2. He cracks jokes with Captain Kirk

Trekkies everywhere rejoiced when Hadfield chatted with Canadian actor William Shatner. Shatner first contacted Hadfield via Twitter on January 3, asking, “Are you tweeting from space?” Hadfield quipped back, “Yes, Standard Orbit, Captain. And we’re detecting signs of life on the surface.”

3. He has a cooking show

Getting enough nourishment in space is tricky business, as we saw in Hadfield’s multiple videos showing how the astronauts make and rehydrate their food aboard the ISS. We’d like to suggest the segment’s title be changed to, “Food that’s out of this world,” but the joke’s been done, so we won’t.

4. He reaches out to the next generation of scientists

A father with three fully grown kids of his own, Hadfield has repeatedly beamed into schools to talk with students and answer questions. He has even performed suggested experiments that were sent in by students.

5. He celebrates the holidays

There’s nothing like a little festivity to remind yourself of home.

6. He even celebrates the holidays that aren’t technically holidays

For April Fool’s day, Hadfield posted a series of pictures to twitter over the course of a few hours that showed a small speck growing into a fast approaching UFO. In the final picture, Hadfield announced that the alien had boarded the ISS and was repeating the words “sloof lirpa” (April Fools backwards). You got us good, Hadfield.

7. He’s a family man

Hadfield’s family is pretty spread out. Between the five of them, they are living in Canada, the United States, Germany, Ireland, China and, oh yeah, space. But they stay close through email and Christmas get-togethers. Hadfield’s son, Evan, also helps curate his dad’s very active social media account.

8. He recorded a song with the Barenaked Ladies

In celebration of Music Monday, Hadfield joined Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson and children’s choir the Wexford Gleeks to sing an original song called I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing). Who knew astronauts were so talented!

9. He makes mundane tasks seem fascinating

From brushing his teeth to dressing himself to tucking in for bed, Hadfield made the everyday seem extraordinary. Even basic nail hygiene took on a mystical allure.

10. He reminds us of the beauty of our planet

As he circled the planet, Hadfield put his photography skills to use and took countless pictures of the cities and land formations below. He showed us a new way of seeing our world and our place in it.