1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,033 Edited at https://subtitletools.com 2 00:00:00,100 --> 00:00:02,466 Zero and lift off of Space Shuttle 3 00:00:02,466 --> 00:00:04,833 Atlantis as Columbus sets sail on a 4 00:00:04,833 --> 00:00:07,200 voyage of science to the space station. 5 00:00:18,540 --> 00:00:20,840 My name is Compton Tucker. 6 00:00:21,340 --> 00:00:23,540 I'm a NASA Goddard Earth scientist. 7 00:00:24,220 --> 00:00:26,086 I had the privilege of working with 8 00:00:26,086 --> 00:00:26,620 Piers Sellers. 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,680 Piers was a very dear friend of mine over 10 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:39,860 more than 35 years. 11 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,322 Piers was an Earth scientist and an 12 00:00:43,322 --> 00:00:43,660 astronaut. 13 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,146 He was also my coworker, my best friend, 14 00:00:47,146 --> 00:00:48,480 my roommate and my neighbor. 15 00:00:52,020 --> 00:00:53,760 We worked together on several things, 16 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:55,500 published probably 10 or 15 papers 17 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:57,530 together, because Piers was working on the 18 00:00:57,530 --> 00:00:58,110 theory of 19 00:00:58,161 --> 00:00:58,420 what 20 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:01,037 I was doing using data from 21 00:01:01,037 --> 00:01:01,660 meteorological satellites. 22 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:08,860 You can describe Piers to people who 23 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:11,060 never had the pleasure of meeting him, 24 00:01:11,580 --> 00:01:12,880 I think by five words: 25 00:01:13,220 --> 00:01:13,820 kindness, 26 00:01:13,820 --> 00:01:15,120 wit, 27 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:15,920 intelligence, 28 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:17,460 and monkey business. 29 00:01:18,220 --> 00:01:20,620 He could always see the funny side of 30 00:01:20,620 --> 00:01:21,220 any situation. 31 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,213 He took several mementos of mine into 32 00:01:28,213 --> 00:01:29,180 space for me. 33 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,220 He took a CD called "Talking Timbuktu" 34 00:01:33,220 --> 00:01:34,220 into space. 35 00:01:34,900 --> 00:01:36,500 And then another time he took 36 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:39,009 two of the medals I had won for 37 00:01:39,009 --> 00:01:40,100 scientific research into space. 38 00:01:52,340 --> 00:01:54,800 I went to all of his launches and I 39 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:56,441 would sit with his family, especially 40 00:01:56,441 --> 00:01:58,628 with his mother and sort of help her 41 00:01:58,628 --> 00:01:58,902 understand 42 00:01:58,957 --> 00:01:59,340 things. 43 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:01,700 And I think that was one of the things 44 00:02:01,700 --> 00:02:02,755 which comforted Piers because he 45 00:02:02,755 --> 00:02:03,600 didn't want his mother to 46 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:05,540 be nervous about his spaceflight. 47 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,536 Both Piers and I and many other people 48 00:02:12,536 --> 00:02:14,265 who work for NASA are driven by 49 00:02:14,265 --> 00:02:14,760 scientific curiosity. 50 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:35,800 When he 51 00:02:37,220 --> 00:02:38,920 realized what his diagnosis was, 52 00:02:42,380 --> 00:02:44,576 he realized the odds were strongly 53 00:02:44,576 --> 00:02:46,614 against him, and he probably only had 54 00:02:46,614 --> 00:02:47,780 about a year to live. 55 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,164 He said he was going to do all he could 56 00:02:51,164 --> 00:02:54,927 to contribute to climate science, to 57 00:02:54,927 --> 00:02:56,904 preserving the Earth, to satellite 58 00:02:56,904 --> 00:02:57,300 observation, 59 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:58,020 things like this. 60 00:03:08,180 --> 00:03:10,159 He wanted people to treat him as they 61 00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:12,138 always had and so, as hard as that was 62 00:03:12,138 --> 00:03:14,117 for us all, that's what we did. And then 63 00:03:14,388 --> 00:03:16,303 if we needed to cry we would just cry 64 00:03:16,303 --> 00:03:17,980 later when we weren't in his presence. 65 00:03:23,300 --> 00:03:25,576 All of us in Earth science at Goddard, 66 00:03:25,576 --> 00:03:27,000 we miss Piers Sellers deeply. 67 00:03:27,700 --> 00:03:29,537 I think Piers was an inspirational leader. 68 00:03:29,537 --> 00:03:31,623 He led from the front. 69 00:03:31,623 --> 00:03:32,600 He led by doing. 70 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,236 Whenever I think of Piers I'm very 71 00:03:40,236 --> 00:03:43,946 encouraged to do my best, also to be 72 00:03:43,946 --> 00:03:46,660 more tolerant, to practice kindness and wit. 73 00:04:10,446 --> 00:04:13,306 Piers Sellers passed away in 2016 after 74 00:04:13,306 --> 00:04:15,200 battling pancreatic cancer. 75 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:16,560 He was an Earth scientist and 76 00:04:16,940 --> 00:04:18,680 his work continues to drive the 77 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:19,840 conversation on climate change. 78 00:04:20,700 --> 00:04:22,535 Before Piers passed away, he had a 79 00:04:22,535 --> 00:04:24,141 lot to say about his best friend 80 00:04:24,141 --> 00:04:24,600 Compton too. 81 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,860 Here he is an interview from 2016. 82 00:04:52,390 --> 00:04:53,910 This story was produced at NASA's 83 00:04:53,910 --> 00:04:55,140 Goddard Space Flight Center by 84 00:04:55,140 --> 00:04:57,140 Katie Atkinson and Micheala Sosby.