A National Treasure.

Why did Chris Hadfield’s rendition of “Space Oddity” reach over 22 million views on YouTube?  Why does he have more than 1,000,000 followers on Twitter? Why is the Reddit AmA thread he created one of the top of all time? Why is his Tumblr blog so popular?

Because he’s Chris Hadfield – Canadian former fighter pilot, astronaut, and even commander of the International Space Station.

Because he’s an astronaut for the 21^st century – using the social media to gain recognition and build a reputation.

In the 1960s, being an astronaut was like being a superhero. Children and adults would dream of outer space, and the growth of the television as a major mass media allowed them to be a part of the frenzy. Nowadays, space is closer –a little less mysterious, a little better known, and a little more explored – yet much more distant – not omnipresent in the media or in pop culture, not discussed as much, not reaching, captivating, fascinating, the imagination of a nation… It’s simply there. Everyone is aware of it. Some kids dream of becoming astronauts. Others want to be firefighters, ballerinas or teachers. No big deal. It’s very paradoxal when you think about it: space exploration is becoming so mainstream that it doesn’t interest people as much. Through his “supreme mastery of social media,” Hadfield created a bridge to those of us stuck on Earth. He reached more people, enthralled more minds, re-created a little of that space magic present in the 60s.

The ethos of the music video is also established through the logo present in the top left corner throughout the clip. It reads “CSA ASC” and links to the Canadian Space Agency. The connection to the CSA provides “credentials” and a sort of official authority to the video, added to everything that Hadfield brings.

I will leave you with a quote from this Canadian national treasure, posted on Reddit: “Space is profound, endless, a textured black, a bottomless eternal bucket of untouchable velvet and untwinkling stars.”

Beautiful, right?

~ Sky Sumino

P.S. Here's another quote by him, on the Space Oddity video: "It helped show that humans have left Earth, and that the Space Station is a new stage, for not just science and exploration, but for our art and music too. With exploration comes insight - with perspective comes self-realization."