“It’s Not Rocket Science”, a monthly animated series meant to help make things better by simplifying scientific concepts into an easily digested narrative.
Former ISS Commander/Colonel/Astronaut Chris Hadfield talks about the orbital perspective, spiders, riding a meteorite to Earth, and the experience of becoming visually impaired during his first EVA. For anyone who hasn’t yet explored his book aptly titled “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” or the gorgeous photographic display of planetary awe displayed in “You Are Here”, these two works of literary art – along with this TED Talk – are highly recommended and to be shared with everyone.
A gigantic government vehicle of a space program may not be the most effective route to launch our economy and our spacefaring ambitions. However, we must keep in mind that the private space entrepreneurs paving the way for more effective, continuous, and accessible means to and beyond Low Earth Orbit will enable more human beings to achieve the Overview Effect we so desperately require as we move forward into tomorrow.
Whether it’s NASA, CSA, JAXA, ESA, or the leaders of the NewSpace movement, our longevity as a species and subsequently, our segue out into the solar system and beyond will be greatly pronounced and conceptualized from those who have seen our planet from “the outside” to communicate their experiences, emboldening each of us to embrace our stewardship to the planet and all members of its crew.
Until we are all capable of escaping our terrestrial worldview and casually observing our world along with others known and unknown, we must continue to #FightforSpace.
Voyager is so happy, because it’s the bravest satellite of all. It has gone the furthest. And it’s not lonely, because it’s talking to us. It phones home. And it tells us all about the wonderful things that it’s seeing. …There’s a whole universe to explore, and it’s just leaving our Solar System right now. It’s very brave and very lucky to be doing what it’s doing, so it’s not going to get lost. It’s traveled further than anything we’ve ever built has traveled before. It’s actually showing us the way. …
It might have been safer for it to just stay home, and stay inside a building, but then it would have been sad forever, because it never would have done its purpose. It never would have discovered things. It’s all a wonderful story of great discovery and success, and it couldn’t have happened if Voyager hadn’t been brave…
It’s not really the fact that everything always has a start and an end, it’s what happens in the middle that counts. What do you while you’re alive? What do you do while you’re laughing? And I think we’re doing exactly what makes Voyager joyful and as happy as it could be.
Think about the fact that you’re a little bit like Voyager. In that you’re going to go see the world, and you’re going to call your mom on the phone and tell her about the wonderful things that you see. … You wouldn’t want to spend your whole life hiding under your bed and never seeing anything in your whole life, you want to be able to do what makes you happy and joyful and learn about things to discover. You might be the person that discovers something really important for everybody else on the world, but you can never discover that if you just hide and only do things that are safe. So think about yourself a little bit like Voyager. What makes you laugh? It’s not just staying, hiding underneath your bed safely at home.
Cmdr. Chris Hadfield, reassuring a five-year-old who was worried about the Voyager satellite (source)
