Hot Apollo

Toronto's Shiniest Rock-and-Roll Band

Cosmic Regalia


 

Why are astronauts always wearing full space gear in their photographs? That stuff can’t be comfortable. Right? But every astronaut in the history of NASA always has the same outfit with the same pose against the same backdrop. The last two parts make the most sense, but I can’t imagine that everyone wants to wear that orange monstrosity when circumstances don’t dictate it. Oh, I’m sure that some people enjoy the pomp and tradition. That’s fine. But there must be many who don’t want to have to deal with the whole apparatus in circumstances that don’t actually necessitate it. They wear those things for months at a time. I can’t believe that they want to take up such burdens when they’re on Earth. Two or three probably just want to wear pyjamas to the shoot. What’s wrong with that? They sacrifice all sorts of worldly comforts while they’re out and about in the frigid void. I can’t honestly fathom the imposition of an extra inconvenience for a meagre bit of publicity.

“But Jaymes!” you say. “You wander around in ridiculous outfits all the time! Surely that can be inconvenient!”

But that is my comfort, and that’s my choice. It’s not done out of solemn duty to external tradition. I only expect the same freedom for the servitors of extraterrestrial exploration.


Copyright © 2011, Jaymes Buckman and David Aaron Cohen. All rights reserved. In a good way.