While for the common eye, it may appear mystical, what astronauts say about space makes it seem otherwise. Solitude or sorrow, what does being in space evoke for them?
People desire certainty. But when it comes to space, its mystery makes it the most fascinating.
When people look up at the night skies, they see nothing but the moon and stars—on certain occasions, they may even see neither. Yet, regardless of this bleakness and emptiness, they continue staring at it in awe. Space holds an infinite potential beyond the unknown and mystery, and people are left to fill in this void, holding room for their creativity and imagination.
Past its blankness, space is a wonder to behold and a puzzle to uncover.
It’s one thing for people to stare at, but it’s another to ponder and constantly attempt to unravel its glory. Space is a tease. It gives people the presumption that they understand it. Yet, in a loser look, it puts their minds at a consistent whirl, and this is what makes it extraordinarily fascinating.
The Race To Understanding Space And Answering These Curiosities
Author Scott Harral has written a story about astronauts living on the moon—a dream society has been attempting to achieve. However, as a sci-fi novel, the book is set in a world where moon habitation is normal. Most science fiction authors typically portray this concept in their stories, reflecting one of society’s most sought-after holy grails. With the fascination with the universe and everything it encompasses, it’s no wonder people constantly discuss it across different mediums.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but to humanity, this has sent them to space.
Due to their ceaseless interest in the void, people have devised ways to inspect it closely. Indeed, humans can love something to the point of invention. And for space, they’ve invented space exploration. They first saw the vastness of space in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched an artificial satellite. But it was only in 1961 that the first human was sent out to observe what it had to offer personally.
Space exploration has always been a fascinating concept to any audience who will always be in awe at the wonder and mystery surrounding the horizon. Regardless of how perpetually exposed people are to it, space will always appear enigmatic to the common eye. It will timelessly be a sight of wonder and astonishment and a source of inspiration to poets.
However, this is the point of view of the naïve – those who have never stepped outside the comfort of land. The ultimate question is, would this perspective change when people hear what astronauts say about space?
What Astronauts Say About Space May Change People’s Interest
Watching the sky and picturing the stars and galaxies in space may be a picturesque dream. Children grow up dreaming of becoming astronauts and loving space exploration with all the incredible technology surrounding it. But being in space may be closer to a nightmare than an aspiration; take it from actual astronauts who have experienced it.
What astronauts say about space captures the harsher reality they have to go through.
In fact, one of them mentioned “discovering an enormous lie” when he went to explore beyond the bounds of the Earth. What he meant by this had something to do with the “overview effect,” or the cognitive shift only astronauts can experience. This captures how people’s picturesque view of space may break once they step into it. When they see the Earth’s damage and physically become one with the void, they shift perspective and realize how the experience may be frightening.
What astronauts say about space exploration is the most credible and close to an actual account people can gather of what space genuinely is. When they express the experience as depressing rather than fascinating, people would have to take it at face value. While this doesn’t diminish space’s beauty, it may decrease people’s drive to be outside Earth’s bounds.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with what astronauts say about space, and people can’t take away their freedom to speak their minds. But perhaps this is a call for humanity not to romanticize the thought of space exploration. There may be beauty within the void, but there can also be the opposite.