What will the future of human space
exploration look like in the 21st century? If Scott Kelly has any say
on the matter, we shall go to Mars and beyond, with the discipline
and determination that fill the pages of his memoir chronicling the
extraordinary life he’s lived on Earth and in space.
No overachievers are born without
influences, and Kelly is forthcoming about the early motivations that
led him on his unique career path. As an unfocused, unremarkable
young college student, he read Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff,” a
nonfiction classic on why anyone in his right mind would submit to
the dangers of spaceflight.
Wolfe’s portrayal of hotshot pilots was
just one highlight of a star-studded career that would eventually
take him beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
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Another noted inspiration is
the book after which Kelly named his own, and which he carries with
him on multiple voyages to the International Space Station:
“Endurance,” by Alfred Lansing, about Ernest Shackleton’s
historic expedition to the South Pole, during which his crew cheated
death after their ship became trapped in a polar pack ice, overcoming
850 miles of heavy seas on small lifeboats.
Both of these literary
homages set up the structure of Kelly’s own “Endurance.” While
“The Right Stuff” captures the swagger — the daredevil aviators
hell-bent on making it to the final frontier — Lansing’s account
is a stark reminder that along with the rock-star image of the
explorer comes the omnipresent specter of death.
This horror of total
isolation serves as a reminder that spaceflight, much like the sea
exploration of olden days, isn’t all thrills; it brings human
beings face to face with an at best indifferent and often hostile
environment ready to crush any innocent traveler on a whim.
The book’s narrative is split between
Kelly’s year in space — a zero-gravity journey of “unprecedented”
duration — and his personal development from a child reading “The
Right Stuff” into a decorated naval test pilot. One would think
tales of space travel should overshadow any Earthbound life story,
but in “Endurance,” Kelly’s humor and self-awareness when
relating his experiences at home make them just as absorbing as those
aboard the station..
That is not to say his extraterrestrial
anecdotes fail to entertain. Kelly takes on the task of fixing the
station’s toilet, one of the most crucial devices on board; against
protocol, the Americans and Russians on board share garbage bags
whose contents they then shoot into the atmosphere.
(The descriptions
of Kelly’s comradeship with his Russian colleagues are easily the
most endearing parts of the book, and provide some hope in dire
geopolitical times.) Other space chapters are grueling and stressful,
as the astronauts wait for resupply ships that keep malfunctioning
and exploding, exposing just how easily things can go wrong after
months of calm.
Kelly’s
sharp self-observation and narrative poignancy make for a fascinating
tale of a life lived on Earth, too, and the value of the book is
heightened by its glimpses beyond the astronaut’s veil. Behind the
imposing spacesuit and perfect smile is a three-dimensional person,
and “Endurance” offers brilliant insight into the human aspect of
space travel by paying equal attention to the origin story as to its
climax among the stars.
It is
Kelly’s stark honesty that lends the book its pathos. He holds
nothing back when discussing his battle with prostate cancer, the
grief he felt over the loss of his colleagues to the Columbia shuttle
disaster, or the emotional strain his year in space creates between
him and his romantic partner, Amiko.
The professional recollections
could stand alone just fine without these intimate details, but the
humanity behind them underlines Kelly’s dedication to the project
of writing a full portrait of his life. He doesn’t hide behind the
infinite achievements and fascinations he encountered in space; he
readily acknowledges his failures, shortcomings and heartbreaks.
The military discipline that led to
Kelly’s career can at times stifle his prose, resulting in
occasional awkward rigidity and overwriting. But such moments are
sparse, and they are compensated for with descriptive passages so
lyrical they could put a career writer to shame. “One of my
favorite views of the Earth is of the Bahamas — a large archipelago
with a stunning contrast from light to dark colors.
The vibrant deep
blue of the ocean mixes with a much brighter turquoise, swirled with
something almost like gold, where the sun bounces off the sandy
shallows and reefs,” Kelly muses. In such moments the rewards of
the book are clear.
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Original review on: www.nytimes.com
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