“When We Left Earth” coincides with renewed interest in space

The Discovery Channel’s airing of “When We Left Earth,” a documentary compiled of footage and narration from astronauts and engineers who participated in historic NASA missions. From John Glenn’s Mercury mission to orbit the earth, to Neil Armstrong’s first historic steps on the moon, to the spacewalks required to repair the Hubble telescope, “When We Left Earth” comes at a time when space is making a resurgence in our cultural consciousness.

The Web site has several interactive animations, interviews and clips offered as supplements to the documentary, but the animation pertaining most to Space 2.0 is the excellent “NASA In Your Home.” It allows users to explore everyday household items — from bicycle helmets to bathroom sinks to mattresses and many others — to see how space derived technology has made so many of the things we use better, more comfortable and more efficient. Yet all this is so interwoven with out society that we don’t realize how much of this technology emanated from the space program.

The renewed interest in space is coinciding with a more widespread realization that many of the technologies we’ve become accustomed to are space-derived. “NASA In Your Home” illustrates this point perfectly by exposing the technology and materials taken directly from space applications and showing how they fit in to our lives.

“When We Left Earth” aims to restore the magic and wonder the nation was swept away with when the legendary NASA explorations were happening. By combining vintage space nostalgia with current and future Space 2.0 applications, the Discovery Channel is building some exciting momentum for the space community and beyond.