Interstellar Migration And The Human Experience

This book weaves together essays by twenty-five noted scholars from the social and space sciences which examine the human as well as the technological side of our future beyond Earth.

This book weaves together essays by twenty-five noted scholars from the social and space sciences which examine the human as well as the technological side of our future beyond Earth.

Human migration to space will be the most profound catalyst for evolution in the history of humankind, yet this has had little impact on determining our strategies for this next phase of exploration. Habitation in space will require extensive technological interfaces between humans and their alien surroundings and how they are deployed will critically inform the processes of adaptation. As humans begin to spend longer durations in space—eventually establishing permanent outposts on other planets—the scope of technological design considerations must expand beyond the meager requirements for survival to include issues not only of comfort and well‐being, but also of engagement and negotiation with the new planetary environment that will be crucial to our longevity beyond Earth. Approaching this question from an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation explores how the impact of interior space architecture can meet both the physical and psychological needs of future space colonists and set the stage for humankind to thrive and grow while setting down new roots beyond Earth.

Publisher Fact Sheet An exploration of the human side of spaceflight: what living & working in space will really be like in the decades to come.

Humans and space When faced with the issue of space exploration, one generally has an idea of the ?elds of study and disciplines that are involved: technology, physics and chemistry, robotics, astronomy and planetary science, space biology and medicine, disciplines which are usually referred to as the ?sciences?. In recent discussions, the human element of space exploration has attracted more and more the interest of the space sciences. As a consequence, adjacent disciplines have gained in relevance in space exploration and space research, in times when human space ?ights are almost part of everyday life. These disciplines include psychology and sociology, but also history, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies, political sciences and law. The cont- bution of knowledge in these ?elds plays an important role in achieving the next generation of space exploration, where humans will resume exploring the Moon and, eventually, Mars,and wherespacetourism isbeginningtobedeveloped. With regard to technology, one might soon be prepared for this. Much less is this the case with space exploration by humans, rather than by robots. Robotic explorations to other planets across the solar system have developed in the past 50 years, since the beginning of the ?space age? with the presence of humans in nearby space and the landing on the Moon. Space exploration is now not only focused on technological achievements,asitsdevelopmentalsohassocial,culturalandeconomicimpacts. This makes human space exploration a topic to address in a cross-disciplinary manner.