The first picture of the Earth taken by humans was taken by the crew of Apollo 8 flying behind the moon. For all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. Bill Anders, on board, said, I thought we were going to explore the moon, and the most important thing we discover is the Earth. Earth. As a child, I was dreaming for real at night that I was flying in space and during the day as something I want to do sometimes in my life.
When I flew in space for the first time, I told myself, yes, this is, my child’s dream becoming true. I’m Jean Francois Clervois. I’m an astronaut born in France, sixty years ago. We are here in the Pic Des Midi Des Beaux, 1 of the most famous worldwide known observatory, which actually served the Apollo program because thanks to the telescope here, we could choose the best place to land man on the moon. I flew three times in space on board the Atlantis and Discovery for different missions for about twenty eight days altogether.
We call overview effect this, very strong experience of astronaut watching the earth from space. I have now in me that experience forever, and I can tell the story as if it was yesterday. An astronaut is an operator of complex machines in extreme environment. We go to operate machines, but we feel naturally responsible to act as ambassador of Earth after we have flown in space. And our role as ambassadors is to explain to the people on Earth that Earth is a spaceship.
Wow. Wow. Telescope. The famous. The first time I saw the Earth from space, it was during my first flight.
Only few minutes after takeoff, it takes only eight and a half minutes to get into orbit. I unstrapped from my seat on the mid deck. I look at France. Wow! The overview effect strikes you right away.
It’s sudden! My first impression of watching the Earth from space is this is beautiful, this is alive, this is isolated. We see up to 2,500 kilometers away. So within few seconds, what you see is totally different from what you saw like half a minute before. It is beautiful.
It is beautiful because the scene is very contrasted, it’s colorful, and because it is so extraordinary and fascinating, you are moved, moved to the point that you cry. And then, I looked at the horizon because I wanted to see the atmosphere from the side. The atmosphere has the thickness of a sheet of paper. So this is when I realized that, life is fragile. The overview effect is the strongest experience to make people understand that we are unique in the universe.
We, the Earth, and the life on Earth. And, that’s why we need to protect our planet, its environment, and the conditions that make life possible in a sustainable way. We are all crew member of spaceship Earth, not passenger. A passenger waits for people to take care of you, but a crew member has a responsibility in managing the spaceship. Good luck, and God bless all of you. All of you on the good Earth.