One Former Astronaut’s Comments Have Changed People’s Views On Aliens
Are there aliens out there? The conspiracy theories of online space hunters are easy to dismiss as fantasies, of course. And so are the big-screen depictions of little green men in flying saucers. But what about when a serious scientist gives you their evidence-based opinion? Because when CNN asked the head of NASA, Bill Nelson, about the existence of aliens, he offered up some thoughts that many probably didn’t see coming. In fact, we bet his surprising revelations had people looking to the skies with a whole new perspective.
The truth is out there
Bill Nelson is more than qualified to answer the question about extraterrestrial beings, too. This is a man who’s actually been to space, after all. And while the NASA administrator may not have explored the Moon or visited Mars, his experience beyond Earth did bring a few things about our planet into focus for him.
The great beyond
Nelson was part of a crew of seven who, in January 1986, orbited the Earth for six days aboard the Columbia shuttle. He had the position of payload specialist and helped deploy the SATCOM KU satellite. And the more than two million miles he traveled during that time makes Nelson someone you want to listen to about life off-planet.
Fragile reality
The former astronaut spoke to The Guardian about the importance of this event in December 2021. Nelson said he realized the Earth is “beautiful,” “colorful,” and “fragile.” He also explained, “That experience informed a lot of my public life because I wanted to be, when I returned, a better steward of our planet.” And that, no doubt, includes shaping his thoughts about worlds beyond our solar system.
Better world
It certainly helped Nelson figure out how he wanted to make our own world a better place to live in. He said, “I think you can just basically boldly say I became more of an environmentalist when I went into space, and that has informed my environmental record now going on 44 years of public service.” He gained a new perspective about the people of Earth, too.
