The universe and our purpose in it remain vastly unknown. Many theories, beliefs, and reckonings exist about the “big scheme of things” but ultimately there are few concrete answers to our existential questions. To explore the impact space has on the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of humans, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two experts in outer space, professor of astroparticle physics and preacher, Heino Falcke and astronaut, Colonel Terry Virts. Heino Falcke created the first global telescope network to successfully photograph a black hole. He talks about his discoveries and his latest book, Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us. Colonel Terry Virts, a captain of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, shares how being in space has changed his spiritual outlook and about his book, How to Astronaut: An Insider’s Guide to Leaving Planet Earth.

About Lisa’s guests:

Heino Falcke is a professor of astroparticle physics and radio astronomy who seeks the vastness of the sky, believes in divine reason and a reasonable God. Stupid questions are often his best answer. He is blessed with Rhenish humor and East Prussian stubbornness. Falcke is a professor at Radboud University in Nijmegen and visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn. In his free time, he confides, baptizes, buries, and preaches as an ordained preacher in the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland.

Book: Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us

Colonel Terry Virts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the United States Air Force Academy in 1989, and a master of aeronautical science degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Selected by NASA in 2000, he was the pilot of the STS-130 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. In March 2015, Virts assumed command of the International Space Station for over 200 days. Virts is one of the stars (and photographers) of the IMAX film, A Beautiful Planet, released in April 2016. He is also the author of View from Above (National Geographic, 2017). He lives near Houston.

Book: How to Astronaut: An Insider’s Guide to Leaving Planet Earth