Why Are Astronauts Awestruck On Seeing Earth From Space?

if you are floating in space, you might be in open-mouthed wonder at the sight of the blue-white gem of the earth from afar. Why do you feel so awed?

Researchers tried to examine the reactions among astronauts in space as they headed toward long missions to places like Mars. Can a similar feeling be triggered in non-astronauts, they wondered.

Hence, the team studied excerpts from astronauts all over the world who had looked at earth from space. These indicated various ideas of unity, vastness, connectedness and perception---all pointing to an "overwhelming, life-changing moment".

"We watch sunsets whenever we travel to beautiful places to get a little taste of this kind of experience," said David Yaden of the University of Pennsylvania,. "These astronauts are having something more extreme. By studying the more-extreme version of a general phenomenon, you can often learn more about it."

The experts are trying to simulate the experience for non-space travelers too with the help of virtual reality and other means.

"In the end, what we care about is how to induce these experiences," said Johannes Eichstaedt, also from the University of Pennsylvania. "They help people in some ways be more adaptive, feel more connected, reframe their troubles."

Psychology would be very important to manage people on space missions, as they are locked into cramped and suffocating quarters for weeks, months, or even years. It is extremely crucial to see how they could be helped.

"Space is fascinating because it's a highly scientific, highly secular environment, so it doesn't have these connotations," Yaden said. "We think of people who do a lot of meditation or climb mountains, people who are awe junkies, having these experiences. We don't [often] think of these very strict scientists reporting these blissful moments."

The findings were published in the April 2016 issue of the journal Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice.