As someone who’s always been in awe of the various space programs (whether we’re talking manned or robotic flights) and missions, it’s about time someone did something like this. I’ve always been of the opinion that we need to get our artists and our musicians up there. Maybe then we’d care a little more about the planet we’re so rapidly working to destroy. Science is a beautiful thing.
Imagine if Handel could have flown up there, or Bach. Imagine the symphonies they might have written… I would have loved to have read Mark Twain’s comments on looking down on the earth. Or to read a Shakespearean sonnet on earthrise. Or any other of the great writers, it really doesn’t matter.
And then I’d like to send all of our politicians (of all stripes, left, right, centrist, pink, purple, whatever) up there and say: “Where are your lines? Where are your borders? See? They are nowhere! Let them fall - they were arbitrary to begin with. Put aside your hatreds, surrender your greed, lay down your anger. We are all here, and it’s precious. The planet is, the environment is, the animals on this planet are, and the people are, too. Let’s work together to make a better world. I have been able to see this from the ground. If you cannot see it from space, then you are truly blind and humanity is doomed to failure. And it will be doomed because of people like you.”
