Astronaut says we need to ‘rethink’ society after seeing the ‘big lie’ about our planet from space

Ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up and they'll probably say something along the lines of a firemen, teacher or ballerina.

The most popular choice of all, however, is obviously an astronaut.

After all, what could be cooler than blasting off hundreds of thousands of miles in a giant spaceship and discovering everything space has to offer?

Of course, you may come across a few speed bumps along the way, like NASA astronauts Bruce Wilmore and Sunisa Williams, who became stranded on the International Space Station after the Boeing Starliner that was supposed to bring them home suffered technical problems.

But, being able to see Earth from thousands of miles away would surely be worth it, right? Many cosmonauts have reported that the spectacular view changed their perspectives on life.

Seeing Earth from space is known to cause the 'overview effect' (Getty Stock Images)

Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who made history by becoming the first human to go to space over 63 years ago.

Once there, he experienced what scientists now refer to as the 'overview effect', a cognitive shift that some astronauts report to have experienced while viewing Earth from space.

It’s said to cause an overwhelming appreciation and connection to other people and to Earth as a whole and can change the observer’s own value system.

It’s an effect that is known to make worldly worries seem insignificant and displays Earth as one united planet.

Ron Garan is another astronaut who experienced this phenomenon after spending 178 days in space.

Astronaut Ron Garan has talked about his experience with the overview effect (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

Talking to Big Think, he said: "When I looked out the window of the International Space Station, I saw the paparazzi-like flashes of lightning storms, I saw dancing curtains of auroras that seemed so close it was as if we could reach out and touch them. And I saw the unbelievable thinness of our planet's atmosphere.

"In that moment, I was hit with the sobering realization that that paper-thin layer keeps every living thing on our planet alive.

"I saw an iridescent biosphere teeming with life, I didn't see the economy. But since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vantage point of space that we're living a lie."

Garan then went on to add: "We're not going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality."