Today, as part of the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, “Action Day” participants will view the video Call to Earth – A Message from the World’s Astronauts, featuring International Space Station Commander Scott Kelly, Flight Engineer Kjell N. Lindgren, and 16 astronauts from 6 countries urging leaders of COP21 to take action to mitigate climate change now, not tomorrow.
The video was produced by astronaut Ron Garan and Planetary Collective, the award winning filmmakers behind the short film Overview, the groundbreaking full-length feature documentary Planetary, and the upcoming space documentary Orbital.
The idea to ask astronauts to give their views on the importance of the UN Climate Conference emerged during the recent One Young World Summit in Bangkok, the annual gathering of thousands of young leaders from all over the world. As a long-time speaker and counselor at One Young World, astronaut Ron Garan reached out to his colleagues requesting they share a simple message of solidarity, hope and collaboration to combat climate change that would reach political leaders during such a crucial time.
In less than three days, an outpouring of messages streamed in from astronauts around the world – eyewitnesses to profound changes to our planet they’ve seen first hand while in orbit. The messages were produced by members of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), the professional association of flown astronauts, cosmonauts and taikonauts. ASE assists members to communicate their unique perspective of Earth to help stimulate humanity’s sense of responsibility for our home planet.
Astronauts featured in the video:
Germany:
Ernst Messerschmid, Ph.D Space Shuttle
Japan:
Soichi Noguchi Space Shuttle, Soyuz, International Space Station
Naoko Yamazaki Space Shuttle
Netherlands:
Wubbo Ockels, Ph.D Space Shuttle, 1st Dutch Citizen in Space
USA:
Scott Kelly – Space Shuttle, Soyuz, Present International Space Station Commander
Kjell Lindgren, MD – Soyuz, Present International Space Station Crew Member
Piers Sellers, Ph.D Space Shuttle, NASA Climate Scientist
Greg Linteris, Ph.D Space Shuttle
Ron Garan Space Shuttle, Soyuz, International Space Station
Jerry Carr Apollo, Skylab
Nicole Stott Space Shuttle, International Space Station
Loren Acton, Ph.D Space Shuttle
Mary Cleave, Ph.D Space Shuttle
Dan Barry, Ph.D Space Shuttle
Bobby Satcher, Ph.D, MD Space Shuttle
Michael Lopez-Alegria Space Shuttle, Soyuz, International Space Station, US Spacewalk
Record Holder
India:
Rakesh Sharma Soyuz, 1st Indian Citizen in Space
Spain:
Pedro Duque Space Shuttle, Soyuz, 1st Spanish Citizen in Space
Music by The Human Suits
Space footage from:
NASA and ESA, The European Space Agency
“From our vantage point 250 miles above the Earth we can see how precious the Earth really is”
– International Space Station Commander Scott Kelly from onboard International Space Station
“Our atmosphere connects us all. What happens in Africa affects us in North America, what happens in North America affects Asia.”
– Astronaut Dan Barry, USA
“Our Earth has Cancer and I have cancer too”
– Astronaut Wubbo Ockles, Netherlands
– filmed the day before he died
“We need a positive course correction and we need it now”
-Astronaut Ron Garan, USA
“We are citizens of space and stewards of Earth”
– Astronaut Soichi Noguchi, Japan
“Sustainable development is impossible if it is accompanied by non-sustainable consumption.”
– Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, India
“The moment is now”
– Astronaut Pedro Duque, Spain
Relevant Social Media:
Twitter:
@WeArePlanetary
@Astro_Ron
@ASE_Astronauts
@OneYoungWorld
@FragileOasis
Facebook:
Planetary Collective
Ron Garan
Association of Space Explorers
One Young World
Fragile Oasis
CONTACTS:
UK: Steve Watts Kennedy:
steve@planetarycollective.com
PHONE: +44 7877220599
US: Elyse David:
elyse.david@fragileoasis.org
PHONE: +1 917 284 8019
