Are aliens real? A Nasa astronaut weighs in

“From a scientific perspective,” says Nasa astronaut Charles Donald “Sam” Gemar, “it's statistically improbable that life doesn't exist someplace else.” But then again, he smiles: “It's also as statistically improbable that it does.”

He explains that life could exist in different places in the universe at different moments of time. Plus, says the 70-year-old, “I would like to believe that if you had an intelligent life form that had made that trip [to our planet], they would stop in at Dubai and state their peaceful or hostile intent? But that's never really happened.”

The American astronaut, who is also a former US Army Lieutenant Colonel and who has flown three space shuttle missions, is coming to the UAE on Nov 22-23 for Earth 2.0, a two-day programme at Expo City Dubai. During this workshop for young people, they will explore what it takes to create life on another planet, rockets, robotics, satellite communication, and AI-driven planetary design. In other words, a crash course on space exploration.

Charles explains that Earth 2.0 refers to a more sustainable version of our planet. “Earth 2.0 is all about sustainability — building and living in a sustainable planet, understanding the mechanisms that are going taking place around the globe environmentally, culturally and otherwise, so that we can build a future that is sustainable,” he says. Ultimately, he stresses, it’s about the creation of peaceful societies around the world and the preservation of our planet. By exposing children to this side of planetary living, we are giving ourselves a fighting chance, he believes.

“It [these workshops] inspires them to look into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and it gives them an opportunity to sample these fields without, you know, diving in to kind of a full commitment when you get to college.”

It also offers a feeling of connection and community, for the learning – just like the missions – are not a solo act. “I grew up in a small Midwestern farming community in the United States, I was never exposed to these kinds of things. I had no idea the opportunities that were out there. So again, I think that it exposes the youth to the opportunities that are right there, but maybe not in front of them.”

It gives them the building blocks for their dreams. “I don't remember who said it, but your first step doesn't take you to your destination. It just takes you from where you are,” smiles Charles, explaining that when he was young he knew he wanted to get to space. What he didn’t know was how. “With every step I took, I just looked at the next step, always keeping what I consider to be a guide star in focus.”

His work began with research, knowing what others in the field had done. “I knew I was going to have to do well in my chosen field and make an application. And then at that point, it's up to Nasa and others to decide whether you qualify and as a candidate that they'd like to hire and pursue. But I think the best you can do is prepare yourself mentally, physically, academically for these roles, and if the door of opportunity opens, you're ready to walk through. And that's that's what I tried to do throughout my working career,” he says.

The attitude helped him get to space – over and over again. During his career, he has completed 385 orbits of the Earth and over 581 hours in space.

Which is where he discovered that the Earth is quite magical too. He recalls his first night in space, when he and his cohorts had prepped the spacecraft for sleep. “We dim lights, darken the cockpit. I noticed flashes of light, and I knew it wasn't thrusters from the rockets. So what was it? Well, when I kind of flipped over and rotated and looked back at the planet. We were passing over Brazil, and the rainforests of Brazil and the amount of electrical activity you saw - lightning just dancing across the sky constantly - I made the observation at that time that if you had never been to Earth, if you were just passing by on a planetary explorative exploration mission, you could come to the incorrect conclusion that the earth is uninhabitable just because of the amount of electrical activity on the planet.”

When he talks about these memories, the explorer often finds himself facing an unusual problem. “You know, it’s a great frustration - it's very difficult to find the words to describe space. I would ask astronauts after their flights, how was it? And they would always tell me what was great? Well, I expected it to be great, but what specifically made it so great in it, and I could see that that, you know, they were searching for the right words to describe. And I understand now, after having seen the difficulty, [I struggle with the same thing].”

The UAE is currently at the forefront of space exploration. “We’ve produced several astronauts from the UAE, including Sultan Saif Al Neyadi and Hazzaa AlMansoori,” explains Charles, adding that there are also great opportunities for international cooperation right now. “The UAE has several ongoing missions, such as the Mars Probe, sensing satellites, and more,” he adds.

And more opportunities are arising every day. Which is why, it’s time to lace up those space boots and get ready to find out more about it – star by star, flight by flight.

To avoid jet lag in space, astronauts are trained to shift their circadian rhythm to support the flight. “We'll use light therapy to shift our circadian before the launch, and then we control that day-night cycle throughout, throughout the mission,” says Charles.