Earthrise (20 page)

Copernicus was the first person to say that the Sun is at the center of the universe and the Earth and the other celestial bodies orbit around it. This theory, called the “heliocentric model,” was a revolutionary idea at the time. Many years later, Galileo and Kepler also studied the heavens and agreed that the Sun, and not the Earth, was the center of the universe. But people didn’t believe them or Copernicus at first.

New and different ideas often challenge our core beliefs and can take a long time to accept. Many people who lived during the times of Copernicus, or Galileo and Kepler, refused to believe what these astronomers said about our world and called their ideas “patently absurd,” “far-fetched,” “blasphemous,” or even “crazy.”

Are We Alone?

Over time, our understanding of Earth and its place in the universe has changed. We no longer believe that the Earth is flat or that Earth is the center of the universe. But we still face challenging unknowns such as, “Are we alone in the universe?” and “Does life exist beyond Earth?”

Many people today, including scientists, astronomers, astronauts, and educators, believe that we are not the only conscious and intelligent beings in the universe. I also hold this point of view and believe that our vast cosmos is teeming with life. As we continue to look up and explore space, large telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and the Kepler Telescope are helping us see the universe in a whole new way. These telescopes show us a more vast, varied, and expansive cosmos than ever imagined. And it’s very exciting.

The scientists who study images from the Hubble and Kepler telescopes are continually finding new planets with Earth-like environments. These newly discovered planets may be harbingers of life as we know it. And, these amazing new discoveries are helping us rethink who we are as humans.

Many people also wonder if we are, or have ever been, visited by intelligent beings who live beyond Earth. People question how a spaceship could travel vast distances and light years to get to, or land on, our planet. These ideas challenge how we think about reality, and they’re not easy to comprehend or to explain scientifically.

I’ve been curious about extraterrestrials since I was a teen when I read in the local paper about the so-called flying saucer that crashed on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Although I didn’t give the event a lot of thought at the time, I’m sure the Roswell incident ignited my curiosity about ETs and was part of the reason I became a space explorer. Over time I have come to accept the idea that there is life beyond Earth, and I feel very comfortable with this belief.

But whether you believe in life beyond Earth or not, there’s no escaping the many images and stories about UFOs, spaceships, and ETs in our everyday world. Our world is flooded with these images in books, magazines, newspapers, movies, TV shows, the Internet, and even everyday items such as breakfast cereal packaging. They’re part of modern cultures and they can affect one’s personal views and how one feels.

Although there have been a number of benevolent ETs featured in movies such as
ET the Extra-Terrestrial, Starman,
or
Avatar,
it certainly seems like many of the ETs depicted in movies are negative and frightening. It’s natural to wonder if intelligent life forms outside of Earth could be either threatening or kind to us.

How we regard life is always a matter of our own individual perspective, but I believe we have no reason to be afraid. Staying positive and loving in our lives is the key.

The Future of Space Exploration

Throughout my life I’ve had an ongoing desire to uncover the great unknowns and to shed light on some of the most basic questions we all face, such as
Who am I? Why am I here?
and
What’s the purpose of my life?

A great deal of my work as an explorer, scientist, astronaut, researcher, and educator has been to help unravel the many mysteries about our planet, the universe, and what it means to be human.

We learn through exploration, and exploration of any kind can challenge belief systems. It requires an open mind and a willingness to ask questions. I view the frontier of space as an ongoing, expansive vista for future exploration. Change is inevitable, and it’s exciting to think about all the new discoveries awaiting us on this vast horizon.

Even in the last 100 years, our world has changed so much. My father was born about the time Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the world’s very first airplane in 1903. And just 68 years later, I flew 240,000 miles to the Moon and walked on it. Now that’s remarkable.

My great-grandparents would have found it impossible to believe that their great-grandson would one day walk on the Moon. They might have said, “Oh—that’s a crazy idea!” They would have also found it nearly impossible to imagine inventions such as the television, microwave, computer, or smartphone.

And although we’ve seen big changes in the US space program, like the retirement of the NASA shuttle fleet, there will always be the continued exploration of our universe. There will be new and innovative space exploration in ways we can’t even imagine, and I believe we must continue to be a space-faring civilization and always reach for the stars.

NASA continues to be a pioneer in space exploration and discovery. In 2011 NASA announced information about the design and development of a space launch system that could send astronauts even farther into space. Right now work is being done to design new spacecraft for long voyages that could send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, and even to Mars by the mid-2030s, and return them safely to Earth. These are challenging long-range goals in the making, and some of our best thinkers are hard at work on these new expeditions into deep space.

As we begin this new era in space exploration, we will continue to find innovative avenues to head out into space. New changes in astronautics include moving toward space flight that is conducted through commercial and private companies versus the government. This will enable a wider spectrum of individuals who could potentially fly in low Earth orbit.

Going to the Moon was an extraordinary event in my life. It helped me appreciate this beautiful planet we live on and care about its future. From space I had a rare glimpse of Earth as a small globe in its galactic setting, and I realized that was my
home.
I feel so fortunate I became a space explorer, and I know our future depends on young people who also wish to head out into the unknown and discover new information about our world and universe.

Sometimes when I think back on my life and the many incredible experiences I’ve had, I feel very happy with what I’ve accomplished and very appreciative of the people who helped me along the way. It’s hard to imagine that a farm boy from a small town in New Mexico could grow up and fly a quarter of a million miles to the Moon and actually get to walk on it. But it really happened.

And what an incredible adventure it was.

Key Life Events

Resources to Explore