Countdown to Chris Hadfield at U of T: by the numbers
Published: March 11, 2014
As the first Canadian to ever command an international space station – not to mention his record-setting Youtube video performance of a David Bowie song recorded in orbit – astronaut Chris Hadfield has achieved plenty of impressive accolades throughout his career.
Next Friday, University of Toronto students get to hear about his record-setting experiences first-hand when he visits Convocation Hall in celebration of U of T’s own impressive numbers: $148, 519 raised for the Movember Foundation, which, “through the power of the moustache,” raises funds and awareness to combat mens’ health issues including testicular and prostate cancers and mental health challenges. (Read more about the award-winning Movember fundraiser at U of T.)
As ticket-holders stand by for an out-of-this-world moustache enthusiast to touch down on campus, the following is a countdown to Chris Hadfield.
21,375,091 Number of views (at time of publication) of Hadfield’s music video performance of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” recorded at the International Space Station (ISS) before his return to earth… (Watch the video here)
1.07 million Number of followers on Commander Hadfield’s Twitter account, from which he often sent dispatches from the ISS and responses to celebrity tweeters including William Shatner, resulting in Forbes magazine calling him "perhaps the most social media savvy astronaut ever to leave Earth.” (Visit Hadfield's Twitter account)
$148, 519 The amount U of T raised as Top Fundraising Global School for Movember, bringing Hadfield to campus on March 15.
24 Date in December 2012 when Hadfield’s account posted the first-ever original song recording from space, his Christmas-themed composition called Jewel of the Night. (Watch the video here)
11 Number of the Apollo landing that inspired him to pursue a career in space.
10 Number of times Hadfield circled the world during his first spacewalk, which took more than 14 hours.
8 Number of months a one-way trip to Mars would take with current technology, something that (the now retired) Hadfield has said he would consider, adding “I would be honoured to be given the opportunity.”
2 Model of the Canadarm (Canadarm2) Hadfield installed as he became…
1 … the first-ever Canadian to leave a spacecraft and float in space and, later in his career, the first-ever Canadian to command the ISS in 2012.
