NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy has an out-of-this-world message to those grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
Cassidy, who has been aboard the International Space Station since early April, told CNN on Tuesday that humanity needs to work together and unite in order to battle the global health crisis.
“There’s hope in being united,” Cassidy said while hovering behind a string of world flags. “When I look down at the planet, it’s just a big beautiful spaceship that has 7 billion astronauts on it.”
Cases of the coronavirus have more than doubled since Cassidy arrived at the space station on April 9. There are currently more than 4.2 million confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide and at least 290,000 deaths.
“Now, that’s easier said than done. It requires everybody to pitch in and do their part. But that is step one — each individual taking ownership and doing your part, doing the right thing. And together as a crew on planet Earth, we can make anything happen,” the astronaut added.
Cassidy said that while the coronavirus pandemic has vastly changed the daily lives of people on Earth, on the space station, it is “largely business as usual.” He said he has spoken with other U.S. astronauts who had left the planet prior to the crisis began and have since returned to a changed world.
“I’ve exchanged a few emails with them. They’ve had an interesting adjustment going from the busy life here in the space station to much more quarantine and isolation in their own homes,” Cassidy said.
Two NASA astronauts will join him aboard the space station later this month when a rocket will launch them from U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011. They will be launched through SpaceX, a private space company founded by Elon Musk.
