Fiction No Longer

This photograph may look fake. It may look like an image that someone created on a computer. It may look like something out of a science fiction movie.

It's a real photograph. And that is a beautiful thing. Not just because of the stunning beauty of the Andromeda galaxy, but because it is a real photograph. We no longer have to dream of going to space. We no longer have to sit and look at the st

ars and wonder what is out there. We can go and find out. Isn't that amazing? We have the power to leave the planet. We have the power to look at other galaxies. We have the power to leave the place upon which we were born and see what else is out there.

It's hard to believe, now, that something like that was once science fiction. I was born into a world where humans have gone to space. Many people aren't amazed by that because they see it as normal. I see it as an amazing thing, a privilege and also a responsibility. It is our responsibility to push farther into space. To push harder for new technology. If we can survive in space, we can survive anywhere. If we can grow food, purify air, purify water, endure radiation, stay healthy, and all sorts of other things in space, then we can do them down here. If we can make clean water in space, we can make clean water for the entire world. If we can grow food in space, we can grow food in the desert.

Things like this used to be science fiction. They are no longer.