What was the first movie in your life? The first movie in my life was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, which I watched with my dad when I was 7 years old.

I was visually shocked to see the main character engage in action against the backdrop of the vast universe. I spent my days daydreaming about movies and space, and I aspired to become an astronaut.

As time passed and I grew older, I encountered various science fiction movies, novels, and documentaries related to space exploration through the media. The hazy fantasies about the universe disappeared as I confronted the stark realities.

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

“We’ll go to the moon before the 1970s, and we’ll embark on another exploratory mission. Not because it’s easy, but because I know it’s difficult.”

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the initiation of the lunar exploration project, and a joint address to the United States Congress marked the beginning of a full-fledged space race era.

With the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the decline of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged victorious in the space race, but it came at the cost of many astronauts’ lives.

Through their sacrifices, humanity managed to inch closer to the moon, stars, and the enigmatic universe. The Space Oddity series revolves around a childhood fascination with space and serves as a tribute to the astronauts who turned their childhood dreams of becoming spacefarers into reality.

It depicts the contrasting aspects of the beautiful yet daunting universe they would have encountered in space, offering a visual representation of the mental and physical challenges and loneliness they might have experienced along the way.

The journey of astronauts into space will persist as long as humanity endures. In addition to international competition for space supremacy, private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are fiercely vying to make leaps into space, nurturing dreams of space travel.

Throughout this competition, humanity will draw closer to the wondrous unknown universe through the pain and trials endured by astronauts.

Charlie Chaplin’s words, “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot,” may share some parallels with the lives of astronauts.