People have come up with some creative ways to conduct interviews in recent years, especially as a result of the global lockdown, but what about video chatting with astronauts in outer space? Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder had the opportunity to do so through NASA for Earth Day.
The resident “Earthling” hopped on a video call and had a conversation with the crew on board the International Space Station, which according to NASA, orbits 250 miles above Earth. The crew consists of Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Mark Vande Hei of the ISS, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer.
Vedder pointed out that considering the crew have been up in space together, they must be getting along, and asked whether they had any advice for the rest of us down on Earth as a result of their experience thus far.
“I think one of the lessons learned is that there are no borders up here,” Chari initiated. “So it’s actually surprisingly hard to figure out where you’re at over the Earth because it’s all land and water, there’s no recognizable lines. And so for us, it’s a great reminder that we’re all on one Earth working together.”
Marshburn added that the diversity of their team has really shown them how much more alike they are to one another than they are different, and the various ways they celebrate holidays with each other while they’re up there.
“Your perspective is one that is so incredibly rare,” Vedder praised.
Maurer mentioned that from up above, they’ve witnessed several different geological phenomena that are a result of climate change, including a reduction in rainforests, increase in agriculture and flooding rivers.
The Pearl Jam vocalist revealed that he’d always been interested in being an astronaut ever since he was a child, so the conversation was a bit emotional for him.
Watch the full clip below.
Vedder’s latest musical endeavor was his solo album Earthling, which just came out in February. He and NASA also collaborated on a musical video for the record’s opening track “Invincible,” which featured footage of prelaunch tests from the Artemis I Moon space mission, as well as animations of launch, the orbit around the Moon and the return to Earth.
Pearl Jam have also been longtime advocates for climate change awareness. The video for their song “Retrograde” from their 2020 album Gigaton depicts illustrations of the detrimental effects on Earth caused by climate change, and Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg makes a cameo in it as well.
Additionally, on their upcoming 2022 North American tour, the rockers will pay $200 per ton for carbon dioxide mitigation from the tour in order to offset their carbon footprint. See all of the dates here.