Mark Hamill explains space in new video series for State Department

The first thing we see is the planet Earth, floating in space like the beautiful marble it is before diving into a wormhole and racing through space. We stepped out into a brightly lit California living room in front of an older man with a gray goatee and a familiar voice.

“Hi, I’m Mark Hamill,” he says. “The guy who played ‘Luke’ in all those Star Wars films.”

As if we needed to be reminded. Hamill will lend his famous face and voice to the US State Department for a video series about…what else? – space. The six-part series, which is now available on the State Department websiteaddresses a variety of space innovations such as microbes, astronauts staying fit in space, maintaining muscle mass, advanced robots tracking astronauts’ health, filtering water from recycled waste, farming in space to grow food and more.

Hamill was chosen for his Star Wars fame, but also for his large number of followers on social networks. In addition to publishing the videos on the various State Department channels, Hamill will also publish the series on his own account. instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts, where he has a combined total of 11.7 million followers.

Hamill, who, in addition to his iconic performances as Luke Skywalker, is also a prolific voice actor in numerous animated films (and apparently Ukrainian air raid alerts), naturally makes many references to Star Wars in the video series. But it also adds fuel to the debate among science fiction fans about the eternal question: which is better? Star Wars either Star Trek?

Star Wars It’s “pure fantasy,” Hamill says to the camera. “But Star Trek It is true science fiction and celebrates the wonders of scientific achievement.”

This leads to a discussion of “a real, albeit nascent, tricorder that has been developed on the International Space Station.” Wearable devices can’t “magically detect everything from unknown life forms to the nature of a crew member’s illness,” but they can identify microbes: bacteria, viruses, fungi and other organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye. . – growing throughout the International Space Station.

Other Hamill jokes include comparing exercise in space to “training with Yoda on Dagobah” and a discussion about robots on the ISS that reminds him of his days “fixing droids on Tatooine.”

Overall, it’s fun to watch Hamill enjoy his role as an elder statesman in science fiction and scientific exploration. And the State Department clearly hopes to use his participation to draw more attention to its own efforts to promote not only the ISS but also the Artemis Accords, which were signed in 2020 by the United States and seven other countries.

The agreements, which seek to standardize international efforts to explore the Moon, Mars and beyond, celebrate their third anniversary next week. To date, 29 nations have signed agreements committing “to the exploration and responsible use of space.”

“The sky is not the limit,” Hamill intones at the end of the video series. “It’s just the beginning.” And, just in case, he adds: “The Force will be with you, always.”