Out of the billions of individuals on Earth, just a few hundred have ventured out previous the bounds of our ambiance into space. Iconic Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder lately mirrored on this “incredibly rare” perspective to see Earth from space in a name with astronauts dwelling aboard the International Space Station.
In the decision, Vedder chatted with NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer in celebration of Earth Day 2022.
Vande Hei, who simply returned to Earth after a record-breaking 355 days in space, was nonetheless aboard the orbital outpost when the video was recorded, and he shared some poignant ideas about our planet with Vedder. “So when you’re standing on the Earth and looking up, you are in outer space. You’re just at the bottom of this little puddle of air, and it’s so important to protect it and take care of it,” Vande Hei advised Vedder.
Related: Space.com’s full review of “Gigaton”
While Pearl Jam may not be the very first thing you consider this Earth Day, this is not Vedder’s first foray with NASA. He lately collaborated with the space company to ship an Artemis 1 moon rocket music video that includes music from his new solo record “Earthling.”
Vedder has appeared as much as the celebrities for musical inspiration up to now as effectively. Lyrics on Pearl Jam’s final report, “Gigaton,” encompasses a journey to the Red Planet, for instance, in addition to a tune titled “Superblood Wolfmoon.” The band even created a “Space Invaders”-style game to advertise the report.
At the beginning of the video interview with the astronaut crew, Vedder asks: “If there are any lessons you can recommend to us down here on Earth.” In response, Chari mentioned: I feel one of many classes discovered is that there isn’t any borders up right here. And so it is truly surprisingly laborious to determine the place you are at over the earth, as a result of it is all land and water.”
Along with the Vedder-astronaut chat, the video features incredible imagery of Earth from the crew’s viewpoint, approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.
With Earth day at the forefront, the conversation turned to the fragility of our planet. Maurer mentioned how Brazil’s rainforests are “getting smaller and smaller within the space the place folks reside,” while human-made agriculture is “getting greater and larger.” The Amazon rainforest is burned to create extra land for agriculture and the fires can be seen from space. “Between 40,000 and 73,400 sq. miles of Amazon rainforest have been impacted by fires,” in line with a University of Arizona study from 2021.
Vedder was moved by the dialog, stating that he “did not notice how emotional it was going to be” and adding: “I feel as a result of I needed to be an astronaut ever since I used to be a child.”
Barron thanked Vedder for “serving to carry our superior message for exploring not solely our personal planet, however the moon, Mars and all of the superior analysis we’re doing,” she mentioned.
Eddie Vedder’s “Earthling” tour has wrapped up, but you can still catch the rocker with Pearl Jam on their recently re-scheduled “Gigaton” tour, coming soon to a theater near you in Europe and the United States.
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