We can only imagine what’s going through an astronaut’s head as he gets a bird’s-eye view of Earth from space, but the most likely answer is probably, “It’s very far away.”
However, in the former case National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 62-year-old astronaut Ron Garan had only one thing on his mind: the harsh realization that we humans on Earth are “living a lie.”
No, that’s Flat Earther It was right all along. In fact, it was many It’s more convincing.
Just imagine what he was thinking as he put on Garan’s spacesuit and had an unobstructed view of our universe. Gloves And I experienced a phenomenon called the “overview effect.”
For those who don’t know, this term is Shift in Perception Many astronauts feel this way when they look at the Earth while floating in space. space The researchers liken this to “a state of awe with a self-transcendent quality.”
The phenomenon may cause “unexpected and overwhelming emotions” for those brave enough to make some noise on board. rocketTo be honest, it’s not that surprising.
So they’re seeing things that very few people get to see, and I think I’d be moved.
That’s exactly what Galland experienced, having spent 178 days in space and traveled more than 71 million miles during 2,842 orbits during his NASA career.
The unique perspective he gained on the world during his time aboard the International Space Station (ISS) allowed him to look out the window and draw some very interesting conclusions about the way we live our lives.
Busy In an interview with Big Think, the New Yorker said he realized that the things most humans worry about aren’t really that big of a deal after all, but we a lot Worry more global warmingdeforestation and biodiversity loss.
NASA astronaut Ron Garant wakes up in space (ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Describing what he witnessed, Galland said: “I was looking out the window of the International Space Station and saw paparazzi-like flashes. ThunderstormI could see dancing curtains of the Aurora Borealis that felt so close I could almost reach out and touch them.
“And then I saw the incredible thinness of Earth’s atmosphere. In that moment, I was hit with the solemn realization that this paper-thin layer sustains the life of every living thing on Earth.”
“I saw a rainbow-coloured biosphere teeming with life. economyBut our manmade systems treat everything, including Earth’s life support systems, as wholly owned subsidiaries of the global economy, so from space it’s clear we’re living a lie.”
it is Elon Musk You need to get it SpaceX rocket I’ll sort that out soon so we can all see this for ourselves.
“From space, it’s clear that we are living a lie,” Galland continued. “We need to move from an economy-society-planet mindset to a planet-society-economy mindset, and only then will we continue our evolutionary process.”
“When they realize how interconnected and interdependent we all are, it starts to have an epiphany.”
The 62-year-old experienced the “overview effect” and returned to Earth with a new perspective (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Since getting his feet back on the ground, Galán is passionate about protecting the planet while encouraging people to put each other above the rat race of modern society.
“There will be no peace on Earth until we recognize the fundamental fact that all reality is interconnected,” Galland added. And he’s not alone in this belief.
Astronaut Michael Collins Apollo 11 Speaking of being struck by how “fragile” and “small” the Earth was, Apollo 14’s Edgar Mitchell said the experience brought about an “explosion of consciousness.”
