in this diverse and challenging environment.

How is your mastery of the Russian language progressing? Do you think you'll be able to communicate effectively with the space station crew?

My Russian language skills are still minimal, but I'm focusing on the technical Russian that I need for the flight.

I think I will be able to perform satisfactorily, but I wish I was more conversational.

Do you see possible game-engine applications for space flight simulations and training exercises? Is NCsoft considering any projects along that line?

I am sure my experiences will find their way into future games, as you can see the overlap between my life and my games in the past. But how and where this inspiration will come, I won't be able to say until I get back!

Most individuals don't spend months training for a trip and millions of dollars for a flight. What will it take to make space travel commonplace? Do you see this happening in your lifetime?

While I do believe that in my lifetime space travel by private citizens will become more commonplace, I really want to stress that this particular trip for me is not tourism. It is a lifelong dream that I am taking very seriously and I hope that my trip does some good for humankind.

I am doing a number of scientific experiments when in orbit, as well as doing some educational programs, in addition to my Operation Immortality duties with Tabula Rasa. I just want to make that clear. Having said that, I strongly believe that my trip will show that there could be great value to allowing private citizens into space.

Safe voyage, Richard! May your space adventure be an incredible experience.

Thank you very much!

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This article's publishing has been made possible by Intel, as a platform and vendor-agnostic part of Intel's Visual Computing microsite.]