Space Stations: Archaeological Sites in Low Earth Orbit

[Judi Lynn]

Fresh insights are emerging from studying the "microsociety" onboard the International Space Station
By Megan Gannon, SPACE.com on July 19, 2017


"Space archaeologist" would be a fine job description for a fictional character on an interplanetary mission to unearth the ruins of an alien civilization. But a handful of real-life archaeologists are already making a bid to study culture in space—of the human, not alien, variety.

A new effort, called ISS Archaeology, seeks to understand the "microsociety" aboard the International Space Station.

The plan is to treat the space lab like archaeologists would treat an ancient site. By looking at the artifacts of astronauts—from their dining utensils and sleeping bags to their religious icons and family photos—these researchers hope to gain new insights into how astronauts of different backgrounds interact with each other, and how they adapt to life in microgravity. [The Human Body in Space: 6 Weird Facts]

MAKING SPACE FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The idea for the project was conceived in the fall of 2015, when NASA put out a call for applications for its astronaut program. The space agency no longer recruits only seasoned fighter pilots, but also doctors, geologists, physicists, computer scientists and electrical engineers. Archaeologist Justin Walsh noticed, however, that social scientists were excluded from this mix—with anthropology, archaeology and geography in particular singled out as disqualifying degrees.

More:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-stations-archaeological-sites-in-low-earth-orbit/

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt