NASA astronaut’s space experience reveals humanity's ‘big lie’

Ron Garan, a former NASA astronaut who spent 178 days in space, has expressed his view on human existence, describing it as living "a big lie."

Garan, also a fighter pilot and social entrepreneur, experienced a profound shift in his perspective while observing Earth from space.

He describes this as a'sobering realization that we are paying a heavy price for our actions.

In an interview, Garan criticized how humanity regards the planet’s life-support systems as merely secondary to the global economy.

He pointed out that this attitude extends to every human-made system, treating them as subordinate to economic interests.

"I saw an iridescent biosphere teaming with life. I didn't see an economy, but since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the [...] subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vanish point of space that we're living a lie," Garan said.

He explains that upon returning from space, his perspective shifted dramatically due to the 'Overview Effect.' Witnessing Earth suspended in the vast darkness of space caused him to see things in a new light.

"The Overview Effect describes the shift that astronauts have when they see the planet hanging in the blackness of space," Garan said. "There's this lightbulb that pops up when we realize how interconnected and interdependent we all are," he added.

Humanity confronts numerous issues on Earth, such as wars, hunger, and poverty. Nations clash over territories, the wealthy focus on amassing more wealth, and more. According to Garan, these problems persist because humanity fails to grasp the "true picture."

"Part of the reason we're not solving the problems is because we don't have the right perspective; we're not addressing things in the reality of the situation," Garan said.

"We think we know the whole picture, when in reality we see a very very small representation," he added.

"We're paying a really high price right now, as a civilization,” said Garan.