Space connects people living today to every human being in history, said John Martin, astronomy professor at University of Illinois - Springfield. The night sky is one of the few things human beings have in common.
“I hesitate to say it’s something ingrained in us, but it’s definitely a common cultural thread to have an interest in astronomy,” Martin said.
Martin worked with NASA directly, funded by a grant to work on the Hubble space telescope. Through the course of his work, he faced concerns that funding be scrapped, but many people pulled together to save it.
“It grabbed people’s imagination and became a part of popular culture,” he said. “It touched a lot more people than you would expect.”
Martin was featured in an August 13, 2012, article in the Jacksonville Journal-Courier.
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