Deep (Space) Thoughts
A few positive thoughts and some videos you should watch
I’ve been having a bit of a moment lately. For over 60 years, sending people to space has been profoundly impactful on every aspect of our lives and every field of science, from cosmetology to cosmology. From solar power to biopharmaceuticals, everything we do today owes a lot to this quest for the Final Frontier.
Well, except maybe wind energy.
But the connection I have been making lately that has really set my brain on fire is that space travel is probably the best thing that can happen to climate tech – for so many reasons. It’s not just the incredible perspective that comes from sending 4 genuine heroes to a place where they can watch every other human vanish behind a large ball of rock. And it’s not just all the parallel design goals like conservation, circularity, renewable energy, resilience, and adaptability that translate directly from man-made shuttles to our more common cosmic vessel.
It’s something more. I think the biggest connection is the incredible paradox that by obtaining a higher perspective, we find a deeper commonality. What we have in common is a fragile “mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam” that we depend on entirely for everything.
“Our purpose on the planet is to find joy as humans, to find the joy in lifting each other up by creating solutions together instead of destroying. And when you see it from out here, it doesn’t change, it just absolutely reaffirms that.” Reid Weismann, Commander Artemis II
This quote really resonated with me. If you are struggling with motivation (like I do sometimes lately), remember that they made that perilous trip thanks to thousands of researchers, engineers, and scientists who worked for decades.
We may not move mountains overnight, but we do move mountains. And a lot of that starts right here in Texas and Austin.
Artemis definitely gave me the same fever as you. ❤️🔥 Awe at our cosmic neighborhood, a renewed hope for trustworthy institutions, seeing science & expertise celebrated, calm yet emotive leadership—all of it.
One of my favorite quotes of all time, that captures how I feel about sustainability and civic work:
“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”
- Edgar Mitchell, astronaut
Thanks for working to “do something about it”.