Paolo Nespoli, back from the space mission that saw him in orbit for six months, talks about Twitter and how the social network contributed to his daily life.
We followed Paolo Nespoli on his six-month space adventure: he gave us the opportunity himself, thanks to his wonderful photos and tweets posted via the @astro_paolo account.
For the first time, Web 2.0 was employed in a space mission, and the results were truly incredible: thousands became fond of Paolo Nespoli, thanks to his posts that intrigued people worldwide. Always available, he answered anyone who asked questions and diligently continued to upload photos of Earth to the “Magisstra” Flickr profile: an unprecedented view that was by no means ignored.
A precious pastime for Nespoli, who admitted to finding an antidote to loneliness in Twitter, even though there was no boredom on the orbiting station: life was hectic, but the longing for home must have been strong.
Speaking of the most beautiful memories captured during those long weeks, Nespoli chose the Great Wall of China as the most impressive sight, while the most difficult moment was when he learned of his mother’s death.
Sad news that, once again, he chose to share with his community of devoted Earthlings, posting a photo of himself with her.
Far from being able to comment on the space mission as a research activity, it is certainly interesting to note how much Twitter contributed to telling a reality very distant from all of us.
This mission, thanks to Paolo Nespoli, has the undeniable merit of having highlighted the importance of 2.0 communication even in areas not immediately easily associated with the web.
A communication that in this case was participatory, lively, and above all not one-way, given that Nespoli continuously responded and interacted with his followers.
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