The only true voyage would be not for us, if we had new landscapes visited, but other eyes, the world through the eyes of another view . . . we fly from star to star.

Marcel Proust, “The captive”

It was on Christmas eve of 1968, Nasa astronaut Bill Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell rounded as the first people in a space ship to the moon, before the moon landing itself. The Apollo 8 astronauts were flying around the back of the moon, a radio would be there would be again a connection with the earth – which is also back in the line-of-sight back. But what that meant, had none of the three men considered on Board.

“Oh, my God!”, Borman cried suddenly. “Look over there, there’s the earth coming up. Wow, this is beautiful!” On the dark, lifeless, and dusty horizon of the moon, a small miracle was to be seen: the earth. Of clouds enveloped, blue, alive and well, and so fragile in the blackness of space. While Lovell transfixed staring at this sight, began his colleague, Anders, fumble feverishly in the black-and-white film from his camera. “Quickly, the color film! Hurry up! Fast!” he called again and again, and then began to shoot wildly.

The astronauts Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin in 1966, after the splashdown.

The iconic image he captured in those seconds, was later called “Earthrise”, Earthrise. There are those images that show up today, maybe the best, what has the Nasa . This also includes images such as those on this page, has published the pocket-Verlag on the occasion of 60 years of Nasa in the spectacular book “The Nasa Archives”.

Controversial space

There are six drama desks for decades. Some of the images are reminiscent of the well-known moments of the space , like the one that shows the feet of Buzz Aldrin on the moon. Others seem startling or bizarre, many show how amazingly far technology has come in these few decades. Also, the severe crises of the Nasa, are documented; a photo in the book shows how exploded in 1986 the space Shuttle Challenger 73 seconds after launch, seven astronauts died. 2003 disaster of the Columbia, which was destroyed during re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere followed, again, seven astronauts were dead. Other astronauts have died in Training or in the event of accidents with Test aircraft; in total, the astronauts were more than 20Nasa-killed in service. Whether it was worth it?

Overwhelmed: Ed White made in 1965 the first space walk.

To date, the manned space travel remains controversial. The Apollo 8 Astronaut Bill Anders, now 85 years old, has his Earthrise photo is still in the living room, behind glass. But the next plans of Nasa, he holds little. As soon as possible it should go back to the moon, in its orbit to a new space station, and then on to Mars; so that it is not the US President, Donald Trump quickly enough, seems to understand Nasa as his personal Make-America-Great-Again Instrument. “This will be scary expensive,” said Anders recently to the British “Guardian” on the lunar station. “Why would you do that? Who should pay?” It is great unmanned space travel, give programs, and also a great commercial. But manned space travel? “Right now, this sucks.”

No boundaries

Despite all the criticism, but you can say that the space travel has changed the view of humanity itself. The views of the earth from the outside, have shown many people how fragile their homeland is, as it is unique. And, as threatened: it is Often today, Nasa’s satellites, which record how fast the earth is changing due to climate change and urban sprawl.

when astronauts talk about their experiences, then it usually goes first to the samples from the moon, the flags are still there, or the enormous power to bring people into space. It goes back to the view of the earth. There is even a technical term for what this sight makes with the astronauts: It is the “Overview Effect”, which can hardly escape anyone who travels into space. You look down and only see continents. There are no limits.

the manned space travel, the sense of which we may well doubt is, only a small aspect of it. Nasa is also one of the largest research organizations in the world: About 10 000 researchers to be funded by you. Nasa satellites observe the angles of the earth, from all points of view. They provide data about weather, climate, ice cover, volcanic activity or earthquakes. Of the approximately $ 20 billion Nasa gets every year, it flows much greater part in science, technology development and unmanned space travel.

social experience

Many of these activities no longer take place today, under Nasa’s direction, but in large international collaborations. Together with the European space Agency ESA, Nasa, operates the space telescope Hubble, which has made countless wonders of the universe visible. Together with the ESA and the Russian, Japanese and canadian counterparts under the Nasa keeps the ISS, the international space station.

And even there, where Nasa was operating alone, be it the moon landing, the sensationally successful Mars Rovers or the Voyager probes, which explore the Depths of the universe, regarded their services often also widely recognised as a success of humanity as a whole.

in 1967 a X flew-15-rocket-plane with 7274 km/h world record.

While the Nasa was to have been in 1958, in the midst of the Cold war, founded, under the shock of the Russian success with Sputnik satellite, the United States had shifted. But then, as Neil Armstrong in 1969 walked on the moon and the Space Race against the USSR decided definitively for the United States, because hardly anyone said Great, the Nasa landed on the moon. Rather, it was one of the few communal experiences of humanity: We were on the moon, we have seen it on TV – we were basically all in on it.

How amazing that a project like Nasa was from the beginning, with a lot of nationalist megalomania afflicted, ultimately, humanity is more together than divided. Causes the telescope, the Power of images, from a snapshot of the space Shuttle to the Hubble. (Editorial Tamedia)

Created: 04.03.2019, 18:43 PM