Apollo 11 & The Overview Effect

It has been over 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission took three astronauts — Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins — to the moon and back. On July 16, 1969, the day of the launch, the Apollo 11 crew became some of the first people to look down at Earth from space. Aldrin called it "a brilliant jewel in the black velvet sky." When astronauts see the Earth from space, they often experience a sense of awe and clarity known as the Overview Effect. This feeling can trigger a sense of cosmic interconnectedness, unity, and responsibility:

'This state of mental clarity, called the "overview effect," occurs when you are flung so far away from Earth that you become totally overwhelmed and awed by the fragility and unity of life on our blue globe. It's the uncanny sense of understanding the "big picture," and of feeling connected to and yet bigger than the intricate processes bubbling on Earth.' ( DeLuce, 2019).

Ever since the crew aboard Apollo 11 first turned its camera back toward our planet, space travellers and ordinary earth-bound citizens alike have been struck by the emotions elicited by images of the whole Earth, floating in the darkness of space. The philosopher David Loy suggests that this whole-earth consciousness, this sense of awe, can be the seed of long-term responsibility.

To have that experience of awe is to, at least for the moment, let go of yourself. To transcend the sense of separation. So it’s not just that they were experiencing something other than them, but that they were, at some very deep level, integrating, realizing, their interconnectedness with that beautiful, blue-green ball.

During my studies in psychology as an undergraduate I was fascinated by Sigmund Freud's notion of ' oceanic feeling'. It seems that this concept refers to "a sensation of 'eternity'", a feeling of "being one with the external world as a whole". Unlike his contemporary Carl Jung, Freud dismissed spiritual matters in favour of hard materialism. Nevertheless, I'm struck by the profundity of his thinking, even if he ultimately believed that the feeling he describes is illusory.

With all of this in mind, earlier today I composed the following poem:

O This Fragile Blue- Green World

O this fragile blue- green world seems so small

In the midst of a vast, black nothingness!

Viewed from the moon, it surely calls on all

To stop fuelling futile wars and address

Humanity's pressing concerns. This life

Is precious. And we are one consciousness,

Despite local differences. The light

Of the divine strives to guide and bless us.

O this fragile blue- green world is unique

And beautiful! Let it flower with peace.

From my perspective, I wanted to capture a kind of religious/ spiritual awe that the astronauts might well have experienced. Furthermore, in a world that is being ravaged by constant warfare and environment destruction on a massive scale, I wanted to send out a positive message: promoting peace, tolerance and understanding.

My latest poem was also inspired by Brian Eno’s Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks is a seminal ambient album released in 1983 which I've been listening to since the age of 17. It was created as a soundtrack for the documentary film For All Mankind, directed by Al Reinert, chronicling the Apollo missions to the Moon. While the record was released in 1983, the film wasn’t released until 1989.

By the time Eno made Apollo in 1983, he had already built a reputation as a sought-after producer for artists like David Bowie and David Byrne of The Talking Heads. That’s not to mention his extensive solo recordings throughout the 1970s, including Another Green World and Discreet Music.

Eno collaborated on the project with his brother, Roger Eno, and the guitarist, Daniel Lanois. Apollo features ethereal, atmospheric compositions that evoke the vastness of space and the awe-inspiring nature of the Apollo missions. Eno’s use of synthesizers, electronic effects, and ambient textures creates a sense of weightlessness and mystery, perfectly complementing the film’s imagery:

'... Apollo: Atmospheres And Soundtracks may have been conceived as a series of tracks to accompany images of celestial exploration, but its haunting, discreetly delineated textures and expanses encourage contemplation of the cosmos in their own right.' ( Rathbone, 2024)

One of the most famous tracks from the album is “An Ending (Ascent),” which has been widely used in films, television shows, and commercials due to its evocative and emotional quality. Other notable tracks include: ' Silver Morning' ' Deep Blue Day' “Under Stars” and “Drift.”

While all the music on the record can be described as ambient, there are actually a variety of styles used. Tracks like “Under Stars” are darker and have more complicated textures similar to Eno’s album Ambient 4/On Land. Other songs are smoother electronic tracks, such as “Drift.” And then there are the country-inspired ambient tracks featuring Lanois on pedal steel guitar, such as “Weightless.”

Interestingly, Eno describes being underwhelmed by the television footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing (he was 21 at the time). On the sleeve notes of the original album ( which I still possess) Eno points out that the TV anchors and journalists who offered their analysis, “[obscured] the grandeur and strangeness of the event with a patina of down-to-earth chatter.” In that sense, the Apollo record can be seen as an attempt by Eno to recapture the strangeness of the Apollo moon missions that he thought was lacking. The idea of humanity entering the new frontier was a major theme for him. Nevertheless, he wanted to extricate the irritating American jingoism from the album and evoke, ' the limitless grandeur of space.' ( Stump, 1998, 277.)

To conclude, I think it is of paramount importance for artists and musicians to be able to create a sense of awe and wonder in their work, rather than simply kowtow to popular demands. The unique experiences of the astronauts involved in Apollo 11 are surely something profound that can inform our sense of humanity. Furthermore, I think work of this nature will invariably echo throughout the ages unlike much of the junk culture of contemporary times.

Reference List:

DeLuce, I. ( 2019) "Something profound happens when astronauts see Earth from space for the first time." Business Insider. Available at: Profound Things Happen When Astronauts First See Earth From Space - Business Insider.

Rathbone, G. (2024)" ‘Apollo: Atmospheres And Soundtracks’: Brian Eno’s Giant Leap For Electronica. Available at: https://www.udicovermusic.com/stories/brian-eno-apollo-atmospheres-and-soundtracks.

Stump, P. ( 1998) Unknown Pleasures: a cultural biography of Roxy Music. London: Quartet Books.