Thanks to social media and the Internet, astronauts are the rock stars of space. With many astronauts taking to Twitter and sharing photos of Earth from space with the world, many have become household names.
No astronaut, however, has captured the hearts and minds of space nerds like Canada's Chris Hadfield. In 2012, Hadfield became the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS), where he lived for five months.
While onboard the ISS, Hadfield released photos and videos of his adventures in space, including a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" that immediately became a viral sensation and scored over 22 million views on YouTube.
After leaving the ISS, Hadfield retired, but has continued to inspire future astronauts to come. Now, he's releasing his second book, You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes, which features a series of photographs he took during his time on the ISS.
"In just 92 minutes we go all the way around, incredulously gazing on place after place, barely known and only dreamed of," Hadfield writes. "The colors and textures pour underneath, a refilling kaleidoscope of delight. Over the months in space that followed, I took thousands of photos to capture and remember it. My book You Are Here is the best of those photos— my guided tour of our planet, as if we were floating and looking out the spaceship window together."
Hadfield's new book shows stunning aerial shots of the world, including places like the Himalayas, Venice, Detroit, Mauritania and the Great Salt Lake.
"All of the importance [of spaceflight] is in how it affects the people and what it means to us, as an individual or as an industry or as a people," says Hadfield. "So, it is really about how you bring it back and make the experience as relevant that matters at all."
Hadfield's first book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination and Being Prepared for Anything, is currently serving as inspiration for an upcoming television series.
Both books are available at major retailers, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
