- THE LITTLE RED LIGHT IS ON.

- Producer: WE ARE ROLLING.

- Reid Wiseman: ALL RIGHT.

- Producer: MARK IT.

- Producer: CAMERA ONE.

♪♪ - Anne McClain: YOU KNOW, MOST KIDS, YOU START THINKING AT AN EARLY AGE, AS SOON AS YOU LOOK AT THE SKY AT NIGHT AND YOU SEE STARS, AND YOU THINK, WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO BE UP THERE.

AND NO MATTER WHERE WE GROW UP, EVERYBODY LOOKS UP AT THE SKY AND SAYS, "WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE?"

- Jessica: Meir: I STARTED SAYING I WANTED TO BE AN ASTRONAUT WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, ACCORDING TO MY MOM.

- Alvin Drew: IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF OUR ASTRONAUTS MAKING THEIR WAY UP TO THE MOON.

I REMEMBER COMING BACK, LIKE, WHAT IS THIS?

YOU KNOW, HOW DO I GO DO THIS?

THIS LOOKS LIKE FUN.

- Tracy Dyson: I LOOKED AT WHAT NASA WAS DOING.

I WAS LIKE, "I WANT TO BE AN ASTRONAUT," SO, IN A NUTSHELL, THAT'S KINDA WHAT HAPPENED.

- Michael Foreman: I GOT INTO NAVY TEST PILOT SCHOOL AND THEN STARTED TO APPLY TO NASA.

- Don Pettit: THERE WAS, LIKE, 6,000 PEOPLE THAT APPLIED FOR, YOU KNOW, 15 SLOTS, AND I INTERVIEWED FOUR TIMES OVER TWELVE YEARS.

- Mike Fossum: I APPLIED MULTIPLE TIMES OVER 13 YEARS, AND INTERVIEWED FIVE TIMES BEFORE I WAS SELECTED.

- Bill McArthur: I DID SUBMIT SEVEN APPLICATIONS ALONG THE WAY, BUT... - Michael Foreman: I GOT REJECTED BY NASA SEVEN TIMES, BUT THE EIGHTH TIME... - Mike Fossum: AND THE FOURTH TIME, I GOT A PHONE CALL THAT SAID, IF YOU'RE STILL INTERESTED IN BEING AN ASTRONAUT, WE'D LIKE YOU TO COME TO HOUSTON.

- Mike Fossum: FINALLY, IT'S LAUNCH DAY.

- David Saint-Jacques: LAUNCHING TO SPACE, OF COURSE, WAS A MOMENTOUS EXPERIENCE.

- Drew Morgan: YOU SEE THAT THIS ROCKET IS A LIVING, BREATHING BEAST.

THE THING IS ALIVE, AND IT WANTS TO GO.

- Alvin Drew: IT SUDDENLY FEELS LIKE IT'S REAL.

- Michael Foreman: FIRST THING, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE STRAPPED IN THIS SPACE SHUTTLE ON THE LAUNCH PAD, AND... - Karen Nyberg: AND I CAN SAY SITTING IN THE ROCKET GETTING READY FOR LAUNCH, YOU'RE ANXIOUS AND EXCITED.

- Hazza Al Monsouri: AND WAITING FOR COUNTDOWN, FOCUSING ON DOING YOUR CHECKLIST, FOCUSING ON YOUR PROCEDURE.

- 10, 9, 8... - Drew Morgan: AT THE MOMENT OF LAUNCH, YOU'RE QUITE PREPARED.

[ INDISTINCT CHATTER ] - AMERICA HAS LAUNCHED.

- Jack Fischer: IT LIGHTS OFF AND YOU FEEL THE RUMBLE, AND THEN YOU START TO MOVE, AND THAT CONSTANT SMOOTH ACCELERATION PULLING YOU BACK IN THE SEAT.

- Michael Foreman: AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE JUST IN A CAR WRECK, BECAUSE THE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS LIGHT OFF AND THEY GIVE YOU A KICK IN THE BACKSIDE LIKE YOU WERE JUST REAR ENDED AT A STOP SIGN, LITERALLY.

- Alvin Drew: IT IS, THERE'S NOTHING SUBTLE OR NICE ABOUT IT.

- David Saint-Jacques: IT WAS THE VIBRATION, THE PRESSURE, THE ACCELERATION, THE PRESSURE IN YOUR SEAT.

♪♪ - Karen Nyberg: I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER THE POINT WHEN I STOPPED AND THOUGHT, I DID IT, I'M HERE.

MY GOAL WAS TO BE AN ASTRONAUT, AND NOW I'M IN SPACE.

♪♪ - T.J. Creamer: UM, AS A KID YOU MAYBE FANTASIZE ABOUT SPREADING YOUR ARMS AND FLYING AMONG THE CLOUDS, AND THAT KINDA STUFF.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.

FLOATING IS VERY COOL.

IT'S FUN TO WATCH NEW-- I MEAN, NEW ASTRONAUTS SHOW UP IN SPACE, TOO, BECAUSE THEY CREEP AROUND-- WE WOULD JOKE, LIKE, SPACE MICE.

VERY TIMID, VERY CONTROLLED.

- Reid Wiseman: BEING WEIGHTLESS THE FIRST FEW DAYS IS HORRIBLE.

I MEAN, IT'S REALLY NEAT TO SEE SOMETHING FLOATING IN FRONT OF YOU.

IT'S REALLY HORRIBLE TO FEEL LIKE YOU'RE GONNA THROW UP ALL THE TIME.

AND THEN, AS YOU START TO GET INTO IT, YOU START TO REALIZE THAT THE HUMAN IS AN INCREDIBLY ADAPTABLE MACHINE AND WEIGHTLESSNESS IS REALLY, REALLY WELL SUITED FOR US.

- Mike Fossum: YOU KNOW, PRETTY SOON YOU'RE GOING INTO A HATCHWAY, AND YOU COME THROUGH AND YOU KIND OF PUSH OFF ON BOTH SIDES AND YOU GO ZIPPING DOWN THE MIDDLE AND YOU'RE TURNING RIGHT AT THE END, SO YOU REACH OUT, GRAB A HANDRAIL.

- Alvin Drew: BUT IT ALSO BRINGS OUT YOUR INNER 5-YEAR-OLD, OR I SAY THAT IT IS THE SOURCE OF ALL STUPID ASTRONAUT TRICKS.

- Jack Fischer: IT'S AS FUN AS YOU THINK IT WOULD BE ONLY BETTER.

I THINK I TOLD MY WIFE THAT I THOUGHT IT WAS A BURRITO OF AWESOMENESS SMOTHERED IN AWESOME SAUCE BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A VERY BIG VOCABULARY, SO I TRIED TO USE THE BIGGEST, MOST IMPACTFUL WORDS I COULD.

- Mike Fossum: EVERYBODY'S A SUPERHERO.

YOU'RE NOT FLOATING, YOU'RE FLYING.

♪♪ - Anne McClain: SO, THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION BEING ONLY 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH, WE CALL IT KIND OF THE PROVING GROUND FOR A LOT OF SCIENCE.

IT IS A NATIONAL ORBITING LABORATORY FOR THE UNITED STATES, AND WE DO HAVE HUNDREDS OF SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS GOING ON AT ANY TIME.

- Nicole Stott: WE ARE DOING THIS AMAZING SCIENCE UP THERE.

IT IS ALSO ABSOLUTELY THE MOST WONDERFUL OBSERVATORY.

♪♪ AND, UM, CERTAINLY FOR AN EARTH-FACING OBSERVATORY THE CUPOLA MODULE, THIS BIG BAY WINDOW, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAVE FACING EARTH IS THE PLACE TO BE.

♪♪ - T.J. Creamer: I GOT VISITED BY THREE SPACE SHUTTLES.

SEVERAL OF THE CREW MEMBERS NEVER LOOKED OUTSIDE THE CUPOLA BEFORE.

I WOULD BRING THEM ONE AT A TIME TO THE CUPOLA, TELL THEM TO CLOSE THEIR EYES, OPEN UP ALL THE WINDOWS, THE SHUTTERS ON THE WINDOWS, AND THEN TELL THEM TO OPEN UP THEIR EYES.

- Anne McClain: CEREBRALLY, I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

I KNEW THAT THE VIEW WAS GONNA BE AMAZING.

- David Saint-Jacques: AND, I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT-THAT SIGHT.

UH, THE THIN BLUE LINE OF THE ATMOSPHERE, THE CURVE OF THE HORIZON, AND AT-- THAT'S WHEN IT BECAME REAL, REALLY, AT A GUT LEVEL, THAT I AM ACTUALLY IN SPACE.

WE ARE IN ORBIT.

THIS IS NOT A SIM.

- Mike Fossum: THIS IS MY EYES LOOKING THROUGH GLASS AT EARTH FROM SPACE.

IT WAS ALMOST OVERWHELMING .

- Jessica Meir: AND SO I THINK IT'S KIND OF OVERLOAD FOR YOUR BRAIN AND PROCESSING ALL OF THAT AT ONCE, BECAUSE IT JUST ISN'T USED TO THAT.

- Anne McClain: YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY HARD TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST CEREBRAL, IT'S EMOTIONAL.

IT'S KIND OF ALL-ENCOMPASSING.

IT WAS-- MY HEART WAS RACING, YOU COULDN'T WIPE THE SMILE OFF OF MY FACE.

IT WAS REALLY AMAZING.

- Tracy Dyson: I JUST WAS, YOU KNOW, FEELING SOMETHING AS I WAS STARING AT THIS VIEW OF THE WHOLE THING.

AND, UM, IT MOVED ME TO TEARS UNKNOWINGLY, SO... ♪♪ - T.J. Creamer: IN THAT INSTANT, WHEN YOU'RE OVERWHELMED WITH THAT VISTA.

WHEN YOUR EYES SEE NOTHING BUT THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH, EVERY SINGLE CREW MEMBER THAT I BROUGHT IN THERE FOR THAT EXPOSURE CRIED.

IT IS HEART STOPPING.

IT IS SOUL POUNDING.

IT IS BREATHTAKING.

- Reid Wiseman: I MEAN, IT WAS RIDICULOUS.

I HAD NEVER IMAGINED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE GETTING TO SEE SOMETHING THAT BEAUTIFUL.

IT WAS SO FOREIGN FOR THE HUMAN MIND TO LOOK AT THAT, TO SEE THE EARTH HIGHLIGHTED THAT WAY.

- Nicole Stott: WELL, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING PREPARES YOU FOR HOW CRYSTAL CLEAR IT IS.

UH, YOU KNOW, I KNEW I KNEW THE COLORS, BUT THEY JUST SEEMED DIFFERENT TO ME.

THEY SEEMED MORE VIBRANT, MORE TRANSLUCENT.

- Tracy Dyson: I'VE NEVER SEEN THOSE COLORS HERE ON EARTH.

THESE PEARLESCENT YELLOWS AND PEACHES THAT, UM, FORM WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A BODY OF WATER WITH THE SUN ANGLE, IT'S JUST AMAZING.

- Reid Wiseman: I JUST TOOK A PENCIL AND I DREW, LIKE, 15 CURVED LINES, AND I JUST WROTE "LIGHT BLUE, DARKER BLUE, PINK, PURPLE, DARK PURPLE, DARK DARK PURPLE" ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH AT SUNSET, BECAUSE THE SCALE OF LOOKING AT A SUN REFRACTING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE, IT BLEW ME AWAY, OKAY?

AND NO PICTURE CAPTURES THAT.

THERE'S NO HIGH DEF-- HIGH ENOUGH DYNAMIC RANGE OF A PHOTO TO CAPTURE WHAT THE HUMAN CAN SEE.

- Tracy Dyson: HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GONNA DESCRIBE THIS?

THERE'S NO-- THERE'S NO WORDS.

THERE'S NO PICTURE I COULD TAKE TO DO IT JUSTICE.

THERE'S NO WATER COLORS THAT I COULD, UM, PUT ON PAPER TO COME CLOSE TO THE... VIVIDNESS, THE EVER-CHANGING PICTURE THAT I SEE STARING AT THIS PLANET.

- Nick Hague: AND I THINK THAT'S THE CHALLENGE OF REALLY TRYING TO EXPRESS JUST WHAT RAN THROUGH MY MIND WHEN I'D LOOK AT THERE, BECAUSE MY MIND WOULD JUST RACE.

- Nicole Stott: IT'S LIKE A WORK OF ART OUT THE WINDOW THERE, AND IT SURPRISES YOU EVERY TIME YOU LOOK AT IT.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THINGS WAS WATCHING THUNDERSTORMS, YOU KNOW, STORM ACTIVITY MOVING, UH, AROUND THE PLANET.

- Jessica Meir: YOU CAN SEE ITS PATH PROPAGATING AROUND AND YOU HAVE THESE BIG FLASHES ALL OVER THE PLACE.

- Nick Hague: YOU KNOW, THIS ONE STORM COVERING ALL THE U.S., AND LIGHTNING FLASHING OFF ALL OVER, NONSTOP.

- Nicole Stott: IT'S LIKE WATCHING NEURONS FIRING IN A BRAIN, I-- YOU KNOW, THESE TENTACLES OF LIGHT THAT ARE JUST CONNECTING AND TRAVELING.

YEAH, IT MIGHT BE STARTING OVER FLORIDA, BUT IT'S, LIKE, MOVING ACROSS THE OCEAN TO AFRICA AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE, AND THAT WAS-- I-I MEAN, I REMEMBER FLOATING THERE, JUST THINKING ABOUT, OH, MY GOSH.

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED.

- Nick Hague: WE GET TO SEE SOME INTERESTING THINGS UP THERE, YOU KNOW.

ONE WAS HURRICANE DORIAN, A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, SUCH A WELL-FORMED EYE.

♪♪ WHEN YOU LOOK DOWN AT IT, FLYING OVER IN THE STATION, IT DOESN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE IT'S MOVING, BUT YOU KNOW THE POWER THAT'S AT THE CENTER OF THAT STORM, AND WHAT HAVOC THAT THAT STORM IS WREAKING ON-ON EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND.

- Jack Fischer: YOU LOOK OUT IN TERROR, REALLY, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN DANGER UNDERNEATH, UM, BUT JUST THE IMMENSITY OF-OF POWER THAT MOTHER NATURE BRINGS.

- Reid Wiseman: A HURRICANE, A THUNDERSTORM, EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK THERE IS...

THE ENVIRONMENT DOING SOMETHING CRAZY.

SO WE'RE COMING UP OVER BRAZIL, ABOUT TO GO ACROSS INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, AND LOOKING OUT ON THE HORIZON, I SAW, LIKE, IT LOOKED KINDA BROWN.

I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT, REALLY, FROM THE SPACE STATION, AND I-- INSTANTLY, WHAT DID I THINK?

HUMAN INTERACTION POLLUTION, FOR SURE.

IT'S JUST AWFUL-LOOKING, IT'S TERRIBLE.

BUT AS WE WENT OVER THE ATLANTIC, IT KINDA GOT THICKER AND THICKER AND THICKER.

IT WAS A SAND STORM IN THE SAHARA DESERT BLOWING THIS HUGE PLUME OF SAND UP INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, CROSSING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND COMING DOWN IN BRAZIL.

I MEAN, THAT IS CRAZY.

IF THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE WAY THAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE PLANET, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL.

- Anne McClain: WHAT STRUCK ME WAS WHEN WE LOOKED AT NATURAL DISASTERS.

UH, YOU SEE A FLOOD, AND YOU REALLY CAN'T PICK OUT WHERE THEY ARE ON EARTH, BUT WHEN YOU SEE IT FROM SPACE, YOU REALIZE THAT THE EFFECTS OF THESE NATURAL DISASTERS REALLY HIT EVERYBODY EQUALLY.

AND IT REALLY GIVES YOU THIS PERSPECTIVE THAT, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, UH, AND THAT THE WORLD IS VERY SMALL.

- David Saint-Jacques: WHAT HAS ALWAYS STRUCK ME, EVERY TIME I WENT THERE, IS... HOW BEAUTIFUL THE EARTH IS, HOW FRAGILE IT LOOKS, HOW ALIVE IT OBVIOUSLY IS.

WITH THE CLOUDS, THE WATER, IT'S LIKE IT'S BREATHING.

- Don Pettit: WHEN YOU FIRST LOOK AT EARTH, YOU MAY SAY, "WOW, THAT'S A CONTINENT," AND THEN YOU LOOK AT IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY AND YOU SAY, "WOW, THERE ARE MOUNTAIN RANGES."

AND THEN YOU LOOK AT IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY, AND IT'S LIKE, "OH, I CAN SEE SYNCLINES AND ANTICLINES "IN THE GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE."

♪♪ - Mike Fossum: YOU CAN SEE THE NILE RIVER AND THE NILE DELTA SO CLEARLY, THE RED SEA, AND FOR ME, THAT WAS JUST AMAZING TO LOOK DOWN.

YOU COULD SEE THE-- THE JORDAN RIVER, THE SEA OF GALILEE, THE DEAD SEA, AND I WAS JUST THINKING, THIS IS WHERE ALL THIS TOOK PLACE.

♪♪ - Jessica Meir: THE COLOR PALETTE IS HARD TO COMPARE.

I MEAN, ALL THESE REDS AND ORANGES, AND SO THE DUNES ALL OVER IN CENTRAL AFRICA AND IN SAUDI ARABIA, YOU HAVE THESE-- SO MANY DIFFERENT TEXTURES.

- T.J. Creamer: AND YOU CAN ALMOST PICK OUT WHERE YOU ARE OVER THE EARTH BECAUSE AUSTRALIA'S TANS ARE DIFFERENT THAN AFRICAN TANS.

- David Saint-Jacques: EVERY PIECE OF THE EARTH HAS ITS, UH, IT'S OWN TONE, UH, IF YOU WANT, SO YOU BECOME VERY ACQUAINTED WITH THE EARTH AS A-- FROM THE BIG PICTURE POINT OF VIEW.

Nick Hague: AND YOU SAW THE--THE-- JUST THE BEAUTY OF THE-- OF THE LANDSCAPE, AND, AND THE-- YOU KNOW, THE MOUNTAINS AND THE DESERTS, AND YOU START TO THINK OF HOW THEY WERE FORMED, YOU REALIZE JUST HOW SPECIAL THE PLACE WE ARE IS.

AND YOU FEEL THAT CONNECTION.

♪♪ - Tracy Dyson: SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE EARTH FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT, YOU-- AND I'M-- I KNOW OTHERS HAVE SAID THIS, YOU DON'T SEE THE BORDERS.

YOU DON'T SEE POLITICAL BORDERS, YOU HARDLY SEE GEOGRAPHICAL BORDERS.

- Bill McArthur: YOU KNOW, WE'RE SO USED TO LOOKING AT MAPS OR GLOBES.

IN LOWER EARTH ORBIT, YOU DON'T SEE A GLOBE.

UM, AND FROM NO DISTANCE DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENT-- DIFFERENT COLORS FOR COUNTRIES SO IT MAKES THEM EASY TO DISTINGUISH.

- Don Pettit: I WAS LOOKING FOR ALL THE LITTLE PINK AND GREEN COUNTRIES WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT WHERE'S-- WHERE'S UGANDA?

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE PINK ON THE ATLAS.

- Jessica Meir: YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T SEE THOSE GEOPOLITICAL BOUNDARIES.

ALL OF THE MANMADE BOUNDARIES THAT WE HAVE IMPOSED UPON OURSELVES AS HUMANS.

YOU DON'T SEE ANY OF THAT FROM SPACE.

- Jack Fischer: IT'S JUST YOU AND YOUR TEAM.

AND YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON US EVOLVING INTO SOMETHING MORE.

YOU FORGET ABOUT THE POLITICS, YOU FORGET ABOUT DAILY LIFE, UH, THAT-THAT, YOU KNOW, PLAGUES US HERE ON THE GROUND, THAT-- THAT COLORS OUR PERCEPTIONS, UH, BECAUSE YOU'RE INSULATED FROM IT.

- Jessica Meir: AND YOU JUST FEEL THE SENSE OF COMMONALITY MORE IN SOMETHING THAT-- THAT UNITES US ALL AND JUST THAT'S THAT WE'RE ALL HUMAN.

♪♪ - Mike Fossum: FLYING OVER AFRICA IN THE DAYTIME WITH THE INTENSE SUNLIGHT SO MUCH OF THE TIME, YOU DON'T REALLY SEE MUCH DETAIL, IT'S SO BRIGHT.

BUT AT NIGHT WHEN IT'S ILLUMINATED BY STARLIGHT OR MOONLIGHT, YOU REALLY SEE A LOT AND, UH, IT'S JUST FASCINATING.

- Bill McArthur: AND YOU DON'T QUITE SEE THE SAME TEXTURE, BUT YOU SEE MANKIND'S INFLUENCE ON THE PLANET.

- Nicole Stott: YOU GET THESE BEAUTIFUL, YOU KNOW, TWINKLY CITY LIGHTS.

- Don Pettit: AND THEY REPRESENT HUMAN SPRAWL, WHICH ISN'T NECESSARILY BAD, BUT IT IS INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL FROM SPACE.

- Jessica Meir: I LOVE LOOKING AT THE ATMOSPHERE AT NIGHT WHEN YOU HAVE THAT AIR GLOW, AND-AND SOMETIMES IT WAS A BIT GREEN AND THEN YOU HAVE THE AURORA DANCING AROUND.

- Mike Fossum: AND WE WERE FLYING INTO THIS ASTONISHING AURORA.

THIS RIPPLING, PULSING RIVER OF GREEN THAT'S DOWN BELOW US, THE RED THAT IS STRETCHING UP TO OUR ALTITUDE.

IT'S LIKE, WHOA.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST BREATHTAKING.

- David Saint-Jacques: AURORAS, UH, THE PLACE OF HUMANS AT NIGHT IS OBVIOUS WITH THE LIGHTS.

BUT IT'S THE DEPTH AROUND THE EARTH THAT'S STARTLING.

HOW THIS BEAUTIFUL, SHOCKING OASIS OF LIFE IS THERE, NAKED, IN THE MIDDLE OF PITCH BLACK DEPTH, THE VACUUM OF SPACE.

- Mike Fossum: DEFINITELY LOOK UP AND-AND SEE THE STARS LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE.

♪♪ I MEAN, THE MILKY WAY IS JUST STUNNING.

- Don Pettit: THERE'S MANY FADES IN THE COSMOS TO GAZE AT IT.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE-THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS.

THOSE SHOW UP REALLY BRIGHT AND VIVID BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ATMOSPHERIC SCATTERING.

YOU CAN SEE ANDROMEDA, UH, THE SPIRAL GALAXY OF ANDROMEDA.

♪♪ - Mike Fossum: OF COURSE, THE LIGHTS DON'T FLICKER, THEY'RE STEADY, 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT COMING THROUGH THE DUST AND-AND IT'S COMING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE.

THEN YOU-- AS YOU REALLY ADJUST, YOU START TO SENSE THE VERY SUBTLE COLORS THAT ARE IN THE STARS.

A LITTLE BIT OF REDDISH, A LITTLE BIT OF BLUEISH, BLUE-WHITE.

- Nicole Stott: JUST ALL THE COLORS IN THE LIGHT COME OUT, YOU KNOW, IN THAT DEPTH OF SPACE AS WELL.

- Tracy Dyson: I COULD, ALL OF A SUDDEN, DETECT DEPTH.

NOW, I COULDN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH, BUT IT'S LIGHTYEARS, RIGHT?

AND-AND IT'S LIKE, WHOA, I CAN SOMEHOW TELL THAT THAT STAR IS CLOSER THAN THAT STAR.

AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF, AND I THOUGHT, "NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THIS!"

- Jessica Meir: I DON'T THINK I HAD THOUGHT BEFORE GOING UP THERE ABOUT HOW MANY STARS YOU SEE.

YOU KNOW, THE DENSITY OF STARS.

- Reid Wiseman: YOU SEE SO MANY STARS, IT BECOMES HARD TO PICK OUT CONSTELLATIONS.

PEOPLE ASK IF THERE'S ALIENS, AND I'M LIKE, "OF COURSE THERE ARE ALIENS, LOOK AT ALL THOSE STARS!

"THERE'S GOTTA BE."

- Tracy Dyson: IT'S JUST SO VAST AND INFINITE THAT, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

♪♪ - Nicole Stott: I REMEMBER USING, LIKE, THE 800 MILLIMETER LENS AND JUST REALLY ZOOMING INTO PLACES.

AND, YOU KNOW, YOU STILL CAN'T SEE PEOPLE WALKING AROUND OR ANYTHING, BUT YOU SEE IMPACTS OF THINGS.

AND YOU REALIZE THAT, A LOT OF TIMES, WE HAVE TO PULL WAY BACK.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO PULL WAY BACK AND SEE THE BIG PICTURE OF IT.

- Nick Hague: YOU REALIZE JUST HOW SMALL YOU ARE, 'CAUSE IT-- YOU, AT TIMES, STRUGGLE TO FIND EVIDENCE OF HUMAN ACTIVITY DOWN THERE.

YOU CAN GO OVER MASSIVE SWATHS OF THE EARTH AND NOT SEE A TRACE OF ANY HUMAN IMPACT.

OR YOU CAN GO OVER OTHER SWATHS, AND YOU CAN SEE DRAMATIC IMPACT.

- Mike Fossum: FREQUENTLY, IN THE SUMMERTIME, THERE'S A LOT OF FIRES IN AFRICA.

YOU SEE ALL OF THOSE PLUMES OF SMOKE HEADING WEST ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

- Nick Hague: YOU FLY OVER SOUTH AMERICA AND YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, WIDESPREAD DEFORESTATION, AND YOU KNOW THE IMPACT THAT THAT HAS.

YOU CAN ALMOST GET, UH, A SENSE OF THE BALANCE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW-HOW-HOW NATURE IS TRYING TO BALANCE ALL THE INPUTS AND THE OUTPUTS AND-AND HAVE A STABLE SYSTEM.

AND-AND YOU CAN SEE OUR EFFECT ON IT.

- Karen Nyberg: TO ME, IT STARTED TO MAKE ME UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE OCEAN OVER HERE CAN AFFECT WHAT IS HAPPENING ON LAND OVER HERE, IT'S JUST ALL ONE BEING-- [laughing] THING.

AND IT'S ALL INTERCONNECTED.

♪♪ - Reid Wiseman: YOU CAN SEE COMBAT.

I MEAN, WE WERE VERY-- TWO-- TWO COUNTRIES WHO WERE AT WAR AND YOU COULD VERY EASILY SEE MISSILES BEING SHOT, THEY JUST LOOK LIKE LITTLE TINY TRACES OF LIGHT.

YOU-YOU CAN SEE ALL THAT STUFF.

SO TO ME, I DIDN'T SEE ONE UNIFIED HUMAN CIVILIZATION, YOU CERTAINLY SEE ONE UNIFIED PLANET CRUISING AROUND THE SUN, AND THAT IS A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.

♪♪ - David Saint-Jacques: DURING MY, UH, MY TIME ON THE SPACE STATION, I HAD THE CHANCE TO DO A SPACEWALK.

PUT ON A SPACESUIT AND GO OUTSIDE.

AND, UH, THAT'S A VERY SPECIAL EXPERIENCE FOR-FOR ANY ASTRONAUT.

♪♪ - Bill McArthur: YOU'RE INSIDE THE SPACE STATION OR THE SHUTTLE, AND NOW YOU PUT ON A SUIT AND GO OUTSIDE.

IT'S LIKE, THERE IS AN ELEVATION IN RISK WHEN YOU DO THAT, BUT IT IS A BIT THRILLING.

♪♪ - Michael Foreman: SPACEWALKS ALWAYS SEEM TO BE VERY, UH, BUSY AND TASK-FOCUSED EVENTS WHERE I GOTTA DO THIS, AND I GOTTA MOVE OVER HERE AND DO THIS AND-- - Mike Fossum: --AND THEN, YOU JUST HAVE TO NOT THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE.

JUST CONCENTRATE ON GETTING THE JOB DONE, WHAT'S THE BIG PICTURE.

- Michael Foreman: RARELY DID YOU HAVE A MINUTE WHERE YOU COULD JUST SAY, AW, JUST TAKE A MINUTE THERE WERE THOSE MINUTES EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.

AND THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE THE SPACECRAFT, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT FULL PANORAMIC, UH, VISION THROUGH YOUR HELMET VISOR WAS JUST INCREDIBLE.

- Mike Fossum: IT'S A VERY DISTURBING VIEW LOOKING DOWN ABOUT 240 MILES AT THE EARTH GOING BY AT 17,000 MILES AN HOUR.

LIKE, HOO BOY!

- Anne McClain: I JUST WATCHED THE EARTH GOING BY BELOW ME, AND I'D ONLY HAD THIS, YOU KNOW, THIN VISOR SEPARATING, UH, ME FROM A VERY UNSURVIVABLE ATMOSPHERE.

AND MY FEET WERE DANGLING, I REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST THROUGH MY VISOR, BUT LOOKING DOWN AND JUST-- YOU JUST SEE FEET AND THEN EARTH.

YOU KNOW, AND-AND YOU'RE HOLDING ON TO THE SPACE STATION, AND I MEAN, IT WAS JUST INCREDIBLE.

EVERYTHING LOOKED SO LARGE.

♪♪ - Jessica Meir: THE COLORS ARE EVEN MORE VIBRANT.

AND I THINK, ALSO, JUST MENTALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY REALIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS NOTHING BETWEEN THE-THE VACUUM OF SPACE EXCEPT FOR THIS SPACESUIT AND YOUR VISOR.

- Nicole Stott: I REMEMBER THINKING THAT... COMING OUT, LIKE, THAT THE WORLD WOULD JUST OPEN UP AROUND ME.

AND, UM, AND THE VIEW FOR SOME REASON SEEMS BIGGER THAN WHAT YOU HAVE WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOWS OF A-A SPACECRAFT.

- Anne McClain: I MEAN, IT WASN'T LIKE EARTH IS OVER THERE.

IT WASN'T SMALL, IT WAS LIKE IT TOOK UP YOUR ENTIRE, YOU KNOW, VISOR AND ALL-- AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE, AND JUST WATCHING IT COME OVER EARTH AND JUST HOW LARGE EARTH WAS COMPARED TO HOW IT WAS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE.

♪♪ - Nicole Stott: BUT, OH, MY GOSH, YOU-- YOU SEE EARTH AND YOU SEE THE, UH, GLOWING STATION AROUND YOU.

AND YOU REALIZE, OKAY, I GOTTA STOP LOOKING AT THIS STUFF BECAUSE IT BECOMES A DISTRACTION TO THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING OUT THERE.

- Michael Foreman: SO I ALWAYS KID THOSE ASTRONAUTS THAT DON'T DO THE SPACEWALKS, YOU KNOW, I SAID, "THE VIEW FROM INSIDE HERE THROUGH THIS FLAT WINDOW "IS PRETTY GOOD, YOU KNOW.

"THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE IS JUST AMAZING."

♪♪ - Nick Hague: AND-AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT LIVING ON SPACE STATION, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I-I HAD A COUNTDOWN GOING, BUT IT WAS, "OH NO, "I ONLY HAVE TWO MONTHS LEFT."

- Jack Fischer: ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT, ONE LAST LOOK AT THE EARTH.

THIS IS SOME GOOD NEWS, THE EARTH IS STILL BEAUTIFUL.

AN EARTH IN CRISIS IS STILL AN EARTH WORTH RETURNING TO.

- Nick Hague: LIFE SEEMS EXTREMELY BUSY AND-AND YOU-- YOU KNOW, THE DAYS START FLYING BY AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, IT'S OVER.

♪♪ - Michael Foreman: AS IT DREW TO A CLOSE, I-I THINK I WAS MORE FEELING THE-- AS THOUGH, DID YOU DO ENOUGH TO CAPTURE THIS SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE IT, UH, WHEN YOU GET HOME?

AND SO THAT YOU CAN LIGHT THOSE FIRES IN PEOPLE AS YOU GO AROUND AND TALK ABOUT THIS AND-AND TRY TO, YOU KNOW, IGNITE THE PASSION IN-IN KIDS JUST LIKE I HAD IGNITED FOR ME AS A KID.

♪♪ - Nick Hague: AND YOU'RE BACK ON THE GROUND AND, UH, AND SOMEBODY ELSE IS DOING THE JOB UP THERE NOW.

IT-IT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A REALLY BIG THING THAT WE'RE APART OF AND, UH, JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M FORTUNATE TO PLAY MY PART.

- Michael Foreman: IT IS THE FACT THAT GOING TO SPACE AND SEEING THE EARTH FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT HAS A LIFE-CHANGING EFFECT ON-ON MOST OF US.

- Tracy Dyson: UH, IT TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY TO DESCRIBE, UH, WHAT-WHAT IT'S LIKE UP THERE BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH OF YOUR EMOTION BUILT INTO IT.

- Anne McClain: I THINK THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT IS THAT YOUR VIEWPOINT CHANGES-- YOU CAN LOOK AT THE SAME THING, BUT IT CHANGES THE LENS THROUGH WHICH YOU SEE IT.

- David Saint-Jacques: AND THAT'S-THAT ACUTE REALIZE-- CONCRETE REALIZATION THAT, UH, WE BELONG TO EARTH AND NOT VICE VERSA IS-IS KIND OF A MENTAL SHIFT TO SEE THAT THERE IS NOWHERE ELSE WE COULD GO.

- Michael Foreman: I THINK IF YOU'RE NOT A CONSERVATIONIST BEFORE YOU GO TO SPACE, YOU'RE AT LEAST PARTLY A CONSERVATIONIST WHEN YOU COME BACK.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE HOW THIN THAT ATMOSPHERE IS, THAT PROTECTIVE LAYER THAT WE HAVE HERE, YOU THINK, WOW, WE REALLY HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THIS BECAUSE IT DOES LOOK SO FRAGILE FROM SPACE.

- Jessica Meir: I THINK I FELT THAT NEED TO PROTECT IT EVEN BEFORE LEAVING IT, BUT IT DEFINITELY DOES RESONATE EVEN MORE LOUDLY NOW, HAVING SEEN IT MYSELF AND HOW-HOW STUNNING AND BEAUTIFUL IT IS.

ALL OF THOSE UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS.

EVERYTHING'S CONNECTED, THE LAND MASSES, AND THE OCEAN MASSES AND THE ATMOSPHERE, AND WE ARE ALL IN IT TOGETHER.

WE ARE ALL DOWN THERE.

AND SO, I THINK THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT THAT PERSPECTIVE.

- Tracy Dyson: I THINK YOU GET A SENSE OF, UM, UH, PRESERVATION, OF-OF, UM, I DON'T WANT THIS TO GO AWAY AND I DON'T WANT TO BE THE ONLY ONE TO SEE THIS.

AND THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE THAT NEED TO SEE IT, BUT ONLY A HANDFUL WILL IN THIS LIFETIME.

- Alvin Drew: YOU KNOW, I-I REMEMBER COMING BACK FROM ALL MY MISSIONS WITH THAT SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL CONNECTED, WE'RE ALL PEOPLE.

AND I THOUGHT ABOUT, WHY IS IT THAT WE DO HAVE CONFLICTS?

WHAT IS IT THAT SEPARATES US FROM ONE ANOTHER?

- Reid Wiseman: IF YOU CAN GET SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE TO GO UP THERE AND LOOK DOWN FOR JUST EVEN 30 SECONDS YOU WOULD CHANGE THEM, ALL OF THEM, FOREVER.

THEY WOULDN'T ALL COME BACK AND BE FRIENDS, THEY WOULDN'T ALL COME BACK AND TEAR DOWN BORDER WALLS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT YOU WOULD CHANGE ALL OF THEM AND YOU WOULD CHANGE THEM ALL FOR THE BETTER, AND YOU WOULD HAVE A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE PLANET.

- Mike Fossum: UH, I THINK IF PEOPLE, THEY CAN LIFT THEIR EYES UP AND SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE, WHETHER IT'S FROM ORBIT OR EVEN JUST UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT SIDES, MAYBE EVEN JUST SPENDING MORE TIME LISTENING, YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN SHOUTING.

- Nicole Stott: AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT PEOPLE TO FIND.

I ABSOLUTELY FOUND THAT IN THE EXPERIENCE I HAD IN SPACE, IN THIS-- THE SIMPLE FACTS OF US LIVING ON A PLANET AND ALL BEING EARTHLINGS, AND...

THE ONLY BORDER THAT MATTERS IS THAT THIN, BLUE LINE.

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