Association of Space Explorers

The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) is an association initiated by several American and Russian space travelers . The first meeting of later founding members took place in 1983 in Pushchino (a place near Moscow ). The participants of this meeting (including Russell Schweickart , Mike Collins , Ed Mitchell , Alexey Jelissejew , Alexey Leonow , Vitaly Sevastyanov and Valery Kubasov ) were united by "the fundamental concern and personal responsibility for the preservation and protection of the nature of the earth".

background

The first photograph of a person from the "one whole earth". Taken by an Apollo 8 astronaut (presumably Bill Anders ) from a distance of about 30,000 kilometers.

The common basis of the astronomers and cosmonauts , which - "against the will of the US and Soviet governments" - led to the founding of the association in 1985, was the overwhelming experience of seeing the earth from space. The book The Home Planet (German title: Der Heimatplanet ), published by Kevin W. Kelley on behalf of the Association of Space Explorers, is an impressive testimony to the effect that the sight of “one whole earth” has on the consciousness of people who seen our home planet from space. In Kelley's large-format book, photos of the earth and quotes from space travelers from many nations are compiled, which vividly reflect the basic motivation of the members of the Association of Space Explorers.

Sultan Ben Salman Al-Saud from Saudi Arabia described his impressions in orbit, for example, with the words: “On the first day everyone pointed to their country. On the third or fourth day, everyone pointed to their continent. From the fifth day we also stopped paying attention to the continents. We only saw the earth as the one, whole planet. ” Ulf Merbold , also an ASE member, described his space experience in the book The Overview Effect as follows:“ One property of the spaceship earth is that none of the passengers can get out. We are forced to continue the journey through the dark space together, whether we like all fellow travelers or not. ”Like other ASE members, Merbold believes that humanity on earth“ cannot survive in the long run ”.

aims

The ideal goal is to promote and realize the worldwide, planetary, cooperation of all people, regardless of their gender, their origin, their nation or race, in all conceivable areas.

activities

Since its inception, the association has carried out annual events, including the so-called “Planetary Congress” (“Planetary Congress”). The 29th Planetary Congress took place from October 3rd to 7th, 2016 in Vienna ( Austria ). The host was Austria's astronaut Franz Viehböck with the support of the Austrian Space Forum ( ÖWF ).

Members

Anyone who has completely circled the earth at least once in a spacecraft can become a member (Article 3.1 of the ASE Charter). A country where an ASE member who is a national of the ASE was born can also become a member. According to its own information, more than 400 astronauts and cosmonauts from 37 countries were members of the association in 2017.

Publications

ASE-USA Annual Reports, The SPACExplorer, Planetary Congress Proceedings ASE Annual Reports (1990–2000), ASE Newsletter “The SPACExplorer” (1991–2001), Minutes of the “Planetary Congresses” (1989–1997). PDF documents, all in English.

literature

Kevin W. Kelley (Editor, on behalf of the Association of Space Explorers): The Home Planet. Zweiausendeins, Frankfurt am Main, 1989. ISBN 3-86150-029-9 .
Frank White: The Overview Effect. Wilhelm Goldmann GmbH, 1993. ISBN 3-442-11471-3 .

Web links

Official website (English)
In search of the integral culture . ( Memento from March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Spaceship Earth. How seeing the earth from space changed the world.

Individual evidence

↑ Kevin W. Kelley: The Home Planet (editor on behalf of the Association of Space Explorers). Contained in the foreword by Oleg Makarow: “At the founding meeting, which took place in 1983 in Pushchino near Moscow, and at which Russell Schweickart, Mike Collins, Ed Mitchell, Aleksej Jellissejwe, Aleksej Leonow, Vitaly Sevastyanov and Valery Kubasov took part, a lot was clarified one could and should do together. Above all, we were united by a fundamental concern and personal responsibility for the preservation and protection of the earth's nature. We agreed that the main theme of the Association's first congress should be: "The Planet - Our Home."
^ Opening remarks at the First Congress of the Association of Space Explorers, held in Cernay, France. (2 October 1985) I Congress (English) ( Memento of 18 June 2012 at the Internet Archive )
↑ Congress Brief description of the 29th Planetary Congress on the website of the OeWF
↑ Host and organization Information about the host and organization team of the 29th Planetary Congress on the website of the OeWF.
^ Association of Space Explorers homepage of ASE (as of July 31, 2017).

[1] Kevin W. Kelley: The Home Planet (editor on behalf of the Association of Space Explorers). Contained in the foreword by Oleg Makarow: “At the founding meeting, which took place in 1983 in Pushchino near Moscow, and at which Russell Schweickart, Mike Collins, Ed Mitchell, Aleksej Jellissejwe, Aleksej Leonow, Vitaly Sevastyanov and Valery Kubasov took part, a lot was clarified one could and should do together. Above all, we were united by a fundamental concern and personal responsibility for the preservation and protection of the earth's nature. We agreed that the main theme of the Association's first congress should be: "The Planet - Our Home."

[2] Opening remarks at the First Congress of the Association of Space Explorers, held in Cernay, France. (2 October 1985) I Congress (English) ( Memento of 18 June 2012 at the Internet Archive )

[3] Congress Brief description of the 29th Planetary Congress on the website of the OeWF

[4] Host and organization Information about the host and organization team of the 29th Planetary Congress on the website of the OeWF.

[5] Association of Space Explorers homepage of ASE (as of July 31, 2017).