Space oddity
When Chris Hadfield and his family began talking three
years ago about how to give Canadians a behind-the-scenes look at his next
spaceflight, they came up with some ideas that would forge an unprecedented
everyman link between life on Earth and his stint on the International Space
Station.
That bond, which
resulted in, among other things, more than 820,000 followers all over the globe
keeping up with Hadfield on Twitter, is due to end — in some ways — tonight.
Chris
Hadfield's many stunning photos including the moon setting over Earth on May 7, 2013 . (Chris Hadfield,
NASA/Associated Press)
Hadfield, the first Canadian to command the ISS, and two
other astronauts strapped tightly inside a Soyuz spacecraft are set to land on
the flat steppes of Kazakhstan 10:31 p.m. ET .
But for Hadfield
and the Canadian Space Agency there is hope that the unique way the charismatic
53-year-old was able to connect with people on Earth will be more than a
curiosity that lingers on through the tweets, videos and pictures, which showed
him doing everything from playing his guitar to testing his blood.
Instead, they
hope, the interest that Hadfield has roused over the past five months will help
forge a stronger role for Canada
Hadfield's son
Evan, 27, who is currently serving as his father's unpaid social media manager,
says several factors went into wanting to find a way to make a connection with
Canadians during the ISS mission.
"It's many
things, but it all boils down to generating interest," Evan Hadfield said
in an interview from his current home in Germany
·
"You want people to be interested in the space
program. And in a democracy like Canada
22 million page views of
Hadfield space videos
The goal, Evan
says, has been to open eyes, not to give people answers, but to give them a
chance to see and think for themselves with the information his father has been
providing.
"If we
can't convince Canadians that what we're doing in space is valuable, then the
next time we have to vote for a budget or the next time we have to vote for a
government agency, we won't be voting positively towards space, and I think
that's an absolute shame because what we're doing in space is so
phenomenal."
Three years ago,
and long before Hadfield's ISS mission was on the radar for most Canadians, his
family was chatting over dinner about the best way he could interact directly
with people during his next spaceflight.
"My brother
brought up Twitter and after a little work I put it all together for Dad and
sort of taught Dad how to use it. And then after a few years he sort of slowly
taught himself," Evan said.
Chris
Hadfield shows his sporting colours from the International Space Station on Jan. 6, 2013 . (Chris Hadfield, NASA via
Twitter/Canadian Press)
Chris
Hadfield isn't the first or only tweeting astronaut, but he has, in layman's
terms, tweeted up a storm. When he left Earth on Dec. 19, he had 20,000 Twitter followers,
a number that has grown to more than 824,000 today. Followers come from around
the world, and have been particularly intrigued by his much-praised photos of
places on the globe.
Eighty-one
videos of his ISS experiences have proved an unexpected hit for the Canadian
Space Agency, generating 22 million views. Website traffic at the CSA is up 70
per cent so far this year over the same period in 2012.
Julie Simard,
the CSA's senior communication adviser, says the agency always knew Hadfield
would attract a lot of attention.
"We just
didn’t know that it would be that much and that it would be international,
because ususally it's mostly Canadians that follow us and that are interested
in what the CSA is doing."
'Biggest surprise'
The unexpected
surge in interest prompted changes at the CSA, including adding more people to
the team to handle media requests, which were flooding in from around the
world.
"Our
biggest surprise was the international response that we got with everything we
did," says Simard, noting calls places such as New Zealand Australia Brazil
For observers,
the interest Hadfield has generated is remarkable.
"He has
been a phenomenon, and I mean that in the most positive sense," says Marc
Garneau, Canada
"Not only
was he setting a new precedent for Canada
Garneau says
Hadfield "brought the space station and to some extent the space
experience to a large number of people by sharing not only his pictures on
Twitter and his comments, but also by sharing his emotions and that's something
that people really want to hear about."
Hadfield's
ability to communicate his experiences, observers say, is significant,
particularly because Canadians don't know much about Canada
"Space is
something that has a lot of significance for Canada
Space, he says,
is vital for the role it plays in everything from communication via satellite
in a country with such a large land mass to weather forecasting and monitoring
resources, or plotting what happens in the Arctic as conditions change over time.
"We often
forget the extent to which space comes into our daily lives."
At the same
time, many in the Canadian space community consider the public lacks awareness
of what Canada
"More
people in Canada Western University London
"One of
things I don't think has been done well in the past is going out there and
promoting what Canadians and Canadian researchers are doing in space."
Chris
Hadfield shows how Canada April 30, 2013 . (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian
Press)
Hadfield has, Osinski suggests, singlehandedly raised the
profile of the Canadian space program, and he hopes the momentum the astronaut
has established will continue.
Still, questions
remain about the long-term impact Hadfield can have.
"That's the
unfortunate thing," says Marc Fricker, vice-president of the Canadian
Space Society.
"As much as
he's captured the attention of Canada
"Unfortunately
the space agency is dwindling. Its budgets are being cut. Its people are
leaving as a mass exodus in some instances," says Fricker.
Mass exodus
Dad's on the line
Evan Hadfield was part-way through a video link interview from Germany
"I'm sorry, I have to take this," he told me, putting
the interview on hold before answering.
"Hey Dad, what's up?"
International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield said
something in response.
"Good," said Evan. "I'm currently in the middle
of an interview. Can this wait?"
Apparently it could, at least for a little while.
"OK," Evan told his father, "call me back in 10
minutes, please.
"OK, bye."
"Sorry," Evan said, as we picked up where we left off.
A review
commissioned by the federal government found late last year that Canada
The federal
government has said it is reviewing the recommendations by former federal
cabinet minister David Emerson.
For its part,
the CSA says it wants to build upon the interest and attention Hadfield has
attracted.
"We do have
other projects going on at the Canadian Space Agency and we've actually started
thinking about how to transition from that success and trying to bring the same
kind of strategy into our other projects," says Simard.
"Now that
we see that the videos are really successful, we'll not drop that and we will
try to continue to do videos but with other topics. It’s not going to be Chris
Hadfield in space, but it's going to be other projects that the CSA is working
on right now."
For the
Hadfields — father and son — their popularity has been "amazing," and
"stunning," Evan says.
The astronaut
has no intention of ending his online connection once he's home, Evan says.
Instead, he hopes to build upon it.
'So much greater'
"A lot of
people think that when he comes back he'll stop, but I don't really understand
why because it's not an end to something," Evan says.
Chris
Hadfield, left, and his son Evan pose at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Dec. 18, 2012 , the day before the
Canadian astronaut left for the International Space Station. (Hadfield family/Canadian
Press)
"It's going to be so much greater when he comes home
and people can interact with him face to face now that they know what he's
achieved and what it's possible to achieve."
Evan Hadfield
looks to the future, and sees a need for Canada
"We need to
stop resting on our laurels, and that includes Dad …
"There is a
very strong desire to live in hindsight, to say we went to the moon as the
United States [did], therefore we’ve succeeded in space, but it's exploration
and exploration is not something you do one time and then stop.
"It's a
continuous process and we need to support that because it's directly benefiting
us here on Earth."
Chris
Hadfield's Space Kitchen
===============+++++++++++++===============
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Click here to see more:
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