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I think it's everyone's birth-right to see Earth in its entirety. Not in some picture or video, but to be in space and see it floating like some fragile embryo

I think it's everyone's birth-right to see Earth in its entirety. Not in some picture or video, but to be in space and see it floating like some fragile embryo in the womb. That's why I'm not overly cynical about the space billionaires who want to democratize trips to space and in the words of Bezos, 'build a road to space'. Not seeing the very planet you were born on, from a bigger perspective is like being a caretaker of a prison (or garden!) never having seen the entire prison (or garden!) from the outside.

deleted 5y ago
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stirfish 5y ago
I like to think of it as more of a garden than a prison.
amelius 5y ago
> Not seeing the very planet you were born on, from a bigger perspective is like being a caretaker of a prison never having seen the entire prison from outside. Let's flip that around. Anyone born in space should never be taken to the prison that is Earth! See how odd that sounds? Your spaceship is the prison, not Earth.
- CapitalistCartr 5y ago
  I bet our descendants don't agree with you. "Why would anyone want to live dirtside?" "Why, I'm already out of that gravity well, halfway to anywhere." "They don't even control the weather down there; anything can happen. People die from the weather there." And the bugs. Horrible. They're everywhere. All kinds of weird ones, too. Why would anyone live like that. So much better living here where we are civilized. I can take off to Mars Station, or Ceres, or Galileo Main. Or anywhere, really."
toiletaccount 5y ago
that's a nice idea.
falcor84 5y ago
If you're serious about advocating such a birthright, I'd suggest you start by enabling and encouraging everyone on Earth to travel to outside their country even once. It's surprising how many people haven't, even in the US[0] and Europe [1]. [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/05/02/percentage-of-americans-who-never-traveled-beyond-the-state-where-they-were-born-a-surprise/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/05/02/percentage-o... [1] https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/eng/News/Data-news/190-million-Europeans-have-never-been-abroad https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/eng/News/Data-news/190...
- Tepix 5y ago
  It's remarkable to see such similar numbers (40% vs 37%). I had imagined there'd be a much greater difference. In Germany only 18% of those asked had never left the country. That includes young people of course who will probably travel to other countries in the future.
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
    > In Germany only 18% of those asked had never left the country. I think comparing "left the country" between US and Europe doesn't make much sense. While the cultural differences between countries are obviously bigger, distance-wise, "never left the country" in Europe is more akin to "never left the state" in the US.
Tepix 5y ago
Even if you're on the ISS, you're still in a very low orbit. Can you even get all of earth (the side that is facing you) into your field of view at once on ISS? If not, how far would you have to go to manage that?
- 4ad 5y ago
  You would only see one hemisphere from infinity.
  - Tepix 5y ago
    The question was how far you have to be away from the surface to get the entire planet into your field of view (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view)

deleted 5y ago

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stirfish 5y ago

I like to think of it as more of a garden than a prison.

amelius 5y ago

> Not seeing the very planet you were born on, from a bigger perspective is like being a caretaker of a prison never having seen the entire prison from outside. Let's flip that around. Anyone born in space should never be taken to the prison that is Earth! See how odd that sounds? Your spaceship is the prison, not Earth.

CapitalistCartr 5y ago
I bet our descendants don't agree with you. "Why would anyone want to live dirtside?" "Why, I'm already out of that gravity well, halfway to anywhere." "They don't even control the weather down there; anything can happen. People die from the weather there." And the bugs. Horrible. They're everywhere. All kinds of weird ones, too. Why would anyone live like that. So much better living here where we are civilized. I can take off to Mars Station, or Ceres, or Galileo Main. Or anywhere, really."

toiletaccount 5y ago

that's a nice idea.

falcor84 5y ago

If you're serious about advocating such a birthright, I'd suggest you start by enabling and encouraging everyone on Earth to travel to outside their country even once. It's surprising how many people haven't, even in the US[0] and Europe [1]. [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/05/02/percentage-of-americans-who-never-traveled-beyond-the-state-where-they-were-born-a-surprise/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/05/02/percentage-o... [1] https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/eng/News/Data-news/190-million-Europeans-have-never-been-abroad https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/eng/News/Data-news/190...

Tepix 5y ago
It's remarkable to see such similar numbers (40% vs 37%). I had imagined there'd be a much greater difference. In Germany only 18% of those asked had never left the country. That includes young people of course who will probably travel to other countries in the future.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
  > In Germany only 18% of those asked had never left the country. I think comparing "left the country" between US and Europe doesn't make much sense. While the cultural differences between countries are obviously bigger, distance-wise, "never left the country" in Europe is more akin to "never left the state" in the US.

Tepix 5y ago

Even if you're on the ISS, you're still in a very low orbit. Can you even get all of earth (the side that is facing you) into your field of view at once on ISS? If not, how far would you have to go to manage that?

4ad 5y ago
You would only see one hemisphere from infinity.
- Tepix 5y ago
  The question was how far you have to be away from the surface to get the entire planet into your field of view (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view)