MUSE Magazine: Science@Work, Interview with Mark Vande Hei

I had the privilege of interviewing accomplished astronaut, Mark Vande Hei, six months after his return to Earth from nearly a year on the International Space Station (ISS), an American record.

Here's a snippet:

THERE ARE SOME FUTURISTS—PEOPLE WHO PROJECT TODAY’S TRENDS INTO THE FUTURE—WHO CLAIM THAT THE ONLY WAY HUMAN CIVILIZATION WILL SURVIVE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS IS IF WE BEGIN TO MOVE INTO SPACE. IT’S CALLED AN ASTRONOMICAL TRAJECTORY OF THE FUTURE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Vande Hei: "I think humans are very curious, and we’re always trying to understand the meaning of life. It’s really, I think, tied to a sense of purpose. And for some of us, looking towards that really big picture of the whole universe, and trying to get a better understanding of it, is part of trying to understand ourselves.

I read an amazing statement somewhere [ from the late American astronomer and writer Carl Sagan] that we are really the universe

trying to comprehend itself. Because we’re part of it, we’re not separate from it—even though we tend to think of ourselves as these separate entities from the universe as a whole. So, I think this drive to explore is really part of our drive to understand ourselves or understand our existence."

You can read the full interview in Cricket Media's February Issue of MUSE magazine, "Into Space."

Many thanks to Joe Taylor, MUSE Editor