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This guy's near daily media appearances has certainly inspired many canadians including myself. I have watched many children sing along with his ISS song (not as good as david bowie, but its the thought that counts) and it really inspires. Hopefully helping lots of kids to think about becoming scientists, researchers and yes astronauts. Space can seem so dull sometimes, he really brings it to life.

I may not care for much patriotically these days, but hes really doing canada a service being so media savvy. I am not sure if american astronauts do so much singing, and perhaps its covered extensively by their local media and I just never hear about it. But he really could be one of a kind.

Before he launched in December, Chris mentioned he was going to do the first album recorded in space, I'm hoping this was just a taste of what's coming.

I have to be honest, I've been watching a LOT of Chris' videos that get posted by the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) (an agency facing budget cuts from the Harper Government(tm)). I don't think I've seen anyone from the ISS do so much media relations in their off time.

I know a few other commanders have done media work - Don Pettit did some as well. With the American Physical Society (any physics major should know them) he did a bunch of videos called "Science off the Sphere" (which I apparently finally got my T-Shirt from that).

Chris is definitely very media friendly and has hosted a LOT Of media events while aboard - he even keeps in touch with Discovery Canada's Daily Planet, the longest running science program around. Honestly, Chris Hadfield is awesome!

Safe journey home - your country eagerly awaits your arrival!

(Alas, Canada's first astronaut was snubbed recently...)

Most sets or set-top boxes, Tivos, etc. have parental control built right in, often using a V-Chip. If you only want children's programming to work when you aren't there, just set it to limit that type of programming for them, then when they're in bed you unlock it for yourself. Still means things need to be rated properly (and news of all things, one of the worst things you can show children is often rated G) but it is better than sticking all of us with TreehouseTV.

There is one other problem, commercials aren't V-Chip rated yet and while you'd think they'd make the commercials match the show, often there are innappropriate commercials around educational shows. Surprisingly, Discovery channel is one of the worst culprits, at least Discovery Canada does. With simulcasting I'm not sure about the original signal.

Have you tried contacting the Canadian version of Discovery? This kind of Technology in the Arctic story is right up their alley.

Every time I go back to Canada I am stunned at the difference in quality between the US Discovery Channel and the Canadian edition. While the US version seems to focus on UFOs, John Edwards, Junkyard wars and other hocus pocus, the Canadian version has real content, interviews and articles about real science.

In particular the US version has NOTHING like the Daily Planet program. I don't know why it is that the Canadian version of Discovery Channel is SOOOOO much better.

It's depressing that there is no market incentive to produce a real science channel. With the Discovery channel and affiliates as part of basic cable and covering (squatting on actually) the "science beat" there is little hope that we will see competition.

compare :

Discovery Channel (USA)

Discovery Channel (Canada)

The Discovery Channel (Canada) did a piece on Machinima today. You can watch the clip from their show, Daily Planet, here. Unfortunately, the clip is in ASX format, so some may be unable to watch it. I'll give a brief description. The clip features a group of Machinima Artists called the Ill Clan, which performed Improv comedy Real-Time at a Film Festival.

Insightful? more like flamebait.
US space program was built by europeans
Really? A few ex-Nazi rocket scientists captured from Peenemunde do not a manned space program make.

Damn straight North American brother!!! Sure a few of the basic ideas for getting things going came from those German guys. But when the chips were down and the Apollo program needed to kick it up a notch to catch up with those blasted ruskies the US knew where to turn to... that's right Canada. Dief took the order from his yankee masters and the Arrow program was scrapped.

Jim Chamberlain, Owen Maynard, John Hodge...the list goes on and on...

Avro Employees and NASA
Post-Arrow Brain Drain from Canada
Canada's Gift to NASA
Owen Maynard

A quote from the book Apollo - The Race to the Moon
"As the Space Task Group's burden was threatening to overwhelm the entire project, the Canadian government unintentionally gave the American Space program its luckiest break since Wernher von Braun had surrendered to the Americans...while little public recognition was ever granted the Canadians their contribution was incalculable to the people within the programs. One of the group's top American engineers even claimed that the Canadians had it all over us in many areas ... just brilliant guys ... bright as hell and talented and professional to a man."

Hey I'm not saying that the Canadians did it all and there weren't any great and brilliant Americans working on the projects. Obviously there were. But no nation got into space by it's own efforts alone. America included.