Last night, I had the great pleasure of meeting Astronaut Chris Hadfield at the American Museum of Natural History. Hadfield gave a book talk on his latest work, "You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes." Hadfield is an expert communicator and gave us all a personal and emotional account of his life on orbit.
He began saying, "I want to show you some pictures from this trip I took last year." In his understated way, like we were about to look at some photos from his Ontario cabin. A three time veteran, with 2 shuttle missions and a six month post and command on the International Space Station, he has a great orbital perspective.
He shared the story of his first mission aboard Atlantis. Showing a launch video, I was immediately reminded of how much I miss the ripping a hole in the sky crackle of the ATK Solid Rocket Boosters. Nothing I've ever heard sounds quite like them. Hadfield commented, "When those big white rockets light you're going somewhere." He gave everyone a few words of advice for our own first launches, "You know, if you ever get the chance, you really should do it." The prelaunch meal - "The chefs will prepare anything you want. I recommend you eat something creamy and colorful. Use ketchup. You're going to see it again. Go for technicolor!" When asked of the mothballing of the shuttle fleet, he responded, "They're very primitive...128k of processing power... 30 years old... Do you drive a 30 year old car?" He added, "We shouldn't have such a gap in vehicles, but that's what we do."
The Orbital Perspective, as Ron Garan dubed it, comes through with every astronaut I've met. Hadfield spoke of the diversity and beauty of the Earth. Taking tens of thousands of photos on his ISS mission, he tweeted an image daily. He said he scanned through those he took that day, looking for one that caught his eye. "What was it emotionally that drew me to that photo?" "STEM pays the bills. When we really want to communicate, we use art." Through his new book he definitely uses the art of that "Shining Ball of Blue, home to everyone that anybody ever knew." to speak volumes.
Hadfield is a great advocate for exploration. He described it as a basic human trait. "We've been sending probes out there for thousands of years." From the early humans taking the first steps out of the Rift Valley to other planets and beyond our Solar System. [Space Exploration] is just the next step. It's an extension of what we do as humans." Where should we be going? Hadfield got a great response from the audience when he said, "The obvious next step is to go back to the moon. Live there for a few generations, learn as much as we can.?"
Hadfield also spoke of changes he's observed on the planet, like the loss of the Aral Sea, drained for cotton production. "I'm not a rabid environmentalist, I've just been around the world...about twenty-six hundred times." when asked about climate change.
Hadfield concluded the evening with a medley of ISS and Space Oddity and a book signing, graciously greeting and signing for more than an hour after his presentation. Of the book, Hadfield said the photos belong to you. The profits of book sales go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. The audience responded with an appreciative round of applause. Hadfield remarked, "I didn't expect applause for that, it's just the right thing to do."
If you don't know Hadfield, look for his collection of YouTube videos, get his books, follow him on social media. He brings a distinctly human perspective to living and working in space. You will instantly understand why he is so popular and you too will be a fan of the mustachioed man from Canada.
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