Can Space Exploration Heal Our Relationship with Earth?
Perspective is what we believe to be true. It’s the lens from which we see the world, informing what we value and dictating our priorities. It is the bedrock of our behavior, culture, and social agreements.
If you want to change something, it is important to know how it came to be, and what upholds it now. At the root of every problem (and solution) is a perspective that upholds it through a social agreement.
Deforestation, pollution, and resource depletion are incentivized by our current global economic agreement. These maladies would not exist if profits were not prioritized over the vitality of the planet we live on.
Providing for the world’s insatiable demand for meat has taken priority over the one to two acres of rainforests that are chopped down every second to make that possible. Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
The perpetrators are most often powerful corporations backed by a global demand for their products. It is a self perpetuating system that is systematically destroying the Earth’s ecosystems.
That‘s a reflection of a global perspective that has fallen out of harmony with the planet that supports life as we know it.
I’ve been an environmental and human rights activist for over 25 years. That journey has helped me understand that if you want to solve a problem, you need to focus on shifting the perspective of the humans that uphold it.
The first part of my journey was “boots on the ground” in the US and East Africa. The second has been an effort to shift the perspective of global leaders and influencers towards prioritizing human unity and stewardship of Earth.
Fighting the current system won’t create the one I hope to replace it with. So I’m channeling that energy towards creating a more conscious future.
Over the last few years, I’ve turned my focus to the space exploration community. If there is a group of people intentionally designing our future, I want in. And I want to help ensure that we do it more inclusively, ethically, and regeneratively than we have with previous human migrations around the Earth.
This is an opportunity for humans to choose to become stewards and collaborators rather than conquerors and dictators. We can write a new story, for all of us.
About seven years ago I was fortunate enough to connect with Frank White, author of The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution.
“The Overview Effect is the theory that an astronaut’s experience of spaceflight fundamentally changes their worldview.” — Frank White
I was moved by his philosophy and the language he crafted that helped astronauts articulate the profundity of their spaceflight experience. I reached out to thank him for the impact his work is making in the world, and in my life.
I offered to help amplify his message of the Overview Effect and I’ve had the privilege of co-creating with him ever since. I’m grateful for Frank’s important contributions to a more harmonious world, and his continued friendship and influence in my life.
The Overview Effect has inspired astronauts to return as humanitarians, environmentalists, artists, and authors because it was the natural response to the perspective they gained in orbit or on the moon.
When people view the Earth from a distance, it seems to transform their relationship with it. I think it’s important to tune into that common response. That’s the perspective shift I’ve been trying to facilitate for a long time.
People say we need to clean up our act on Earth before we justify more space exploration.
They want to keep our attention on Earth until we sort ourselves out and they don’t want to perpetuate destructive human behavior out into the solar ecosystem. Fair enough.
At the same time, we understand that the problems of Earth are rooted in our perspective.
“Many of the actions taken on Earth would kill us all in space. We cannot carry forward colonialist behavior in an environment not friendly for humans.” — Frank White
We can fight the symptoms forever, or we can get to the root by addressing the beliefs and priorities that uphold them. If we agree that a perspective shift is what the world needs, we should give a lot more credit to powerful methods of inciting this kind of transformation.
Imagine growing up in a large ship and never being able to go out into the sea to understand more deeply your relationship to your surroundings. Imagine the possible shift in perspective that seeing that ship from out at sea might incite. It might even help you figure some things out.
The Earthrise photo was taken by NASA astronaut Bil Anderson on the Apollo 8 mission. Nature photographer Galen Rowell described it as “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken”.
“We came all this way to explore the Moon and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” — NASA Astronaut Bill Anders, Earthrise photographer
The photo is often credited with propelling the environmental movement that led to the first Earth Day in 1970. Scores of environmental agencies were inspired by the perspective afforded us by this iconic photo. That feels important.
I’ve always lived as an environmental activist, from the work I do to the causes I support to the way I eat, travel, dwell, and purchase. I care a lot about our relationship with Earth. It’s worth noting that the majority of the scientific data I cite daily has been afforded to us by satellites in space.
If you had to guess who the most likely candidates are to figure out a sustainable fuel solution, who do you think has the most incentive and means to do it? One of them is already well on his way.
My experience of the space community is that the vast majority are on a mission to treat Earth as a sanctuary. They want to take all mining off planet, create renewable energy, and ensure an inclusive future in space for everyone. They go to space to improve life on Earth.
“The first day or so, we all pointed to our countries. The third or fourth day, we were pointing to our continents. By the fifth day, we were aware of only one Earth.” — STS-51-G Space Shuttle Mission astronaut, Sultan bin Salman Al Saud
I do what I do because I want to live in a world that celebrates our uniqueness, prioritizes our unity, and lives as stewards of that natural world. And I have faith that it’s possible. That’s what drives me.
Viewing the Earth from orbit or the moon has helped humans understand more about our place in the universe. It has helped us see how we are scaring Pachamama, and how fragile she is. It’s also shown us how quickly she can regenerate when we correct our path.
“I realized then, at the age of 39, that there were no borders, no boundaries. Earth was not the way I had been taught it was, all my life, and this division that we had among ourselves was artificially induced by us, and it was all in my head!” — Former NASA astronaut Charles Bolden, Jr. (The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution)
The Overview Effect has shown us so clearly that borders only exist on maps and in political agendas. The Earth is free of such division. Everything here is interconnected.
“The only border that matters is that thin blue line of atmosphere that blankets and protects us all.” — Former NASA astronaut, Nicole Stott
Nicole’s book, Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet―And Our Mission to Protect It beautifully articulates the profound importance of the astronaut perspective and their motivation to preserve and honor the Earth.
I believe efforts to explore and migrate consciously off of this planet will play a vital role in uniting humans around common goals, like preserving our natural ecosystems and ensuring that our future is inclusive of everyone.
“I hope people will come to understand that space exploration is not about escaping Earth but is about coming to appreciate her more fully.” — Frank White, Space Philosopher and author of The Overview Effect
It’s going to take a lot of different efforts to harmonize our relationship with Earth and each other. I believe space exploration and development can play a vital role in that process.
Maybe going out there is part of how we heal what’s right here. Our journey off the planet isn’t about abandoning Earth or perpetuating our current problems in the solar ecosystem. It’s about truly knowing our home for the first time.
Perhaps, in doing so, we will discover how to come into harmony with it.
You may also appreciate my article, How can we prioritize space exploration when the world is on fire?
I highly recommend watching the Earthrise documentary (30 min). It’s a wonderful testament to how the Overview Perspective can help us transform our relationship with Earth.
If you haven’t already read Frank White’s Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, please consider it a must read.
I am the Executive Director of the Human Space Program, Founder and Guide of Passage Mastermind Alliance, and the Chief Strategist at Kaiāulu.
