An Astronaut's Guide to an Evening in Huntsville

 Here's a photo that David and Megan will treasure -- Col. Chris Hadfield signing their copy of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.

Thank you to the Muskoka Festival of the Arts for bringing Col. Hadfield to Huntsville yesterday. What a great evening!  Some 1100 people crammed into the Summit Centre to listen to him talk about his life journey, and some of his experiences as Commander of the International Space Station.

signed by Chris Hadfield, the photo of Spaceship
Earth was taken from Apollo 8, Dec. 22, 1968 -- 45 years
ago, and on one of the very rare occasions we were
ever far enough away to get the whole planet in the lens.
 

If, like us, you are one of his 'Facebook Followers' (along wtih 673K other folk!) you will be no stranger to his twitter feed, and the incredible photographs he sent back to Earth on a daily basis, reminding us all that there is only ONE Earth, and we are all on board.  There is no 'away', when you throw stuff into the atmosphere, into the soil, into the water, it is 'here' -- and we live within a very very narrow sphere.

If, like us, for the entire time he was in command of the IESS, every time it overflew us, we looked up and waved...  then this was a very special moment indeed, to have the chance to meet him and say 'thank you.'

Col. Hadfield spiced his talk with humour, and photos, and made a wonderful easy connection to everyone in the room.

 This abstract is in reality a photo of the Australian Outback.  The reflected Earthlight as the IESS crossed Australia filled the vessel with light in shades of reds and yellows. He said you could always tell, without looking down, when you were over the Outback.  So fragile, so heart-stoppingly beautiful -- what a rare gift it has been to share some of his photos and his wisdom!   Words to live by: visualize what COULD go wrong, and train for that... that is how things go right.

Canadarm -- and the applications that have flowed from that research (including a device that allows surgeons to be in one room and perform brain surgery on patients in another room -- are all things that we should be so proud of, as Canadians.


In the afternoon, he did a program with the students from the Trillium Lakelands School Board. In the evening show, he sang, alongside the HHS The Song Project -- and who hasn't caught that great song, written with Ed Robertson, of the Bare Naked Ladies and joined in voice by kids all across the country.  He explained, during the after-show question and answer session, how they did this video, given the complicated routing of communications and 'lag-time'. If you have NOT heard it, catch it right here.  And really, we do mean that. It's lovely -- the lyrics are fabulous. 'Sing your song, I'm listening, Out where stars are glistening, I can hear your voices bouncing off the moon."

And the show closed with his version of David Bowie's A Space Oddity... 'ground control to Major Tom...'

Thanks Col. Hadfield for sharing your time with us!