NASA astronaut explains why humanity is 'living a lie' after living in space for 178 days

A former NASA astronaut has explained why humanity is 'living a lie' after he spent a staggering 178 days in space on the International Space Station (ISS).

Ron Garan orbited planet Earth 2,842 times after leaving his family on April 4, 2011. Before he returned home on September 16 of that year, the astronaut saw a lot of things.

Ron has since gone on to detail some of the biggest revelations he made from his near six-month trip in space, including how he saw the world from space.

Speaking to Big Think, he said: "When we see our planet from the perspective of space, certain things become undeniably clear.

"We keep trying to deal with issues such as global warning, deforestation, biodiversity loss as stand alone issues, when in reality they're just symptoms of the underlying root problem.

"The problem is that we don't see ourselves as planetary."

The former astronaut orbited Earth over 2,000 times (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Global Citizen)

One thing that struck Ron the most, however, was how differently Earth looked while he was in orbit.

He explained: "I didn't see the economy. But since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vantage point of space that we're living a lie."

Described as the 'Overview Effect', Ron's thoughts is based on the sensation humans feel when they look down at our home.

"When I looked out of the window of the International Space Station, I saw the paparazzi like flashes of lightening storms, I saw dancing curtains of auroras that seemed so close it was as if we could reach out and touch them, and I saw the unbelievable thinness of our planet's atmosphere," the former NASA astronaut went on to explain.

Ron Garan spent nearly six months in space (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

Ron then came to the 'sobering realization' that our planet is only being kept going by a 'paper thin layer'.

"I saw an iridescent biosphere teaming with life, I didn't see an economy, but since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet as the [...] subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vanish point of space that we're living a lie," he added.

Since his return to Earth, Ron has been working hard to ensure we 'work towards a cleaner, safer and more peaceful planet'.

"We're not going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality," he concluded.