NASA astronaut E. Michael Fincke landed on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus Wednesday and talked about space exploration and life on the International Space Station.

It turns out that although the food at the station circling the Earth at nearly 17,500 mph is pretty terrible, the sleep is amazing — the best he’s ever had.

The spaceflight veteran, with more than 381 days in space and nine spacewalks, also told an audience at UH’s Art Auditorium that his teachers offered key inspiration toward his desire to explore the heavens.

“Not everybody wants to be an astronaut, but everybody needs somebody like their teachers to help them,” Fincke said. “My teachers and my parents and my family backed me up, because this is what I wanted to do.”

The event was sponsored by the university’s College of Education, which recently launched a campaign to attract more people to the teaching profession, called “Be a hero. Be a teacher.”

Fincke came to Hawaii just a few months ago to help launch a museum exhibit on Hawaii astronaut Ellison Onizuka at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii in Moiliili. He is also in Honolulu appearing at the Future Focus Conference, which is put on each year by the Hawaii Business Roundtable and the University of Hawaii. This year’s topic is astronomy, space exploration and cybersecurity.

During his presentation Wednesday, Fincke showed a photograph of Hawaii from space. He said it was the first picture he ever took in space.

“It’s one of my favorite places,” he said of Hawaii. “When I’m flying above it in space, it’s like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to come visit,’ and here I am. So mahalo, thank you.”

Fincke added: “Hawaii has a lot to offer. It’s a beautiful place but there’s so many people here with such a good sense of community and family. I know it’s not perfect. No place is perfect. But coming close to perfect is Hawaii, with its community and families. It’s a great place to come learn.”

Fincke, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, said there always has been a great spirit of exploration associated with the islands.

“I mean, the Hawaiians found this place without the GPS,” he quipped.

Fincke, 50, is the lead astronaut for the U.S.’s next two spaceships planned to take crews to the International Space Station, Space X’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner.

The astronaut said his missions aboard the International Space Station have been awesome, wonder-filled experiences. But the food? Not so much.

“It’s better than no food,” he said.

With no refrigeration or freezing on board, meals are prepared a year to 18 months before mission launch. However, the variety of the cuisine has improved over time, he said, with the help of some of the international partners.

“When I’m up there, I miss having fresh green salads,” Fincke said. “When I came back from my last mission, my wife for the next six months every day made me a salad. And it was awesome.”

As for sleeping, it’s a dream in space.

“Don’t tell my wife I said this, but she’s always home with the crying kids, and she doesn’t get as much sleep,” he said. “In space, it’s great. You shut the door, turn off the lights and you’re sleeping on air (no gravity), and it’s awesome. You close your eyes after a long day, and you just wake up seven or eight hours later. I get my best sleep up in space.”