After viewing Earth in orbit,
do you feel like
it has fostered a greater sense
of sensitivity towards the well-being
of our planet
and the planet's environment for you?
Oh, my gosh, yeah.
I mean, when you look at that planet,
you know, like I said,
from the first time
I saw it out, the
the windows of the shuttle to like,
you know, looking out the Cupola
or going out for a spacewalk,
I mean, you just can't help but thinking
like going back
to the very beginning, like
there are people down there
and those people are only
not only people.
Heck,
there's trees and plants and animals
that are on that planet.
And the only reason that they're there
is because this miracle
that has our planet
have all the right things at this time.
Right.
And so everything that we know
and we love is only here
because of the way
the planet is in its lifetime
at this moment in time.
So you can't help thinking about
we're pretty bold to think
that we should have
the right to change it,
let it change over time.
I mean, we are like
one planet in our solar system.
You know,
our sun is only going to be around
for so long,
a little longer than you and
I will be alive.
So that's sort of convenient for us,
but maybe inconvenient for later.
But, you know,
our planet is going to evolve
as it should
and we should be
really good stewards of it
just to make sure that it doesn't
as naturally as it does it
for the sake of all the
living things on this planet.
And our planet is alive, too.
I mean, that's what's,
I think, really
super compelling from space.
You can actually see it,
you know, not like on a daily basis,
but on a yearly basis.
You know, specifically pictures
from space.
Ten years, 20 years, 30 years ago,
we can see things changing.
Some of it just as it does for itself.
Some of it as a reaction to us.
And I think we should be conscientious
of what our impact is
and try to minimize
that as much as possible.
So that we can all live on this planet
happily and healthily.
Like I said, not only the humans,
the humans
are only one part of it,
but everything else
that is on our planet.
So we've been traveling into space, maybe
not for a very long time, but for a bit.
Do you think
this is a similar experience
that astronauts, even in the past
and anyone who's been able to have
that same perspective on our planet,
do you think that they have
had a similar feeling?
And how do you think
that that has evolved
through the decades?
Yeah, I'm sure that I'm sure they have.
But in the very beginning,
you know, before I had satellites,
we probably didn't have as many,
you know, overarching
views of what's going on
over over the long term.
In geological time, it's
a blink of an eye,
but like
over the long term
for our human existence here,
I think we're it's
becoming more and more obvious
that we have an impact.
Like I mentioned,
I think folks all need to take the lap
around the planet
because then you can see,
you know, the frailty of it.
You know, like our atmosphere is so thin.
It's ridiculous.
Like, I think, you know,
when we look up to the sky,
we think, oh,
you know, there's plenty of,
you know, oxygen to breathe.
You know, we're fine.
When you step away from the planet
and you see this
just a little thin layer
and that's it between,
you know,
we're only at 250 miles above the
above the earth.
And it's a totally inhospitable place
to be, you know, it's
hot, super hot, super cold.
You know, obviously there's no oxygen.
The vacuum of space cannot live there
unless you have a space station.
And that is very fragile as it is.
I think you probably know,
we're always doing maintenance
on the space station,
so we're always fixing it.
So there's no way
we could really sustain
ourselves in space.
So we need to really
take care of our planet.
And it's the place that we all live
and where we're from.
We absolutely need to take care of it.
You're in the- into the environment
and you're in it
like everybody should be.
And I'm so proud of you
at your young age
to be thinking about that
and have it
on the forefront of your mind.
It's pretty cool, I think.
I'm particularly interested
in the environment
because, yes, the planet, I love it
every like
if we want to keep living
and we want everybody to keep
continuing to have the full lives
that they deserve
and have the same thirst for life,
we need a planet
that can give us that kind of shelter.
And that's a two way relationship.
Any passions- I think
music, science, whether it's
in space or on our planet,
you can't really have those passions
if you don't have a planet to live
on, to experience them.
And I think that's
kind of what connects all people.
Yeah, I agree.
I think everybody wants to have
a happy life, healthy life.
A happy, healthy life.
Exactly. Yeah.
And we all deserve it,
but we all have to take responsibility.
I love what you said.
It's a two way street.
It's-
it gives us so much we need to give back.
As we keep doing maintenance
on the space station every day.
We need to do that back to our planet.
Yeah, exactly. Beautiful!