Page 30 - Dreamscapes Magazine | Winter 2021-2022

DS CELEBRITY TRAVEL CORNER >> BY ILONA KAUREMSZKY DOWN TO EARTH WITH
CHRIS HADFIELD
CANADA’S ROCKET MAN EMBARKS ON A NEW CHAPTER THAT’S OUT OF THIS WORLD
avid Bowie’s “Space Oddity” reboot by Chris Hadfield has become a pop culture touchstone since that breakout role in 2013 when he strummed the guitar floating in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station. It’s a brilliant moment of a dream realized. His unique ren- dition of the Starman’s song has since been
viewed over 50 million times on YouTube. Hadfield has unwittingly become our own cherished ambassador to the stars, and all that’s beyond—a colossal reach he natu- rally pulls off with modest, casual aplomb. Commander Chris’s dogged determination
to actualize personal goals is hard proof that if you apply yourself to an impossible task, dreams can come true ... like becoming the first Canadian to perform a spacewalk.
THE SPARK
Rewind to the summer of ’69. As a nine-year- old boy sitting inside a cottage on Stag Island, Ontario, Hadfield was glued to a flickering black-and-white TV image of the moon landing. That pivotal moment kick-started his outer space dreams, as did his viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which Hadfield opines on Facebook made him want to be an astronaut.
THE BOOKS
Ever since his groundbreaking launches into orbit (he mastered three space mis- sions circumnavigating earth 2,650 dizzying times)—Colonel Hadfield ("Call me Chris") has stayed in the fast lane, steering a slew of passion projects since he retired from the Canadian Space Agency in 2013. Writing has been among them. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth was his autobiography, which became a bestseller; You are Here was a visual essay; and The Darkest Dark was a popular children’s storybook.
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR
For the former CSA astronaut who has unabashedly turned into a social media sen- sation; appeared in a TED Talk, explaining his brush with blindness; and starred in documentaries, talking about his favourite subject: outer space—it’s his newest mis- sion that has him all jazzed up.
THE NEW CHAPTER
Released in October, The Apollo Murders is the accomplished author’s breakout novel in the twisted world of make-believe where fact muddies fiction.
The Sarnia-born author admits that this outer space subject presented a unique set of challenges which gave him the most fun, creating the sci-fi thriller. “I had to take a
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30 DREAMSCAPES WINTER 2021/2022