Seen from outer space, Earth looks phenomenal. Whenever possible during my space missions, I floated in front of a window to enjoy the extraordinary view. A blue globe surrounded by a black universe: a world without boundaries. In the seventeenth century, the scientist Christiaan Huygens observed the universe from the garden of Hofwijck. There he stood peering into the night sky with his telescopes containing lenses ground by himself. Christiaan Huygens, physicist, mathematician, astronomer and Hofwijck resident, was fascinated by the universe. In 1656 he described for the first time that Saturn has rings. Later he worked on Cosmotheoros, his book on the discovery of the universe in which he even speculated on the existence of extraterrestrial life.

My interest in the universe and space travel started when, as a twelve year old boy, I began to read science fiction books I was given by my grandmother. Then I knew for sure that one day I would look at Earth from outer space. When Christiaan was that age, he was an observant and curious boy, fascinated by nature. During weekend visits to Hofwijck - in those days the country house of the Huygens family - he watched the ripples in the water of the Vliet canal and the reflection of the sunlight on the water. Christiaan grew up to be a versatile scientist. His Father Constantijn Huygens, architect of Hofwijck, supported him in this. Poet, musician and diplomat, Constantijn himself had a great interest in science and corresponded with leading international scientists.

I am a great admirer of Christiaan Huygens, not only because of his astronomical discoveries, but also because of his versatility as a scientist. It is almost inconceivable that anyone could make so many different inventions and discoveries. Christiaan was the first scientist in his time to use mathematics as the main tool in his scientific research. In addition, he tested many of his theoretical discoveries in practice, often with instruments designed and built by himself. It is wonderful that at Hofwijck children can now discover and experiment just as Christiaan did at the time.

I visited Hofwijck for the first time in 2012, together with my fellow astronauts Don Pettit and Oleg Kononenko.