Hug-a-Blue-Planet Day

How many blue planets do you know...and love? Today is the day to celebrate Planet Earth -- the one with the atmospheric thin blue line that supports life as we know it.

Pretty amazing, when you think about it. Of all the stars and all the galaxies out there, our fragile planet Earth is teeming with life -- plants, animals, humans. Though, I could do without some of the less loveable lifeforms -- like roaches -- but that's another story altogether.

Today we celebrate Earth. Our home planet. Perfectly formed. Amazingly complex. Incredibly beautiful.

After attending a NASA employee preview of the IMAX Hubble 3D movie this week, I gained fresh appreciation for our planet Earth. My favorite quote from the movie in reference to the Apollo missions,

"On the way to the Moon, we discovered Earth."

I'd never really thought about it. We'd never seen our planet (through human eyes) until we left the planet. Astronauts looking back upon the Earth and capturing "vacation" images from the surface of a different orbiting body, gave us a unique perspective on the place we call home.

Now, decades later, it's really easy to take for granted the unique vantage point space gives us of Earth. How else would you see these clouds from the top down?

Side note: When you were young, did you imagine cloud formations as objects? I still do. This pic reminds me of a one-eyed cloud creature. Or a cloud-brella. Or a cloud ship -- to feed imaginations of UFO-watchers. ;)

How times have changed from the days of Apollo to today. Astronauts onboard Space Station and Shuttle post real-time pics of Mother Earth from space. We can go along with their journey as they orbit Earth every 90 minutes traveling 17,500 mph. Japanese Expedition 23 crew member @Astro_Soichi Noguchi is prolific in his Twitpic-ing. Here is his Happy Earth Day pic.

Astronauts celebrate Earth Day every day they spend OFF the planet.

They live the green life we only aspire to here on Earth. Think about it.

• All the power onboard their spacecraft is generated by the Sun, collected via solar panels, and stored for use. I collect sun in my skin cells to use in Vitamin D, but that's about it for my solar energy collection here on Earth.
• Space pioneers collect waste water and urine to recycle into drinking water and other water needs. I recycle the cat bowl water into my plants. Hey, it's a start, isn't it?
• Long-duration space travelers wash clothes in ziplock bags and hang them in zero-g to dry. Nope, I use a washer and dryer. Sorry Earth.
• Air filtration systems on Space Station scrub and recycle the air they breath. I keep my windows closed during pollen season. Does that count?

How cool to work for an organization (dare I say American icon?) that has changed how humans view and interact with the world. We initiate amazing projects, like LAUNCH:Water, that allow us to help make a difference for the world of tomorrow through disruptive sustainable innovations we put in place today. And we're busy planning the next LAUNCH.org event. WooHoo! LAUNCH from Geologie on Vimeo.

I'm excited that NASA affords me the opportunity to play even the tiniest role in making this planet a better place to live.

Perhaps we can celebrate best by skipping today's shower, eating edible flowers from our garden (not that I have any), and unplugging all our phone chargers. Every little bit helps, right?

Happy 40th Earth Day to all fellow Earthlings. Aliens too!

Crosspost on BethBeck's Blog.