Warrior Mind Podcast Episode # 141: NASA Inspirations

Just a few days ago on July 4^th I visited NASA at the Kennedy Space Center to check out the new exhibit “Atlantis”, which was the last space shuttle to go into space.

What happened was completely unexpected!

I was so inspired by the greatness of our nation, our scientists and the astronauts that risked everything to explore and learn more about space and earth.

The most moving event for me was listening to President John F. Kennedy giving a speech at Rice University.  Here is the part that got to me:

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. “ – President John F. Kennedy

In addition a phenomenon known as the Overview Effect became very clear.

The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface.

It refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, the astronauts tell us, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this “pale blue dot” becomes both obvious and imperative.

Third-hand observers of these individuals may also report a noticeable difference in attitude. Astronauts Rusty Schweikart, Edgar Mitchell, Tom Jones, Chris Hadfield[6] and Mike Massimino are all reported to have experienced the effect.

The term and concept were coined in 1987 by Frank White, who explored them in his book The Overview Effect — Space Exploration and Human Evolution (Houghton-Mifflin, 1987), (AIAA, 1998).

Check out this video about the Overview Effect:

https://vimeo.com/55073825

You can find out more about the effect in the movie CONTINUUM:

http://www.continuumthemovie.com/

Now, enjoy the podcast below:

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