for their own freedom, they are
defending democracy for every
freedom loving person around
the world.
Before we go, we have to ask
about your area of expertise,
space.
There's a lot to tackle.
One question particular, spacex
is carrying a fresh load of
supplies to the international
space station, including tomato
seeds.
This could also impact the way
astronauts eat and space.
How important would that be?
What do you see in this mission
right now?
>> You know, Sunday we're going
to go to Mars.
Fresh food is going to be
important.
When that you're that far away,
you're not going to be able to
stand it from Earth.
You're going to have to grow
yourself.
So, growing tomatoes now, it's
a steppingstone from another
level from when I was on the
space station.
We were thrown it let us,
flowers, tomatoes are too
complicated.
It's going to be great to
follow along.
I'm sure the technology is
going to help us get to Mars.
>> All right, we'll let you get
back to the stuff you're doing
on the ground here on Earth.
It's lending a hand in Ukraine.
It's a greatly needed thing.
Hats off to, you Scott.
As always, keep us posted on
how things are going over
there.
We would like to check back in
with you.
Safe travels.
>> Thank you, Jim.
>> Scott Kelly, thank you very
much.
In other news from space, there
are images from space of that
both inspire and humble.
Nasa is releasing these photos
of the moon taken by the Orion
spacecraft as part of the
artemis one mission.
Nasa says Iran has surpassed
the record set by the Apollo 13
mission when it comes to the
distance traveled in the
spacecraft designed to
transport humans.
By tomorrow, Orion will be more
than 270,000 miles away from
Earth.
The hope is all this work will
eventually establish a path to
Mars.
Scott which is talking about
that a few moments ago.
Joining me now, someone you
also know well.
The Astros physicist Neil de
Grasse Tyson.
He's also the author the books
--
a book I could never write.
Thank goodness we have Neil to
talk about all of this.
For people who say we've seen
pictures of the moon by far,
why is this so special?
I shouldn't ask that type of
question.
Who cares what they think, I'm
just kidding.
.
>> Personally, I think it
should've happened decades.
Ago it's been 50 years, 50,
count them, since we left low
Earth orbit.
That was the 1972 Apollo 17
mission that went to the moon,
walked on the moon, return to
Earth.
We haven't left low Earth
orbits since.
Then so, for me it's a long
time coming that this should've
been happening decades ago.
So, for me it's not, yes, of
course, we've seen pictures
from the moon.
It's communicating something
else.
We are redoubling our efforts
to turn space into our
backyard.
Overall, that's a good thing
for civilization.
Do you think that Earth is the
only thing we should ever think
about and care about when we're
this dot in the middle of this
vast universe, which has
unlimited resources, unlimited
discovery that could ultimately
come back and help what our
problems are here on Earth, I
am all for it.
>> Yeah, we were just talking
to Scott Kelly about this.
He's going to talk to the
rookie onions about the
radiation best technology
that's used in space and
applying it on the ground in
Ukraine to try to protect the
people there in case there's
any sort of trouble type
incidents.
So, you're right about that.
All that springs to mind the
words of astronomer call Seguin
when he wrote of Earth as a
pale blue dot.
He said, look again at that
dot.
That's here, that's home,
that's us on it.
Everyone you love, everyone you,
know everyone you heard of,
every human being whoever was
lived out their lives.
These new images, they really
do put things in perspective.
>> Yeah, when you go into space,
especially deep space.
You see Earth there.
Not as you learned it in your
school room globe with
color-coded countries, no.
It's as nature intended you to
see it with mountains and --
with land and clouds and oceans.
That can change you.
I have this diabolical plan
where I get Elon to build a
space bus.
There is the air bus company.
It will make a space bus.
We won't cram all the warring
leaders on to the bus, send
them to the moon.
Have them gaze upon Earth and
contemplate what their
hegemonistic motives meant or
would mean going forward.
Here we are together, alone,
once again, to quote Carl, with
no hint that help from
elsewhere is going to come to
save us from ourselves.
We are in this bathtub together.
Space can change you for the
better.
>> Let's talk about Mars, Scott
was talking about Mars, I want
to talk about Mars with you.
The hunt for life beyond Earth.
The Mars rover dug up some
intriguing clues.
Finding signs of a watery past.
Rocks loaded with the kind of
organic molecules that form the
building blocks of life.
I hope I have that right.
How significant is that?
>> This continues to affirm the
possibility --
I even say likelihood that the
prevalence of water but the
prevalence of organic molecules
elsewhere, not just on Earth,
and by the way we fend for
Janet molecules in meteors.
Media writes that we have found
unearthed that fell from space.
All of the basic ingredients
are there, and the question is,
what kind of spark is necessary?
Spark is a loose where they're
using their, to go from
inanimate organic molecules to
self replicating life.
It's a big front here in
biology today, but it happened
on Earth and happen pretty
quickly.
Mars, a near neighbor to have
all of the right ingredients.
That gives us a very high
expectations for there to be
life in many places, and
possibly in our solar system.
>> What is your sense now,
speaking about Mars, as to when
humans can get their?
>> That's complicated.
Dare I say, I could write a
whole book on this.
Facing the ultimate frontier.
Mars is expensive and dangerous,
and generally just the urge to
want to do something that is
expensive and dangerous does
not ever get funded unless
there is some geopolitical
reason it drives it.
I'm reading the history of
civilization, by the way when I
say this.
Some geopolitical reason, or to
a very clean and clear economic
return on that investment.
As a result, I don't see it
happening as soon as others do,
unless some adversary says that
we are going to put military
bases on Mars, and we better
get there is fat deposit will.
If that were the case, we would
be there in ten months, no
question about it.
>> Some of that competitive
energy that you're talking
about is driving the reason why
we are desperate to get back to
the moon.
I think part of that is
involved in that, right?
>> We don't want to be so blunt
and admitted to ourselves, but
when China started rising up
and fulfilling on the promises
of what they would accomplish
in space, and the moon showed
up in those targets, and
possibly Mars, that became a
flame lit we lethal to redouble
our efforts it had been
languishing for decades.
I don't think that as a driver,
it could be ignored in this
case.
>> Mitt nasa's James Webb
telescope has given this new
data exit planets, planets at
side of our solar system.
Let's talk about that, it's as
massive as Saturday, temps
closer to a starlet Mercury is
to the sun.
Taking the temperature on the
surface 1600 degrees.
Why isn't important to go there?
>> It's not so much the date on
that specific planet, but the
more we gather data on
exoplanets, we have multiple
satellites and telescopes
engaged in the search.
In 1995, we knew of one planet
orbiting a star outside of our
own solar system.
Today, that number has risen
through 5000.
The value of J WSOC seeing the
beds --
as well as newborn planets in
front of our noses.
The value there is that it has
the power to be able to analyze
the atmospheres of exoplanets,
and if you can do that without
being able to see the surface,
which we don't expect to happen
anytime soon.
The atmosphere can be touched
by the chemistry of life on the
surface.
Just as Earth's atmosphere has
been touched.
You would not have oxygen in
our air were it not for plant
life generating it.
We call it bio markers, as we
comb the catalog of exoplanets,
if you are to rank them by
which when you might want to
visit first, the day that
technology ever comes, you
could then put the ones at the
top of the list.
Those that have possible
chemical evidence for life on
their surface.
The James Webb space telescope
will be a leading instrument to
help us sort and catalog.
>> Very good.
Neil Degrasse Tyson, thank you
very much for breaking it all
down for us.
Telescopes, missions to Mars,
missions to the moon, I think
we covered about everything.
Didn't we?