Who will be the Carl Sagan for the International Space Station?

(Originally published October 19, 2010)


At the 2010 meeting of the International Astronautical Congress, I moderated a session of international investigators talking about the importance of the International Space Station for their disciplines: ISS Research—A Decade of Progress and a Decade of Promise. As part of a wide-ranging discussion, Professor Urade from Japan shared an amazing video summarizing tests for a new treatment for Duschenne’s muscular dystrophy, which were developed using information from space station research. The crowd collectively caught their breath at the possibility and potential impacts on human lives.

 

One of the first questions from the audience inspired my title for this post: Who will be the Carl Sagan for the International Space Station? It is a great question—how do we get the message about this amazing research platform out to the world?

 

I grew up with Carl Sagan and Cosmos—everyone understood his simple message: with “billions upon billions” of stars, other life is out there and astronomy is the key to our future in the universe. He made astronomy popular and respected. His work is one of the reasons we are so moved by the deep-space images from Hubble. Carl prepared us to understand them.

 

It is a tall order to do the same for a platform with the potential to touch dozens, even hundreds of research disciplines.

 

As scientists, we are taught that good experiments control each variable in turn. Centuries of scientific research, however, have never controlled gravity as such a variable. How many errors in scientific theory trace back to our assumptions about gravity? What breakthrough will result from completing one of these ultimate experiments in orbit—with the effects of gravity removed? Buckle up, because we are about to find out!

 

This is the first entry of an ongoing blog on space station research and results. We will have no single spokesperson and no single catchphrase, because the potential for discovery on the station is much larger than that. Working with my team of scientists, our research community, and our international colleagues, we will bring you the stories of the people and the discoveries as they unfold.

 

Please join us on our journey into uncharted territory by following our blog: A Lab Aloft.

 

Julie A. Robinson, Ph.D.

International Space Station Program Scientist

3 thoughts on “Who will be the Carl Sagan for the International Space Station?”

  1. ISS Research is relevant to our everyday lives in so many ways. A Lab Aloft is an excellent tool to get the word out and inspire the next generation of scientists.

  2. This blogspace is a great idea and jumping off on the topic of Carl Sagan as an extraordinarily compelling communicator is very appropriate. I had the opportunity to take Carl’s Astronomy 101 course as a freshman in 1972 and it changed me for life! I see the opportunities for space research and applications as virtually unbounded at this stage. It’s a “target rich” environment and the challenge will be focusing our attention on several specific achievements, so that we can grow the recognition and support to expand quickly over the next decade.

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