Space2Sea Antarctica: William Shatner, Neil deGrasse Tyson and NASA astronauts talk about exploration and science from Drake Passage

On December 23, 2024By Littum

Space2Sea Antarctica marks the inaugural voyage in a series produced by FUTURE of SPACE (FoS). This innovative journey blends the uncharted territories of Earth with the inspiring tale of human curiosity and exploration. It encapsulates FoS’s core mission to: Embrace new boundaries, celebrate the human experience and elevate the conversation. Student journalist Gabe Castro-Root from American University describes the mission of FoS. You can read his latest broadcast below.

Astronauts, scientists and explorers gathered aboard a ship bound for Antarctica on Friday for a panel discussion aimed at inspiring young people’s curiosity about the ocean, outer space and their own backyards.

Students in 46 countries were set to tune into the conversation’s live stream, according to Future of Space, the Antarctic expedition’s organizer. Daniel Fox, co-founder of Future of Space, said it was the first ever live broadcast from the Drake Passage, the notoriously turbulent stretch between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Epic Conversations, Space2Sea Live from Antarctica – YouTube

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The speakers — astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, filmmaker Céline Cousteau and astronauts Scott Kelly and José Hernández — shared stories about their own early interests in exploration and answered questions submitted by students around the world. The panel was moderated by Janet Ivey, host of the children’s television show “Janet’s Planet” on PBS.

Tyson, perhaps the world’s best-known science communicator, said in response to a question from a 15-year-old in Finland that he first realized his ability to explain complex concepts in math in the eighth grade. When the students did not understand the teacher’s description of a matrix, Tyson tried to explain it in his own way. For the other students, he said, it clicked.

“What I realized is that if I’m ever tasked with explaining something, then the task for the person who understands it is on me,” he said. “It’s not their responsibility to know what I’m saying. It’s my responsibility to make them understand.”

He said that commitment to understanding remains the driving force behind the prolific career he has built as a mediator.

Filmmaker Céline Cousteau speaks during a live webinar from Drake Passage during the Space2Sea Antarctica voyage.

(Image credit: Future of Space/Space2Sea)

“I’d rather just stay at home in the lab, but I feel a sense of duty to bring the universe down to Earth for all those who are curious, because I can,” Tyson said. “And if I didn’t, it would be disrespectful to those who did it for me as I came up through the ranks.”

Cousteau highlighted a moment when she encountered a humpback whale while diving off the coast of Hawaii.

“I felt incredibly small, and that feeling of feeling incredibly small I wish on all of you because it really puts you into perspective of what we are,” she said.

But she also emphasized that exploration does not require going deep into the ocean or into space. “We don’t have to go far,” she said, adding that curiosity can occur anywhere.

At times, the conversation turned into a light-hearted debate about whether it was harder to get to the bottom of the ocean or into space.

Former astronaut Jose Hernandez speaks during a live webinar from Drake Passage during the Space2Sea Antarctica voyage.

(Image credit: Future of Space/Space2Sea)

And while the focus was primarily on the awe of pushing new boundaries in the name of curiosity, Kelly also explained some of the physical challenges he faced during and after his space missions — rashes, loss of blood volume, legs that would “swell up like water balloons .”

“You’re not a good ambassador for people to go into space,” Tyson teased him at one point.

Another conversation that afternoon, featuring most of the same speakers and moderated by journalist Ann Curry, focused more on the science, but also practical limitations, behind advances in space travel and the possibility of humans one day colonizing another planet or moon.

“Antarctica is warmer, balmier and wetter than anywhere else on Mars, yet no one is lining up to build condos here,” Tyson said. “Dreaming is one thing, but at the end of the day, someone has to write the check to make it happen. The people who write the checks have different motivations than the dreamers, and they’re rarely the same.”

Kelly said his brother, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and another former astronaut, often said that getting humans to Mars is “not about rocket science, it’s about political science.” Funding and interest from politicians are bigger hurdles than engineering, he said.

“No matter how bad we make this planet, it will always be easier to live here than on Mars,” Kelly said. “But I still think we need to go to Mars, and I think we will one day.”

Asked by a student from Iran for advice on becoming the first person to travel “to Mars and beyond,” Shatner encouraged young people to use the idea of space travel to inspire them to focus on their education.

Kelly agreed, explaining that he struggled to find motivation in school before reading “The Right Stuff,” the 1979 book by Tom Wolfe that chronicles the postwar development of rocket-powered aircraft.

And Hernández, who applied to be an astronaut 11 times before NASA chose him, reminded the students to remain persistent and optimistic in the face of daunting challenges.

“I always tell people it’s okay to dream big,” he said. “I encourage people to dream big. But you have to back it up with hard work and preparation.”

This article was provided by Space2Sea Antarctica and FUTURE of SPACE. For more information about the expedition and FoS visit Space2Sea Antarctica expedition siteand FUTURE of SPACE initiative.