we are so small #2

Astronaut Douglas Wheelock took these pictures of our Earth when he was aboard the ISS.. From up above, the wars & conflicts are far away, we see every part of our earth as it should be seen.



The Bahamas.



Hurricane Earl & the setting sun... this photo takes my breath away.



Glacier in Patagonia...one of the last untouched places on earth.



Sunrise over the Andes..



And Ayers Rock!

I have an immense respect for astronauts... they are so amazing... working in an environment unimaginable to us, knowing that any failure could mean never coming home. Thanks to the photos they take, we get to share a bit of the beauty they see each day.

we are so small.

For most of my life, i've always been interested in anything to do with space & Nasa, & i remember one of the highlights of my flying life was going to the Johnson Space center in Houston. It was like a dream come true for me.

Looking at these pictures taken from space by astronauts or Nasa really touches my heart... i cant explain why but i just love looking at our Earth this way.

I'll be sharing more space-related pictures from now on... they just make me happy. To start off, satellite pictures from Nasa showing night-time lights in areas of our world... & hence the distribution of populations.



Compare Australia's coasts vs the interior desert land...



Closer look at Tokyo..



Western european cities vs the great land of Africa... this picture really shows in a way the inequalities of our lives.





The US... compare the Rocky mountains to NYC :)



Evolution of the world in a single image. xx

the end of an era

As most of you should know by now, NASA launched its last space shuttle mission STS-135 yesterday :( Atlantis will be the last shuttle to carry supplies, logistics & spare parts to the International Space station. Just following the news of the launch gives me goosebumps. When i watched the launch via the internet, it was just amazing.

I just felt so sad... it's really the end of an era. :(

When I was younger, I was crazy about space & stars & astronomy & everything NASA. My father would cut out carefully any news article about space exploration & set it aside for me. Even though there are plenty of criticisms surrounding the space program. I know these missions are very expensive, and that the US cannot afford them anymore.... And that we were not successful every single time... and that failure means almost certain death for the astronauts.

But.. just to be able to soar above this planet into the wide universe & leave our breaths, our marks, our footsteps in the unknown.. how can we give up this ambition?? Maybe it's selfish to think so when the billions of dollars could be put to better use elsewhere... but I will never forget how inspiring it was to read about the astronauts representing mankind & taking our hopes & dreams with them. And how great it is to look up in the sky & see all the stars there since forever, since before u and i were born. And every night, they are twinkling reminders of all that is out there, plus the planets... how little we know of these things that appear in our lives everyday!

so on July 13th, at 7.23pm, i'll look up into the sky & say goodbye to Atlantis & the ISS. You guys did a fantastic job xxx

Johnson Space Center... finally!

I finally get to go to Nasa's Johnson space center! Imagine. I actually was too excited to sleep the night before.
I love everything about astronomy, space, the cosmos, rockets!



MISSION CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where they controlled the Apollo and Skylab missions. Coolness. I was in awe.



Standing next to the Saturn V rocket!
The Saturn V carried all the Apollo lunar missions and this rocket is made up of 3 stages all meant to be launched.

 

It was huge... check out the five F1 engines and intricate mechanisms.





Going around the compound.



SVMF - Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Like how we train for different types of aircraft, astronauts have their own training facilities too.

Except that theirs is about 273 times more complicated.



I secretly oogle the astronauts. I have a crush on them... there's just something about being the best of the best, carrying the hopes and dreams of mankind with you, risking your life and pushing the boundaries of all that we know, to make a small little footprint in the infinite universe.

I am filled with the deepest respect for them.



I left with all sorts of souvenirs for myself and my father since he's a bit of a space freak too.
Then more shopping until every inch of space was utilised in my luggage.

Since they conduct random bag checks in the US without us knowing, i had to leave a note inside mine:
Dear officer, please put everything back in the exact same place, else bag cannot close. Thanks! Lol!

-------------------------------------------



And it was back to Moscow again.
Except that in the space of a few days, the temperature dipped suddenly to -19 degrees celsius.
Your hands and ears would hurt almost immediately.
Your face would turn numb and be surrounded by a cloud of your own breath each time you exhaled.
I saw my colleague's lips crack and bleed ha.
It was the worst winter I ever encountered in my life.

More pics will come soon... I braved the cold with a couple of the boys cos we were curious.
Luckily curiosity didn't kill us. Hehe.
I'm nowhere near home yet.
hello Dubai - 22 degrees!