Bringing the Overview Effect To Earth: Analog Astronaut Conference 2023

A large group of people were invited to tour the Space Analog Mission for the Moon and Mars, abbreviated SAM, Inclusion 1 mission's analog facility at Biosphere 2. The above image was taken inside a large pressure controlling chamber of the facility, which is called "The Lung." This chamber and its steel device helps prevent the analog from building up too much pressure and breaking the walls. 

By: Rachel Brooks, Communications Lead @Better Futures Media 

A continuing theme of 2023’s Analog Astronaut Conference was inclusivity. The inclusivity of the Overview Effect, or the astronaut’s awe-inspired experience seeing the Earth from above, which Frank White describes in his famous book of the same name. Check the book out here. 

As the modern Space Age kicks off, the heavens have become more accessible to passionate citizens and commercial enterprises. This was a central theme of the Analog Astronaut Conference, held at the Biosphere 2 research facility in Oracle, Arizona, within the Oro Valley, just north of Tucson. 

Science Meets the Arts 
Central to the theme of embracing The Overview Effect, poets, musicians, painters, fashion designers, and the like were all in equal company at the Analog  Astronaut Conference. 

See more about Dr. Proctor's mission in the Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space movie on Netflix. 

Dr. Sian “Leo” Proctor, who won her place on the Inspiration 4 civilian mission to low-earth orbit aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience capsule, was present and presented her spoken word poetry with Annu Music. Proctor and Annu Music have appeared at Burning Man and various other artistic expression outlets. 

Find out more about Annu Music tours! 

The Biosphere performance was Annu’s second tour appearance presenting Earth Glow. Earth Glow was inspired by Proctor’s experience in low-earth orbit, which she described as being “bathed in Earthlight.”​

Visit Dr. Proctor's YouTube channel to hear more from her about her experiences in Space. 

Proctor, who is a geologist, explained that the makeup of Earth’s geology causes it to put off a luminescence of its own, in a similar way to how the Moon reflects sunlight and produces its reflective glow.

Earthlight is like moonlight, however, it can only be experienced from Space looking down at the wonder and aurora of the planet humans call home.
 
Inclusion 1’s Mission Abode 
Inclusion 1's Space Analog for the Moon and Mars mission, completed its first successful campaign to Biosphere 2’s analog astronaut chamber. In May, a group met at the Biosphere complex, located in Oro Valley, Arizona, to celebrate the success of the team which combined a diverse crew of analog astronauts to test the physical accessibility of Space mission design. Possibly the largest group ever to be in attendance was then escorted through the analog setup and was safely sealed inside the airlock to get perspective on what the experience of the crew was like in the days of the mission

Science on Display 
The majority of the Analog conference programming was spent briefly engaging with phenomenal guests who presented their major feats of innovation in that area where biosciences and Space exploration meet. From astronauts to aquanauts, who are analog mission pioneers who spend days underwater in life-support habitats to study survival in close spaces, to voyagers of the Arctic, to pioneers of advanced agrotech, AAC2023 brought out the best-in-show. 

You can see the whole AAC 2023 agenda here. 

There’s too much for one article. That’s why Better Futures will be producing a series of articles following up on the many advanced feats on display at AAC2023. Stay tuned for more follow-ups, and Space innovation news. 

ABOUT US: 
Are you interested in starting a New Space age-focused podcast for your awesome project, but don’t know where to start? Better Futures is the media company of the commercial Space age. Produced by former NASA contractor and Lunar elevator pioneer Michael Laine, Better Futures is a podcast-as-a-service company. We build shows for a host of Space VIPS from the Apollo era, all while keeping our finger on the pulse of the Artemis age. 
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We would be honored to add your name to our list of guests and shows. Please reach out to our communications team through Rachel Brooks, at rachel.brooks@liftport.com.