What Space Can Teach us on ‘World Peace Day’ and Every Day

September 21 was International Peace Day, or simply World Peace Day.

That was yesterday, but frankly, in this stage of our existence, Peace Day should be every day.

Peace means different things to different people, all depending where one lives and what is lacking in terms of freedom, safety, equal opportunity, and yes, a peaceful life.

I’m blessed, I live in Canada, one of the safest and most peaceful places on Earth.

I don’t take it for granted, and I can also recognize how the world, far and near to me, is far from perfect.

I want to make the correlation here between two drastically different subjects: Peace and Space.

What could those two possibly have in common? Not much really, expect what one could teach us about the other.

Space is a harsh and not so unfriendly environment for humans, at least, not in the way we’re used to being here on Earth, and for now anyway, not a place for humanity to venture out for long.

Our planet, on the other hand, is lush, nurturing and provides us, humans, all living species, and all natural ecosystems, everything we need, from water, to all the resources for life as we know it, and even a thin delicate atmosphere, to protect us from the Sun.

If this planet is our only home (for now anyway), why aren’t we more understanding and kind to Mother Earth? Why do we continue to take her for granted with our intelligence as a human specie (on: how pollution can be dangerous for water, air, and land, how the planet is warming, how feeding a growing global population is putting a great toll on the resources and quality of our food supplies)?

So, we take our planet for granted unintentionally as we go about our days, sure. But how can we be reminded more frequently on the fragility of the Earth so we can continuously try to do good?

Here’s another (admittedly very indirect) correlation between peace and space, or rather, a very important lesson space can teach us:

We are currently in a very active Space Race/Space Era where so many branches within the Space industry have evolved and are now blooming, and where the industry is simply booming.

With one branch of the space sector, that of spaceflight, and where there are currently more people, (to be sure, teeny tiny, still), that are experiencing space and seeing the Earth from above, and who are coming back with images, story-telling of their views, and even ambassadors for all-things environmentalism, is doing a bit of help in reminding us of the fragility and beauty of the Earth (that is referred to the Overview effect).

The industry of suborbital or even flights to the space station is just at its infancy, but with a continuously growing industry, one that is always inspiring and trending on social media and the web, I believe is doing a bit of good in the cause and advocacy and awareness of working in making the world better, and more sustainable for future generations.

Also, within the space industry, satellites are a huge piece of that pie, and with satellites, we can track, measure and be aware of so much that is happening here on Earth, from helping farmers, to monitoring droughts, floods, and even watch out for illegal hunting and fishing — and help prevent it!

Finally, space inspires! Space era began with the first satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 — and that inspired people to look up and dream of what more we can do with space innovation. Then there were the Apollo missions, the space station, Hubble, and now the James Webb Telescope, the upcoming Artemis missions and so much in between!

Focusing on space innovation (or any technology for good here on Earth) is good for humanity and is inspiring. We have been in wars and conflict for centuries — and sadly it continues in some parts of the world — and to me, space innovation, and STEM inspiration/education, are the opposite of the mindset of war and destruction.

Also from the space industry, it’s about collaboration between organizations and nations. And with more women in the industry, and the first woman to walk on the Moon within this decade, it’s about diversity, inclusion, and that inspires!

Global Peace Day has been celebrated for a little over 40 years now, and although it’s a day to acknowledge all things encompassing the meaning of peace, every year has a theme.

The 2023 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Action for peace: Our ambition for the Global Goals.

The “Global Goals” are 17 global goals world leaders agreed to in 2015 towards making the world better — also called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The space sector seems to easily branch out and contribute to many of the SDGs. And that’s where space meets peace.

“When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!”

Yuri Gagarin, First human in outer space, 9 March 1934–27 March 1968