CNEWS Space - On the shuttle: A view of Earth from far away

OUTER SPACE -- What an adventure.

I adapted to weightlessness surprisingly quickly. My years of training at the Canadian Space Agency have prepared me for what to expect, and how to function in space flight. For instance, even though I would love to soar quickly like Superman from one end of the shuttle to the other end of Spacelab, I must restrain myself and move about slowly so as not to perturb the microgravity environment or crash into my crewmates.

I have felt several impressions over the last week. The one that I would like to share at this time is that of my out-the-window view of Earth which can be seen from two perspectives.

From space, Earth is obviously a round planet floating in a cold, inky black void. I notice the beautiful bluish hue of the atmosphere. Compared to the diameter of the planet, our atmosphere is no more than a thin veil around the planet. From this perspective, I experience a feeling of isolation and vulnerability.

However, when I look down at the land and seas (in astronaut lingo, we call them "dirt" and "water"), I see familiar features and colors.

The impression of Mother Earth comes immediately to mind. The blue of the ocean is one of my favorite colors, too. It comes in endless shades of greens, browns, yellows, oranges and reds.

Every morning within minutes of wake-up, we pass over a virtually cloud-free Europe and Asia. I rush unshaven to the window with a camcorder to capture the view one more time. The orbital pass begins over Portugal and Spain, through the Mediterranean Sea, across the boot of Italy and the Peloponnesian Peninsula. At 8 km per second, we over-fly Cyprus, Israel, and the Persian Gulf.

Clouds then begin to thicken as we near India and Sri Lanka, which are now in their monsoon season. It is a thrill to recognize features such as the straits of Gibraltar, the Bay of Naples, Mount Vesuvius, Athens, the Jordan River and the Nile Delta.

These are regions of the Earth that were the cradle of civilization millennia ago and even today play a major role in global affairs. During this orbital pass, the role that these regions have played in history and current events comes to my mind ... a recap of history and current events in 15 minutes!

But I have seen disappointing scenes as well. Three hours ago, I saw for the first time with my own eyes what the slash and burn practice has done to the Amazonian rainforest. For as far as my eyes could see, the smoke from hundreds of brush fires rises into the sky.

From space, the Amazon seems more like a prairie and less like rainforest.

Surprisingly, night time viewing of the planet is actually awe-inspiring. City lights are easily visible and outline the geography of a continent, especially if the cities are coastal or next to some other large body of water. One of my favorite views has been that of Australia at night with lightning crackling in staccato bursts over wide regions of atmosphere - and even the surface of the shuttle itself.

It is now time to got to bed. Even though my heart and mind tell me to stay at the window for a couple more hours, my body tells me that I should sleep. We have many more days of medical and materials science research to complete and I need to remain sharp and alert.

I have spent the 15 preceding months training for this mission and now I pinch myself that I am here living and working aboard a spacecraft that is orbiting Earth.