6-6 liberal arts - n/a - Space Exploration Social Science and - Studocu He is currently working on a project that studies how different visions and imaginaries of space futures are developing and affecting engagement with space. What I learned while exploring my topic through the social science lens is space exploration has contributed to cancer . Variations in space weather can cause geomagnetic storms that interfere with the operation of satellites and even systems on the ground such as power grids. Astrobiology 12(10):95865. I chose the topic of space exploration because: I believe space exploration is our future. Washington: National Academies Press. McLean VA. Quast PE. They can explain how space is an arena that is negotiated, contested, colonized, and tamed. I think a fundamental challenge for the humanities and social sciences is to develop robust research to tackle a future that manifests as uncertain and contested, as shared on a planetary scale, and as increasingly off-Earth. One NASA and its partners have sent orbiters, landers, and rovers, increasing our knowledge about the planet. remotely sensed data, have enhanced our understanding of water cycles. But establishing interdisciplinary connections requires effort, since humanists are often something of a mystery to scientists who lack easy opportunities to interact with themhumanists are creatures of academia and, even there, they inhabit different departments and colleges. To learn more about the roles these disciplines can play, we spoke to Juan Francisco Salazar, a professor at Western Sydney Universitys School of Humanities & Communication Arts. A 1978 survey of faculty suggested the need for a single volume that united introductory material on the various social science disciplines and the classroom experience of faculty already teaching in the field. Required fields are marked *. This poses a real challenge, as the scientifically illiterate public often embraces unrealistic concerns and unscientific beliefs. This means I intend to engage with a diverse spectrum of imaginaries of outer space that are produced in a range of different historical, political, and technological contexts. Choose two of the four lenses you applied when researching your topic and create a presentation. Kelly Smith is a professor in the Departments of Philosophy & Religion and Biological Sciences at Clemson University. Similarly, NASAs Astrobiology Roadmap got off to a promising start with a guiding question inviting consideration of the future of life in the Universe (though recent iterations have focused on empirical questions). Ultimately, 180 specific exploration objectives have been Should offworld human settlement be attempted? Conclusion. These were followed by the Solar Maximum Mission satellite (launched 1980). Six Apollo missions were made to explore the Moon between 1969 and 1972. As part of my research in Antarctica, I made an experimental documentary film titledNightfall on Gaia(93 min, 2015), which screened internationally at various important film festivals. Stout feels a beautiful painting would help the public comprehend the research, making scientific data more palatable, educating the public but additionally increasing interest and support for future scientific endeavours. During the 1970s, efforts to teach and research the social science and humanities aspects of the space program were reintensified. Social Sciences and Space Exploration: New Directions for University Instruction. 570144272d5a%40sessionmgr102. Smith KC, Abney K. 2019. Synthese 185:14564. I see this as a dialogue of knowledges and practices, or what in Latin America is often called a dilogo de saberes. The point is to learn from and engage with Indigenous perspectives on sky knowledge and space environments. The scientific communitys approach to METI has been strangely political, which challenges the model of science as the disinterested search for truth (Brin 2014; Smith 2020). 2018. In this creative work, I am hoping to develop a series of collaborations with First Nations artists and filmmakers in Australia, Chile, and the United States. 2020. Types of Evidence How do professionals from each lens gather information? New York. Space launch systems have been designed to reduce costs and improve dependability, safety, and reliability. Used to Discover Eighth Planet Circling Distant Star. We often comprehend it with conceptual frameworks with which we are more comfortable. Nevertheless, most space science was, and continues to be, performed by robotic spacecraft in Earth orbit, in other locations from which they observe the universe, or on missions to various bodies in the solar system. The first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, went into orbit on Jan. 31, 1958. Space exploration through the social science lens | TutorsOnSpot I. Mencken put it, clear, simple, and wrong. To scientists, who are self-selected to prefer clean answers, this approach can seem like a waste of time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [2] How many grants include humanists as co-PIs (or in any capacity)? com.ezproxy.snhu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&si The strategy assumes that scientific knowledge is the most important consideration and ignores inevitable trade-offs between scientific investigation and other values. 2016. In support of the U.S. Air Force, Aerospace performed a complete independent verification of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and the Global Positioning System (GPS) Block III-2 satellite. Furthermore, many other countries became involved in space activities through the participation of their scientists in specific missions. the Day, 73(1), 1216. Understanding our natural world through testable hypotheses gets at the root of this lens. ESA developed the Ulysses mission (1990) to explore the Suns polar regions. Astrobiology 8(4):71530. past and is ever more prudent for our future. Your browser or your browser's settings are not supported. The scientific complexity of space exploration is encapsulated in NASAs ongoing Mars Perseverance Rover mission, but it also highlights the importance of the social sciences, humanities and art subjects (SHAPE disciplines) in driving and enabling this scientific progress. There is important literature in the social sciences that has examined how these sociotechnical imaginaries are employed by policymakers. Life as adaptive capacity: Bringing new life to an old debate. The focus of inquiry in space physics was later extended to understanding the characteristics of the Sun, both as an average star and as the primary source of energy for the rest of the solar system, and to exploring space between the Sun and Earth and other planets (see interplanetary medium). The European Space Agencys Smart-1 has mapped impact conducted in the past, we would be without HASS disciplines are relevant for examining how space futures get told, traded, transformed, and traversed. Active engagement of humanists in discussions of the social dimensions of space science will enrich understanding and produce more thoughtful decisions and policies. The contributions of the SHAPE disciplines are myriad and evident in understanding the design, efficacy, and scope of the Mars Perseverance Rover mission. Consider this interaction between faculty in a humanities college and a vice president for research with a background in engineering. How is space exploration viewed through the social science lens For example, an anthropologist has argued for considering the possibility that attempts to message alien worlds might be dangerous to the aliens (Traphagan 2017). On Feb. 1, 2003, the shuttle broke apart while reentering the Earths atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. The great colonization debate. The advantages of satellites allowed the coalition forces to quickly bring the war to a conclusion, saving many lives. According to Schnadt, the core skillset of a conceptual art is to focus on the concept and acquire any tools and methodologies to research that idea. Schnadt was able to apply this skill to her work at NASA, where she helped create a software platform through which kept NASA scientists across the world updated on the data originating from Perseverance.