Astronaut revealed ‘lightbulb’ moment he had after seeing Earth from above

A NASA astronaut has opened up about the ‘lightbulb’ moment of realization he had while looking down on Earth from above.

Ronald Garan, 63, was selected to be an astronaut for the US space agency back in 2000 and took part in several space missions during his career. 

The experienced astronaut spent a total of 178 days in space and has taken part in four spaceawalks. 

He also spent 18 days at the bottom of the ocean while partaking in NASA’s NEEMO-9 undersea mission. 

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The NASA astronaut was hit with ‘the overview effect’

Regardless of your childhood dreams, getting the chance to head into space is something few of us will ever achieve – although Elon Musk appears to be determined to change that. 

For those who do manage to make it out into space, it is – as you’d imagine – an incredibly life-changing and profound experience, not to mention somewhat terrifying.

Experts have even coined a term for the unique phenomenon astronauts may go through, known as ‘the overview effect’. 

The overview effect is described as the ‘unexpected and overwhelming emotion’ one might feel when looking down on Earth from space. 

In Garan’s case, he can recall the ‘lightbulb moment’ he experienced it for himself. 

“When I looked out the window of the International Space Station, I saw the paparazzi-like flashes of lightning storms, I saw dancing curtains of auroras that seemed so close it was as if we could reach out and touch them,” he said in a 2022 interview with Big Think. 

“And I saw the unbelievable thinness of our planet’s atmosphere.”

It was then he began to realize that this ‘paper-thin layer’ is responsible for keeping every living thing on Earth alive. 

That is quite a lot to wrap you’re head around, right?

He had a ‘lightbulb’ moment up in space

Garan said looking at Earth from that perspective made him believe we were ‘living a lie’ down here. 

“I didn’t see the economy,” he went on. 

“But since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it’s obvious from the vantage point of space that we’re living a lie.

“We need to move from thinking economy, society, planet to planet, society, economy.

“That’s when we’re going to continue our evolutionary process.

“There’s this lightbulb that pops up where they realize how interconnected and interdependent we all are.”