When you are thrown far away from the earth, you will be shocked by the smallness of life on our blue planet, and at the same time you will be awed by the integrity and unity of life. Trying to understand this big situation is a magical feeling, because it is a more grand perspective than any complex phenomenon on earth.
In a video called "God's Perspective Effect", an astronaut of the Apollo mission described their feelings at that time: "When we first landed on the moon, everyone's attention was on the moon, and no one looked back to see what the earth was like. But then we finally witnessed the earth in space. Now I have to say that this may be the most important reason for us to go (the second manned moon landing). " Even if you are not an astronaut, watching the earth in space through webcasting at home is also a touch on people's concept of life. Astronaut Bill Anders photographed the iconic image of "The Earth Rises" in the dark background of space. Before this, no one's eyes have seen this "big blue marble" where we live through space.
"This is really an amazing place. None of us expected that the earth would have such a strange perspective from space. I think the special feeling is that it seems that we are going to other planets and we are going to other planets. " Writer and philosopher David Loy said in an interview, "When we look back on ourselves, we suddenly seem to have a new sense of self."
Astronaut Ron Garland described this experience and feeling in more detail in his book Orbital Perspective. That was in 2008, when repairing the robotic arm of the International Space Station, he was accidentally thrown out of an arc motion while flying over a wiper device. He described the feeling at that time like this: "When I approached the top of the arc, time seemed to stop, and all kinds of emotions and consciousness in my heart were churning. But when I looked down at the earth, I was moved by this amazing scenery. Give us fragile oases and islands to protect us from the harsh test of outer space. Then a melancholy mood struck, and my brain was occupied by a series of undoubtedly calm contradictions. "
"Although there is an overwhelming sense of beauty here, God has given our planet a serious injustice. I can't help but think that there are still nearly 654.38 billion people without clean drinking water, countless people are starving every night, and social injustice, conflict and poverty are all over the world. " He concluded, "Looking at the earth from this position gives me a unique perspective, which I call the orbital perspective. From this perspective, we realize that everyone on earth is a traveler walking together, which will create more possibilities. "
Although only astronauts can experience this effect at present, if the space tourism plan develops smoothly enough, civilians will have a great chance to experience it in the future. For example, a company called World Vision plans to send people into the stratosphere with hot air balloons. At that time, wealthy customers may fly to the place 0/00 km away from the earth/kloc-to see the unforgettable beauty of the earth.