Peering down at Earth from an orbit hundreds of miles high reveals a planet where there are no visible national boundaries, no identifiable strongholds or clearly-seen bitterly contested bits of land, astronaut Mark Polansky said recently.

Polansky, commander of the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-116 mission to the International Space Station in December, described the view of the planet from space in the current (summer 2007) edition of Impact, the newsletter of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for its members.

“When you view the Earth from hundreds of miles above, all you see is water and landmass — no borders,” he said. “You’re looking over places where you know there is conflict and strife, but all you see is stark beauty, and you’re filled with sadness and hope. You realize how fragile our planet is, and we’re going to have to figure out how to live together if we’re going to” survive.