THUNDER BAY – Editorial – NNL featured Matthew Cimone a few weeks ago on his quest to go to space. Here is the latest from this Thunder Bay native:
Lately, I have given a great deal of thought to my childhood dream of going to space. Reflecting on space has certainly been a central part of Chasing Atlantis, the documentary we shot this past Summer about the final flight of space shuttle Atlantis. The famous lines from the opening of Star Trek described Space as the Final Frontier. It is the ultimate manifestation of the outward journey; one that leaves the confines of this world to explore the beyond. However, I feel that my own journey has breached a different frontier. A more inward journey, one of remembering past goals, finding new hopes, new projects. I may not be venturing into space itself, but I certainly feel like I have been exploring new spaces. With my colleague and friend, Paul Muzzin, Director of Chasing Atlantis, we have a documentary in the works; one which has taken on a life of itself that went beyond any of my wildest expectations. I have a new website up that has become a new outlet for creativity and thought, and the woman I met in Africa back in 2004 who became foundational to Esther’s Echo will be visiting Canada in 10 days.
So, I may not be headed to space, but certainly I have had the opportunity to explore some incredible frontiers lately. And regardless of the Race for Space outcome, I wanted to thank all of you who supported my entry. I was so encouraged by the many supporters who wrote me continually to remind me that they were voting, by those who also shared their dreams of one day going to space, and friends with whom I was reunited even after many years who saw my entry online and wanted to share their support. You all made the competition so worth it! Besides…somewhere inside, I still believe I’ll make it there some day. Perhaps many of us will. Lots of exciting things have happened in space sciences since the end of the Race for Space. The United Nations observed the international day of human space flight on April 12th. The Space Shuttle Discovery flew on the back of a 747 to Washington replacing Enterprise at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Enterprise will be flying over New York City on April 27th, and a new company called Planetary Resources made a bold claim that steps are being taken to begin mining asteroids to delivery their precious resources to our home (they are hiring right now by the way 😉 ).
Space is a physical place. It is the place beyond the boundary of what we know and what sustains us. It is a place beyond our comfort zones in the most extreme sense. And perhaps it is a place that will yield future resources. But perhaps space, then, is also a place within where we breach the expected, the comfortable and find certain riches. So, in light of the Race for Space and the experience it has been I ask you, what frontiers are before you that you can begin exploring right now? And, if there is a competition involved, know that I’ll for sure be voting for you too!
Matthew Cimone
Visit Matthew online at www.nobordersfromorbit.com