Astronaut Chris Hadfield became Commander of the International Space Station on March 13th. That orbiting outpost involves the work and contributions of 15 nations and Hadfield is the first Canadian to achieve this distinction. This honour is doubly significant in this year which marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Alouette, Canada’s first satellite in space.
This week I heard Hadfield interviewed on the radio. He has been in the Space Station for over 100 days now. For his distinction as Commander he received greetings from the Prime Minsiter and the Queen to mention only two. In the interview he said that the hardest part for him was the need to sleep! He said it is so beautiful to look through the darknes of the universe to see the blue orb of earth floating in the black sky that he hated to waste any time sleeping when he could be taking in all the beauty of the sights out the window of the space craft.
One of the most significant shifts in our perspective as citizens of Earth has happened with the development of the exploration of space. To get a view of the Earth from that distant vantage point has shaped our understanding differently. With photographs from space we see Earth as a speck in the universe. I think it has also raised faith questions. Gone is our simple Sunday School understanding of ‘God up in the clouds’. Now when we look to the heavens we know we are being looked down upon by aircarft, satellites and a space station.
Has the development of the space program over the last 50 years impacted your faith and personal beliefs in anyway?
