Down to Earth: The Astronaut’s Perspective

 

The Journey to Space

The little red light is on. Producer: We are rolling. Reid Wiseman: All right. Producer: Mark it. Producer: Camera one.

Anne McClain: You know, most kids start thinking about what it would be like to be up there, looking at the sky at night and seeing stars. No matter where we grow up, everybody wonders, "What else is out there?"

Jessica Meir: I started saying I wanted to be an astronaut when I was five years old, according to my mom.

Alvin Drew: It was the beginning of our astronauts making their way up to the moon. I remember thinking, "What is this? How do I go do this? This looks like fun."

Tracy Dyson: I looked at what NASA was doing and thought, "I want to be an astronaut." That's kinda what happened.

Michael Foreman: I got into Navy test pilot school and then started to apply to NASA.

Don Pettit: There were 6,000 people that applied for 15 slots, and I interviewed four times over twelve years.

Mike Fossum: I applied multiple times over 13 years and interviewed five times before I was selected.

Bill McArthur: I did submit seven applications along the way...

Michael Foreman: I got rejected by NASA seven times, but the eighth time...

Mike Fossum: And the fourth time, I got a phone call that said, "If you're still interested in being an astronaut, we'd like you to come to Houston."

Mike Fossum: Finally, it's launch day.

David Saint-Jacques: Launching to space was a momentous experience.

Drew Morgan: You see that this rocket is a living, breathing beast. It wants to go.

Alvin Drew: It suddenly feels real.

Michael Foreman: First thing, you're strapped in this space shuttle on the launch pad...

Karen Nyberg: Sitting in the rocket getting ready for launch, you're anxious and excited.

Hazza Al Mansouri: Waiting for countdown, focusing on your checklist, focusing on your procedure...

10, 9, 8...

Drew Morgan: At the moment of launch, you're quite prepared...

Jack Fischer: It lights off and you feel the rumble, and then you start to move...

Michael Foreman: And you feel like you're just in a car wreck...

Alvin Drew: There's nothing subtle or nice about it.

David Saint-Jacques: The vibration, the pressure, the acceleration, the pressure in your seat...

Karen Nyberg: I distinctly remember the point when I stopped and thought, "I did it, I'm here."

T.J. Creamer: Floating is very cool. It's fun to watch new astronauts show up in space...

Reid Wiseman: Being weightless the first few days is horrible. But then you start to realize that weightlessness is well suited for us.

Mike Fossum: Pretty soon you're going into a hatchway, pushing off and zipping down the middle...

Alvin Drew: Weightlessness brings out your inner 5-year-old. It's the source of all stupid astronaut tricks.

Jack Fischer: It's as fun as you think it would be only better.

Mike Fossum: Everybody's a superhero. You're not floating, you're flying.

Anne McClain: The International Space Station is a national orbiting laboratory for the United States. We have hundreds of science experiments going on at any time.

Nicole Stott: We are doing amazing science up there. It is also absolutely the most wonderful observatory.

T.J. Creamer: I would bring crew members to the cupola module, tell them to close their eyes and open them to see Earth.

Anne McClain: Cerebrally, I knew this was gonna be a life-changing experience. I knew the view was gonna be amazing.

David Saint-J

I knew the colors, but they seemed different to me. They appeared more vibrant and translucent. Tracy Dyson mentioned that she had never seen these colors on Earth before, particularly the pearlescent yellows and peaches that form when you look at a body of water with the sun angle. Reid Wiseman described how he drew curved lines and wrote down different shades of blue and purple to capture the scale of looking at a sunset from space. He mentioned that no picture can capture the true beauty that the human eye can see. Tracy Dyson expressed her struggle to describe this beauty, as no words or pictures can do it justice. Nick Hague mentioned how his mind would race when looking at Earth, like a work of art that surprises you every time you look at it. He specifically mentioned watching thunderstorms and seeing storm activity moving around the planet, with lightning flashing off all over. Nicole Stott compared watching thunderstorms to watching neurons firing in a brain, with tentacles of light connecting and traveling across the ocean. She also mentioned the realization of everything being connected. One of the most impressive things they witnessed was Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane with a well-formed eye. Looking down at it, they could see the immense power at the center of the storm. Jack Fischer mentioned the immensity of power that mother nature brings with hurricanes and thunderstorms. Reid Wiseman described seeing a brown color over Brazil, which turned out to be a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert blowing a huge plume of sand into the atmosphere and crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Anne McClain talked about the perspective gained from observing natural disasters from space, realizing that the effects hit everybody equally and emphasizing the interconnectedness of humanity. David Saint-Jacques expressed how beautiful and fragile Earth looks, like it's breathing with the clouds and water. Don Pettit mentioned how the view of Earth changes every day, with new details visible like mountain ranges and geologic structures. Mike Fossum described the awe-inspiring view of the Nile River, the Red Sea, and other landmarks from space, realizing the historical significance of these places. Jessica Meir mentioned the unique color palette of Earth, with reds and oranges and different textures like dunes in central Africa and Saudi Arabia. T.J. Creamer mentioned how different regions of Earth have their own distinct colors. Nick Hague appreciated the beauty of the landscape and the realization of how special Earth is. Tracy Dyson noted that from space, you don't see political or geographical borders, emphasizing the sense of unity and commonality among humans. Jack Fischer mentioned how being in space allows you to forget about politics and daily life on Earth, focusing on making an impact and evolving as a species. Mike Fossum mentioned the difference in detail visible during the daytime and nighttime over Africa, with the intense sunlight during the day and the illumination by starlight or moonlight at night.