Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut who’s become a YouTube sensation aboard the International Space Station, has showed us why tears won’t fall in space and the dangers of clipping one’s fingernails in zero gravity. But he has truly outdone himself with his latest video. Scheduled to leave the space station tonight at 7pm – and to touch down in Kazakhstan hours later — Hadfield has remade David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” (For those not up on their Bowie song titles, this is the song that starts: “Ground control to Major Tom.”) Watch it — it’s truly awe-inspiring.

At TED, we’ve had talks from explorers of the mind, charterers of the polar regions and investigators of insects. Today, we’re taking a look at talks from those who’ve seen the earth from outside its atmosphere. All of these TED, TEDx, and TED-Ed speakers are astronauts, yes, but they also have something else in common: a desire to never stop exploring. We’ll start, of course, with Hadfield welcoming TED to Canada, upon hearing that TED2014 would be held in Vancouver.

1. Commander Hadfield welcomes TED to Canada
2. Mae Jemison: On teaching arts and sciences together
3. Cady Coleman greets TED2011 from the International Space Station
4. Roberta Bondar: The challenge of change
5. Lodewijk van den Berg: How a crystal growth scientist became an astronaut
6. Joseph Allen: A sense of place in space
7. Yvonne Cagle: The human microscopic
8. Jerry Carr: Life of an astronaut
9. Ed Lu: The biggest conversation project imaginable (See also: Changing the course of the solar system and Oceans of robots)
10. Michael Massimino: Spaceflight
11. Nicole Stott: The glass floor: Reaching for the stars
12. Stephanie D. Wilson: My journey to space
13. Michael E. Lopez-Alegria: Human exploration of space
14. Ron Garan: The orbital perspective of our fragile oasis (See also: Connecting humanity’s changemakers and his greeting to TED2011 from ISS)

Here, go around the world in less than 180 minutes with TEDGlobal talks.

George Ayittey on Cheetahs vs. Hippos Continent: Africa George Ayittey on Cheetahs vs. Hippos It’s an often-told story: corruption is rampant in Africa. But there’s another story happening too.  In this talk from TEDGlobal 2007, economist George Ayittey introduces us to the “cheetah generation,” the movers and shakers who are effecting change. He predicts that they will soon overtake the “hippo generation,” those in power now.

Lee Hotz: Inside an Antarctic time machine Continent: Antarctica Lee Hotz: Inside an Antarctic time machine How can we get data on how the global climate has changed over the centuries? In this talk from TEDGlobal 2010, Lee Hotz describes a project to drill into 10,000-year-old Antarctic ice to find out more.

Leslie T. Chang: The voices of China's workers Continent: Asia Leslie T. Chang: The voices of China’s workers Over the past 30 years, a large portion of China’s population lifted out of poverty — in part thanks to jobs in booming factory towns serving new global markets. But journalist Leslie T. Chang finds one voice oddly missing from the debate about globalization. In this talk from TEDGlobal 2012, she shares words from factory workers themselves.

Elizabeth Murchison: Fighting a contagious cancer Continent: Australia Elizabeth Murchison: Fighting a contagious cancer The Tasmanian devil is an animal only found on the Australian island of Tasmania, and a virulent cancer is killing thousands of them. In this talk from TEDGlobal 2011, Elizabeth Murchison shares with his her fight to save the Taz from this unusual, contagious cancer.

Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity Continent: Europe Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity Mark Pagel is a biologist, and he has a fascinating theory about language — that it’s a technology that evolved to allow for cooperation. As he shares at TEDGlobal 2011, he looks at the example of the European Union—whose 27 members speak 23 languages, requiring translation costs in the excess of $1.45 billion a year.

Sheena Iyengar: The art of choosing Continent: North America Sheena Iyengar: The art of choosing Coke versus Pepsi. It’s a classic choice consumers in the United States and the rest of North America make on a daily basis. In this talk from TEDGlobal 2010, Sheena Iyengar shares her research on the assumptions Americans make about choices and how they are shaped by background.

Phil Borges on endangered cultures Continent: South America Phil Borges on endangered cultures Photographer Phil Borges documents cultures in the world that are in danger of disappearing. In this talk, he shares stunning images of the people living in the jungles of the Ecuadorean Amazon — a part of South America changing quickly following oil discovery in the 1970s.

Want to attend TEDGlobal 2013? Find out more here »

Edith Widder: How we found the giant squidIn today’s talk, Widder shares how we now have filmed proof of the giant squid’s existence, thanks to a mission conducted by herself, Tsunemi Kubodera and Steve O’Shea and financed by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, NHK. While many previous missions failed to capture evidence of the giant squid, Widder and her fellow scientists used novel approaches — a camera platform that moves silently through the ocean, a bioluminescent electronic jellyfish to attract large sea creatures and a submersible able to take high definition footage from afar — to give us a glimpse of this mythical creature. In fact, they filmed it in action multiple times.

“How could something so big live in our ocean and remain unfilmed until now?” asks Widder on the TED2013 stage. “We’ve only explored about 5% of our ocean. There are great discoveries yet to be made down there — fantastic creatures representing millions of years of evolution and possibly bioactive compounds that could benefit us in ways we can’t even imagine. Yet, we’ve spent only a tiny fraction of the money on ocean exploration that we’ve spent on space exploration.“

To see the giant squid for yourself, and to watch footage of the crew as they caught their first glimpses of it, watch this talk — a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Discovery Channel documentary, Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real. And here, more talks on incredible oceanic creatures:

• Mike deGruy: Hooked by an octopus
• Tierney Thys swims with the giant sunfish
• Edith Widder: The weird, wonderful world of bioluminscence
• David Gallo: Underwater astonishments
• Brian Skerry reveals ocean’s glory — and horror
• Jim Toomey: Learning from Sherman the shark
• Margaret Wertheim: the beautiful math of coral
• Edith Widder: Glowing life in an underwater world
• Asha de Vos: Why are blue whales so enormous?

As we prepare for TED2013 — the anticipation of this year’s crop of bold, inspiring talks tingling through our minds — it also feels like a great time to look back. Here, a stroll down TED memory lane with 16 classic talks, starting at the very beginning. Watch these talks to get in the spirit for TED2013: The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered. — which kicks off Monday, February 25. We’ll be covering every moment of the conference here on the TED Blog, with posts on each speaker, plus photos, galleries and more.

But before the new, the nostalgia …

Nicholas Negroponte, in 1984, makes 5 predictions Nicholas Negroponte, in 1984, makes 5 predictions Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of MIT Media Lab, must have consulted a crystal ball when writing his talk for our very first TED conference in1984. Here, he predicts what’s next in tech with startling accuracy: CD-ROMs, web interfaces, service kiosks, the touchscreen interface of the iPhone and his own One Laptop per Child project.

Frank Gehry as a young rebel Frank Gehry as a young rebel Architect Frank Gehry is now a legend. But at TED2, in 1990, his work was just becoming known in the mainstream, two years after his first retrospective exhibit at New York’s Whitney Museum. In this talk, he walks us through his early work — from the American Center in Paris to his own house in Venice Beach.

Danny Hillis: Back to the future (of 1994) Danny Hillis: Back to the future Technology seems to be advancing at an increasingly rapid clip. In this talk, given at TED6 in 1994, Danny Hillis shares an intriguing theory as to why this appears to be the case — it may have something to do with evolution itself. Note: the pad and paper, as this was pre-PowerPoint.

Paul MacCready on nature vs. humans Paul MacCready on nature vs. humans At TED8, in 1998, Paul MacCready describes our world as one where humans have dominated nature. And so, he says, we have a responsibility to protect it for the next generation. In an early call for us to respect our planet, MacCready shares his contributions: the electric car, solar planes and efficient gliders.

Eva Zeisel on the playful search for beauty Eva Zeisel on the playful search for beauty Ceramics designer Eva Zeisel has been working since 1926. At TED11, in 2001, she shared how a sense of play and a love of beauty has kept her work fresh for decades.

Kary Mullis celebrates the experiment Kary Mullis celebrates the experiment The experiment is a beautiful thing, says biochemist Kary Mullis in this talk from TED2002. Here, he marvels at the fact that the experiment is only 350 years old and shares stories — some very old, some his own — about the wonder of scientific inquiry.

Steven Johnson on the Web as a city Steven Johnson on the Web as a city At TED2003, Steven Johnson gives us a captivating analogy for understanding the internet. In this talk, he shows how both are built by many, yet controlled by no one, and that both are intricately interconnected while being an accumulation of independent parts. And notice that he’s the first person on this list to stand up?

Sheila Patek clocks the fastest animals Sheila Patek clocks the fastest animals Who knew that mantis shrimp were so fast? At TED2004, biologist Sheila Patek shared her work studying incredibly fast animal movements and how her research on mantis-shrimp feeding requires a camera that records at 20,000 frames per second.

Kevin Kelly: How technology evolves Kevin Kelly: How technology evolves Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of Wired and the former publisher/editor of the Whole Earth Review. In this talk from TED2005, he asks an unusual question: What does technology want? Because its movement toward complexity reminds him of evolution.

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do For TED2006, Tony Robbins whittled down his 50-hour workshop to its essence — looking at the why behind the things we do. This talk is one of the first six posted on TED.com along with talks from Al Gore, David Pogue, Majora Carter, Ken Robinson and Hans Rosling.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Want to help Africa? Do business here Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Want to help Africa? Do business here The first woman to hold the post of Finance Minister of Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala worries that people are only familiar with the Africa of malaria, HIV, deep poverty, government corruption and ethnic conflicts. In this talk from TED2007, she introduces us to the Africa that is changing and quickly becoming a place of opportunity.

Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight At TED2008, Jill Bolte Taylor brought the house down with this talk, the second most-viewed on TED.com. In this talk, Bolte Taylor shares the terrifying morning when she had a stroke, and was helpless as her brain function shut down. It’s an amazing story — one that will never let you take the human brain for granted again.

Bill Gates: Mosquitos, malaria and education Bill Gates: Mosquitos, malaria and education Bill Gates made TED2009 into instant news when he opened a jar of mosquitos in the theater. His point: that there are certain problems that do not get the attention they deserve because there is no market incentive to solve then. A passionate and funny talk that connects the dots between seemingly far-flung factors.

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world Video game designer Jane McGonigal viscerally disagrees that video games are a distraction from solving the problems of the world. At TED2010, she outlines a bold plan  to tackle some of these problems through games with a social purpose.

JR's TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out JR’s TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out Artist JR’s oversized posters have created dialogues in cities across the world, bringing attention to the faces of people who are too often forgotten. In this talk from TED2011, JR shares his wish — for people everywhere to join him in a global art project.

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. At TED2012, Bryan Stevenson looks at how this distorts sharply around race and socioeconomics, creating a sense of despair in minority communities. It’s a personal and moving talk — one that set TED2012 on fire.

Stay tuned to the TED Blog for full coverage of TED2013 »

And make sure to tune into the TED Blog staring Monday, February 25, for our live coverage of TED2013. We’ll be writing about every speaker, as well as all the action on-site in Long Beach, Califorinia.

Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic" Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic” Armed with standard calculators, audience members at TED2005 race mathemagician Arthur Benjamin through a dizzying maze of digits – and lose. At 8:05, he matches audience members’ DOB with the day of the week they were born.

Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life Game designer Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter helped her recover from a head injury. At TEDGlobal 2012, she passes on the healing to the audience, granting them 7.5 extra minutes of life. At 13:00, watch the life-extending action begin.

Michael Sandel: The lost art of democratic debate Michael Sandel: The lost art of democratic debate For philosophy professor Michael Sandel, lively debate is the key to a strong democracy – so he calls on the attendees of TED2010 to bring it back. Throughout the talk, audience members share thoughts on Aristotle and on a then-recent Supreme Court decision.

Charles Hazlewood: Trusting the ensemble Charles Hazlewood: Trusting the ensemble “Did you know that TED is a tune?” asks conductor Charles Hazlewood at TEDGlobal 2011. Starting at 8:48, he leads the audience in rousing chorus inspired by the letters T-E-D.

Beau Lotto + Amy O’Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included Beau Lotto + Amy O’Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included Neuroscientist Beau Lotto pulls the audience into some moments of playful discovery onstage at TEDGlobal 2012. In this talk about the joy of scientific inquiry, his slides show off a language gotcha!. At 12:35, he calls a fellow TED Speaker up to be experimented on.

Evelyn Glennie: How to truly listen Evelyn Glennie: How to truly listen Music can be heard with your whole body, says Grammy-winning deaf percussionist and composer Evelyn Glennie. At TED2003, she asks the audience to listen differently, to rethink music and, at 12:15, to clap the sound of falling snow.

Keith Barry: Brain magic Keith Barry: Brain magic One after another, audience members are bedazzled and baffled by Keith Barry’s psychokinetic hijinks at TED2004. He creates phantom sensations, guesses names of ex-boyfriends and narrowly misses one very sharp object.

TED2013 will commence in just nine days, and the TED Blog is gearing up for our live, minute-by-minute, coverage. One thing we can’t wait to see: which speaker will bring an animal onstage with them? (Our money is on ornithologist Kees Moeliker.) Sometimes, speakers arrive with a live animal, other times they have a very convincing imitation. Either way, it’s always a fun moment when a member of the animal kingdom makes an appearance in the auditorium, as this playlist reveals.

Handspring Puppet Co.: The genius puppetry behind War Horse Handspring Puppet Co.: The genius puppetry behind War Horse TED2011 Puppeteers Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones, who created the horses featured in War Horse, explain the mechanics and artistry of making and manipulating their puppets. “An actor struggles to die on stage, but a puppet has to struggle to live,” Kohler says. When they bring a horse, three puppeteers, and a rider on stage, it’s almost impossible to remember that it’s not an animal breathing, strutting, prancing and whinnying right before our eyes.

Einstein the Parrot talks and squawks Einstein the Parrot talks and squawks TED2006 On stage, Einstein, an African grey parrot, oinks like a pig, makes laser noises, yells “OH MY GOD!,” dances, and even sings “Happy Birthday” to Al Gore. Hilarious, charming and truly uncanny.

Amy Tan: Where does creativity hide? Amy Tan: Where does creativity hide? TED2008 In a talk about how she creates whole people and worlds from her imagination, Amy Tan credits not only her beliefs and thought processes, but also her “muse”—her sweet, tiny dog, who emerges from her handbag to strut across the stage.

Robert Full: Learning from the gecko's tail Robert Full: Learning from the gecko’s tail TED2009 Biologist Robert Full brings to the stage a gecko robot that mimics the animal’s incredible foot structure and movement, which allows it to climb—only, though, with the added (and quite surprising) functionality of its tail.

Bill Gates: Mosquitos, malaria and education Bill Gates: Mosquitos, malaria and education TED2009 In a talk in part about malaria, Bill Gates releases live mosquitoes into the audience. “There’s no reason only poor people should have the experience,” he says, to laughter. (These mosquitoes are not, of course, infected.)

Nellie McKay sings "The Dog Song" Nellie McKay sings “The Dog Song” TED2008 Is that a dog pitter-pattering and panting? In a tribute to her own dog, singer and pianist Nellie McKay does a fairly convincing (and pretty adorable) impression.

Tune in to the TED Blog for live coverage of TED2013 beginning on February 25. And read much more about “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered” »

Shabana Basij-Rasikh: Dare to educate Afghan girls

“Each day, we took a different route so that no one would suspect where we were going,” says Basij-Rasikh in this powerful talk. “The school was in a house, more than 100 of us packed into one living room … We all knew we were risking our lives — the students, the parents, the teachers.”

When the Taliban fell in 2001, Basij-Rasikh’s father was thrilled that his daughters would be able to return to a traditional school. Still, says Basij-Rasikh, her family’s commitment to education for its daughters was not the norm. In Afghanistan, only 6 percent of women 25 or older received any formal education.

“I was very lucky to grow up in a family where education was prized and daughters were treasured,” says Basij-Rasikh, a recent graduate of Middlebury College in the United States. “During the Taliban years, I remember there were times I would get so frustrated by our life and always being scared. I would want to quit. But my father would say, ‘Listen, my daughter. You can lose everything you own in your life. Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home in a war. The one thing that will always remain with you is what is up here. If we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees, we will.’”

After college, Basij-Rasikh returned home and co-founded SOLA, the School of Leadership Afghanistan, the first boarding school for girls in Afghanistan. And yet sadly, getting an education is still a risk in the country. To hear a shocking story of one of Basij-Rasikh’s students whose family was targeted by terrorists — simply for sending their daughter to SOLA — watch this talk.

Here, more talks from people who went to great lengths to get, or give, an education.

Kakenya Ntaiya: A girl who demanded schoolKakenya Ntaiya: The first school for Maasai girls For Maasai girls, childhood is focused on preparing them for marriage, which will happen for many as early as age 12 or 13. With great reverence for her culture, Kakenya Ntaiya shares how she agreed to participate in a genital mutilation ceremony … in exchange for permission to continue her education. In this talk from TEDxMidAtlantic, she reveals why it was so important to her to go to college, become a teacher and start the first all-girls school in her village — all with the support of her elders.

Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a timeShukla Bose on educating poor children Activist Shukla Bose admits that she and her compatriates with the Parikrma Humanity Foundation were mind-boggled when they first set out to educate the children of India’s slums — 200 million of whom should be in school but simply aren’t. In this talk from TEDIndia 2009, Bose explains how they put the statistics out of mind and went about their mission in the only way they could — by going one child at a time.

Sheryl WuDunn: Our century's greatest injustice Sheryl WuDunn: Our century’s greatest injustice At TEDGlobal 2010, journalist Sheryl WuDunn takes us to rural China — where a star pupil was pulled out of school because her family couldn’t justify paying the $13 annual fee when she’d be working a rice paddy for the rest of her life. WuDunn shows how the donations for the education of this one student changed not only her life but her family’s and her entire village’s. A stirring talk about how education for the world’s women can lead to all of our advancement.

Freeman Hrabowski: 4 pillars of college success in scienceFreeman Hrabowski: 4 pillars of college success in science When he was 12 years old, Freeman Hrabowski begged his parents to let him march with Martin Luther King to demand an equal education to the white students in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Today, he’s president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he works to create an environment that helps under-represented students — specifically African-American, Latino and low-income learners — get degrees in math and science. In this talk from TED2013, he shares his school’s approach.

Sugata Mitra shows how kids teach themselvesSugata Mitra shares how kids teach themselves Why should educational technology be focused in schools that already have good teachers and resources? In this talk from LIFT 2007, Sugata Mitra shares why it is important to focus technology in schools in rural areas, slums and shanty towns — because that’s where it can have the most impact. Here, Mitra narrates his Hole in the Wall experiment in New Delhi in 1999, where a computer was embedded into a wall, and local children flocked to it — learning and teaching each other.

Neil Turok makes his TED Prize wishNeil Turok makes his TED Prize wish Neil Turok grew up in South Africa, where his parents were imprisoned for resisting racism. He spent his formative years as a refugee in Kenya and Tanzania. As Turok accepted the TED Prize in 2008, he shared the story of how he became interested in theoretical physics. The keys: being inspired by the wisdom of village children around him, many of whom didn’t have a formal education, and by a school teacher who posed the question: “What banged during the Big Bang?”

Charles Leadbeater: Education innovation in the slumsCharles Leadbeater on education innovation in the slums In the favelas of Rio or the slums of Kibera, traditional schools simply will not work because they depend on professionals and high-cost infrastructure — not to mention that their curriculums do not connect to the lives of students. At the TEDSalon London 2010, Charles Leadbeater looks at different approaches — like putting computers in community centers and serving up lessons through mobile phones. It’s education plus technology that is the key, Leadbeater shows.

Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girlsLeymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee is haunted by the untapped potential of the girls she’s met on her travels across Liberia. In this talk, she tells some of these girls’ stories and calls on us all to foster the educational growth of girls — and to encourage the great inventions, innovations and breakthroughs they may be able to fuel if nurtured.

What should you do if you get snowed in, with an internet connection? Watch these TED Talks to get in the arctic spirit:

• Ken Kamler: Medical miracle on Everest
• Paul Nicklen: Tales of ice-bound wonderlands
• Nathalie Miebach: Art made of storms
• Ray Zahab treks to the South Pole
• Rob Dunbar: Discovering ancient climates in oceans and ice
• Lee Hotz: Inside an Antarctic time machine
• Ben Saunders: Why walk to the South Pole and back?
• Dale Stephens: From snow men to social movements
• Jeff Masters: The 9 biggest weather disasters in the next 30 years

Want to ignore the weather and just watch something inspiring? Check out our 20 most-watched talks of all time »

The answer may lie in sunlight—there’s more in the south than there is in the north, particularly in the winter. Talk about how sunlight affects health usually centers around Vitamin D, an essential vitamin that is, in part, produced in human skin during exposure to ultraviolet B rays. But in today’s talk, given at TEDxGlasgow, dermatologist Richard Weller describes new research that links sunlight to another compound — nitric oxide. This chemical messenger lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels. High blood pressure is, of course, a major risk factor for heart disease.

Weller says that stable versions of nitric oxide are stored in the skin and are activated by sunlight, after which the compound makes its way to the circulatory system. In other words, this sunlight-boosted nitric oxide might be lowering the blood pressure of people in sunnier locales, thus lowering their risk of heart disease.

There are many messages in Weller’s charming talk. But perhaps the strongest: that where you live affects your health. And this extends far beyond your distance from the equator or how much sun you get every day. Here are five other TED Talks about ties between health and geographical location.

“I’ve gotten these free things because of how I look, not who I am,” says Russell. “And there are people paying a cost for how they look, not who they are.”

As Russell explains, physical beauty — or at least the brand of it that we see in fashion magazines — is very carefully constructed. To hear about how Photoshopping is just the beginning of how models are built into the images we see, watch her talk. And below, check out five more talks about physical beauty.

Rick Guidotti: From stigma to supermodel
Fashion photographer Rick Guidotti was used to shooting models. However, he was also sick of being told who counts as beautiful. In this talk from TEDxPhoenix, Guidotti reveals how he broke out — by recognizing the incredible beauty of teens with albinism and creating a stunning series of images of them.