Back to Earth What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet—And Our Mission to Protect It

Inspired by insights gained in spaceflight, a NASA astronaut offers key lessons to empower Earthbound readers to fight climate change

When Nicole Stott first saw Earth from space, she realized how interconnected we are and knew she had to help protect our planetary home.

In Back to Earth, Stott imparts essential lessons in problem-solving, survival, and crisis response that each of us can practice to make change. She knows we can overcome differences to address global issues, because she saw this every day on the International Space Station. Stott shares stories from her spaceflight and insights from scientists, activists, and changemakers working to solve our greatest environmental challenges. She learns about the complexities of Earth’s biodiversity from NASA engineers working to enable life in space and from scientists protecting life on Earth for future generations. Ultimately, Stott reveals how we each have the power to respect our planetary home and one another by living our lives like crewmates, not passengers, on an inspiring shared mission

Nicole Stott is an astronaut, aquanaut, and an artist who spent over one hundred days in space aboard the International Space Station. After a twenty-eight year career with NASA, she founded the Space for Art Foundation, and she speaks to audiences around the world including the Vatican and the United Nations' historic Paris Agreement gathering. She is featured in National Geographic's One Strange Rock. Nicole lives in Florida with her family.