William Shatner made headlines this week with the announcement that his trip into space felt like a funeral for planet Earth.
In an excerpt of his new book, the former Star Trek star reveals that while he thought his trip would bring him solace, instead he was filled with sadness.
I had thought everything was right. Shatner writes in the excerpt that everything he had expected was wrong.
The coldness of space and the warmth of Earth made me sad.
The extinction of animal species is one of the things we are confronted with every day. It made me feel sad. It felt like a funeral when I went to space.
The impact that going to space and seeing Earth from afar has on a person is an example of the 'overview effect'. It isn't the first time Shatner has experienced it.
Ron Garan wrote in his book The Orbital Perspective that he had been filled with sadness when he was on the International Space Station.
Garan said that he was flooded with both emotion and awareness as he approached the top of the story.
I was hit in the gut with a sad contradiction as I looked down at the Earth, the island that has been given to us and has protected all life from the harsh space environment.
He was sad about the lack of access to clean water and food security on Earth.
"Serious inequity exists on the apparent paradise we have been given, despite the overwhelming beauty of this scene," he said.
After his time in space, the sixth person to walk on the Moon said the same thing.
International politics look so unimportant from the moon. He said that you want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles away.
Chris Hadfield told Risn Ingle that his 4,000 hours in space had given him unparalleled perspective on the planet and the eternity of time.
The main threat right now is not asteroids or solar flares. Hadfield said it was them.
"Our population has been so successful, and we are modifying the environment so dramatically, that we are changing the chemistry of the atmosphere so it doesn't let the Sun's energy get back out to space so we are warming the planet measurably."
Frank White created the term "overview effect" in 1987. It also gives astronauts a desire to take better care of our planet.
Everyone living in a space settlement will have an overview. White said in the video that the Earth is one system and that they will see things that they know.
There is a certain unity and coherence to the system.
The upside of the 'overview effect' is that it makes you realize that we are all one and the planet is incredibly resilient, having survived solar flares, asteroid strikes, and even a massive impact that spawned our Moon.
In a survey of 39 astronauts and cosmonauts, it was found that their perception of Earth was vastly different after visiting space.
Nick Kanas wrote in his 2020 paper that the Earth was seen as a beautiful, fragile object to be cherished.
A statement suggested that the respondents became involved in environmental causes after returning home.
This line from #DontLookUp perfectly encapsulates what is special about Earth, and why we should fight for it. Evolution of intelligent life requires a planet that's continuously habitable for 3 or 4 billion years. That such a planet exists is a miracle.https://t.co/8sWqpXcg2n pic.twitter.com/VsarHgCFCr
— David Ho (@_david_ho_) December 26, 2021
Researchers are trying to find a way to recreate the view effect for people who won't go to space.
If we can give the world a broader perspective, we might be able to come together to protect the small home we have in space.
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