Spacefaring Digest 2022.03
Given the global state of affairs, I’ve often been thinking about a couple of brief scenes during the opening of the science fiction film Gattaca (1997).
The film’s main character Vincent Freeman (played by Ethan Hawke), dreams early on about a career in space. Still, given his genetic makeup and the deterministic rules of his society, Vincent works instead as a janitor at the major spaceflight conglomerate, Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. Then, one afternoon, he gazes at the rocket launches from a building rooftop and says:
“I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when I was standing right beside it.”
As the film progresses, the head janitor catches Vincent admiring the cadre of space travelers going up the escalator as he cleans the building’s glass doors.
His warning to Vincent is:
“When you’re cleaning the glass, don’t clean it too well – you might get ideas.”
And then Vincent replies triumphantly,
“If the glass is clean, it will be easier for you to see me when I’m on the other side of it.”
Watch it now: 🎞🎥📀
Some of the opening scenes in Gattaca (Directed by New Zealand-born Andrew Niccol)
As you know, I live just minutes from the Cape Canaveral launch complex. So, I have witnessed firsthand the increase in rocket launches’ frequency. Also, this week NASA rolled out its biggest rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), for the Lunar mission.
However, we’re still far from genuinely being spacefaring and multi-planetary. And when I get discouraged by the state of the world, I remember the film’s scenes. So, I get back to work: writing and thinking about our future in space.
I trust that you also find here a space for inspiration. So here’s this month’s post for you! “Who is An Astronaut?” I hope you enjoy it, and it inspires you to press on.
Monica Hernandez
Also, I’m starting to explore selling some of my photographs as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the crypto art space. Check out the first minted digital artwork inspired by the classic Stormtroopers in the Star Wars franchise.
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