Stories
Stories
A Vision for the Earth
Terry Virts (GMP 11, 2011) is a retired colonel with the US Air Force and former NASA astronaut. He has piloted the Space Shuttle and logged more than 200 days aboard the International Space Station, where he conducted a wide range of scientific experiments and helped film the IMAX movie A Beautiful Planet. In this interview, he talks about the benefits of the scientific research done in space and his hopes for worldwide impact of the film.
“The job that I’ve had for the past few years was as an astronaut on board the International Space Station. I think the best thing about being an astronaut is that every day is different; you don’t go and do the same thing day after day. In space, we have space walks, we have science experiments, there’s maintenance you have to do on the station.
“One of the amazing privileges you get as an astronaut is that you can see the Earth, but you see it in a snapshot, in an instant. From my perspective, most of the Earth looks beautiful—it’s in great shape—but you can really see some of the environmental challenges and impacts that we have.
“The most important impact or difference that we make at NASA, and as an astronaut that I made, probably involved science: human medicine, materials science, combustion science. There are a lot of different fields that will eventually help folks here on Earth.
“But another thing that I found during my mission that was the most impactful was help to film an IMAX movie called A Beautiful Planet. It is an amazing movie. It shows beautiful views of the Earth and stars during the daytime. That movie is going to be shown around the world. Millions of people are going to see it and be moved by how important space exploration is, and also to see our planet and how important it is to protect it.”
(Published February 2017)
Support the next generation of leaders Make a gift nowPost a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 15 Dec 2024
- HBS Magazine
Forward Thinking
Re: Bill Nussey (MBA 1996); By: Janine White; Illustrations by Richard Borge -
- 19 Aug 2024
- Skydeck
Quantum Leap
Re: John Levy (MBA 1979); Pitch Johnson (MBA 1952); Amit Kumar (MBA 2008); Carolyn J. Fu (Assistant Professor of Business Administration) -
- 01 Jun 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Competing in the Age of AI
Re: Karim R. Lakhani (Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration); By: April White -
- 01 Jun 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Redefining How Businesses Operate
Re: Shikhar Ghosh (MBA Class of 1961 Professor of Management Practice of Business Administration); Suraj Srinivasan (Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Business Administration Chair, MBA Elective Curriculum); By: Jennifer Gillespie
Stories Featuring Terry Virts
-
- 15 Jun 2021
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Alumni Achievement Awards 2021
Re: Ray Dalio (MBA 1973); Ndidi Nwuneli (MBA 1999); Mezuo Nwuneli (MBA 2003); Terry Virts (GMP 11); Deborah Winshel (MBA 1985) -
- 30 Jun 2017
- HBS Alumni News
Terry Virts: Making A Difference
Re: Terry Virts (GMP 11); Terry Virts (GMP 11) -
- 27 Apr 2015
- HBS Alumni News
“A Unique Leadership Experience”
Re: Terry Virts (GMP 11); Sunil Gupta (Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration); By: April White
