The “overview” effect

One of the most popular pastimes in spaceflight is to simply look out the window at the Earth below. Astronauts on the International Space Station, the now-retired Space Shuttle, and other vehicles often talked about spending their free time gazing at the planet as they sped above it. [2] The Overview Effect, first described by author Frank White in 1987, is an experience that transforms astronauts’ perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon it. [1] Common features of the experience are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment. Since the book’s publication, the space community, including those who have been in space, has gradually accept the idea of the Overview Effect. 

The term “Overview Effect” came into his mind at the time, and he said he was driven to see if there was, in fact, such an experience. “I thought, ‘I really need to go interview astronauts and see if there is something called the Overview Effect,’” he recalled. That set him on the path to writing the book, published in November 1987; he said he first publicly used the term two years earlier, in a poster session at a 1985 Space Studies Institute conference. [2]

On the 40th anniversary of the famous “Blue Marble” photograph taken of Earth from space, Planetary Collective presents a short film documenting astronauts’ life-changing stories of seeing the Earth from the outside (the perspective-altering experience often described as the Overview Effect).

Astronauts who have seen the Earth from space have often described the ‘overview effect’ as an experience that has transformed their perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon it, and enabled them to perceive it as our shared home, without boundaries between nations or species. “OVERVIEW” is a short film that will explore this perspective through interviews with astronauts who have experienced the overview effect. The film also features insights from commentators and thinkers on the wider implications and importance of this understanding for humanity as a whole, and especially its relevance to how we meet the tremendous challenges facing our planet at this time.

[1] Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect

[2] Ref. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2195/1