Going to suborbital space is now possible through a new program released by Space for Humanity. Anyone has the chance to travel to space for free if their application is picked for the Citizen Astronaut Program.
Space for Humanity's Citizen Astronaut Program
Space for Humanity is a nonprofit group that aims to expand access to space for all humanity. It is currently accepting applications to join its Citizen Astronaut Program that trains people for suborbital flights. Aside from providing training, the organization will sponsor the trip to space. The deadline for the submission of applications is on Tuesday, February 15.
Citizen Astronaut Program aims to improve life on Earth through a concept called the "overview effect." The idea presents a perspective shift usually encountered by many of the astronauts following observation of our planet up above from space.
Individuals chosen for the program will not only enjoy the best ride of their life because they will also be joining passionate people for big projects when they return to Earth.
A strong sense of passion is one of the criteria in selecting the lucky participants for the program. According to Rachel Lyons, executive director of Space for Humanity, they want people who are very passionate onboard regardless of their interest, be it about ending poverty, access to education, LGBTQ rights or environmentalism, Space, reported.
The applicants are not required to have a higher job title. Instead, they want people who are influential and with leadership qualities.
Space for Humanity has not yet launched any manned missions to space but is currently developing its first-ever crewed flight called the Humanity-1. Schedules and destinations for the launch are still unreleased.
Space for Humanity will be working with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and the Space Perspective for their flights. However, they have no flight dates yet but will announce it later this year.
Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin provide trips between Earth and the suborbital space. Space Perspective is known to develop balloon-borne vehicles that can take people as high as the stratosphere.
Space for Humanity founder Dylan Taylor flew with Blue Origin last year aboard the New Shepard vehicle. During the trip, Taylor said that they definitely experienced the overview effect.
Overview Effect
The overview effect was first coined by space philosopher Frank White back. The expert authored a book by the same name published in 1987.
The overview effect, according to a scientific opinion piece, has a positive psychological effect for explorers and sometimes an inspiration to deal with the typical challenges during spaceflight. Astronauts that reside in the ISS have free time that they dedicate simply for "Earth gazing." Calmness and tranquility could also be accomplished under the effect, helping the experts to overcome stressful ventures on space.
A shift from perspective is usually experienced by the experts on space, causing them to view the larger scale of the planet. Through the changes of the planetary environment they see up in orbit, the astronauts are increasingly describing Earth as a living being.
The experiences are shared in the paper titled "The Overview Effect and Creative Performance in Extreme Human Environments" published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology,
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