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Humans in Outer Space Interdisciplinary Odysseys SCH-ESSC POSITION PAPER Humans in Outer Space Interdisciplinary Odysseys www.esf.org Contents The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an inde- Foreword 3 pendent, non-governmental organisation of national research organisations. Rationale 4 Our strength lies in the membership and in our abil- ity to bring together the different domains of European Interdisciplinary odysseys 5 science in order to meet the scientific challenges of the First Odyssey future. ESF’s membership currently includes 77 influ- Humans in Earth orbit: ential national funding agencies, research-performing what effect does it have? agencies and academies from 30 nations as its contrib- Second Odyssey uting members. Humans in space exploration: Since its establishment in 1974, ESF, which has its what effects will it have? headquarters in Strasbourg, with offices in Brussels Third Odyssey and Ostend, has assembled a host of research organi- Humans migrating from the Earth: sations that span all disciplines of science in Europe, to how will it affect human thought? create a common platform for cross-border coopera- tion. The way forward 7 We are dedicated to supporting our members in promoting science, scientific research and science policy across Europe. Through its activities and instru- ments ESF has made major contributions to science in a global context. The ESF covers the following scientific domains: • Humanities • Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences • Medical Sciences • Physical and Engineering Sciences • Social Sciences • Marine Sciences • Nuclear Physics • Polar Sciences • Radio Astronomy Frequencies • Space Sciences April 2008 ISBN: 2-912049-81-4 This Paper is published under the responsibility of the ESF Standing Committee for the Humanities (SCH) and the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC). As such it represents a considered opinion of the community represented by the Committees. It does not, however, necessarily represent the position of the European Science Foundation as a whole. Cover pictures: The Spiral Galaxy M74. Resembling festive lights on a holiday wreath, this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy M74 depicts bright knots of glowing gas that light up the spiral arms, indicating a rich environment of star formation © NASA/ESA – Leonardo Da Vinci Drawing of Man © Getty Images Foreword When faced with the issue of space exploration, one generally has an idea of the fields of study and dis- ciplines that are involved: technology, physics and chemistry, robotics, astronomy and planetary science, space biology and medicine. In recent discussions, the human element of space exploration has increasingly attracted interest within the space sciences. As a con- sequence, humanities and social sciences have gained in relevance in space exploration and space research, at a time when manned space flights are almost part of everyday life. The contribution of knowledge in these fields will play an important part in achieving the next generation of space exploration, where humans will resume exploring the Moon and, eventually, visit Mars. With regard to technology, one might be prepared for this; much less so in the case of space exploration by humans, rather than by robots. This makes human space exploration a topic to address in a cross-disci- plinary manner. Exploration is inherent to humans and against this background, addressing the broader issue Camille Flammarion, L’atmosphère, Woodcut, 1888. of humans in (outer) space with a focus on the human “A middle-age missionary claimed he had found the place where element and not only on technology (i.e. robots only) is Heavens and Earth met” inevitable. The ESF’s Standing Committee for the Humanities (SCH) has taken a strong interest in the study of the implications of exploration by humans, leading it to develop and lead an interdisciplinary initiative on this topic in close collaboration with the ESF’s European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC). The interaction which resulted from a workshop in March 2007 paved the way for a conference on Humans in Outer Space, organised in October 2007 in Vienna, in collaboration with the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It provided a unique perspective by identifying various needs and interests of humanities and social sciences linked to space ex- ploration. This position paper aims at expressing the main re- sults from this original ESF initiative. Professor Marja Makarow Chief Executive, ESF Professor Gretty M. Mirdal Chair, SCH-ESF Professor Jean-Pierre Swings Chair, ESSC-ESF SCH-ESSC Position Paper: Humans in Outer Space | 3 Rationale The aim of this SCH-ESSC collaboration was to set up the fi rst comprehensive3TEERING#OMMITTEE and cross-disciplinarys$R-ONIQUEVAN$ONZEL %UROPEAN3CIENCE&OUNDATION s0ROF,UCA#ODIGNOLAn#HAIRPERSON 3TANDING#OMMITTEEFORTHE 3%44).'3#)%.#%!'%.$!3&/2%52/0% European dialogue on human5NIVERSITÌDI'ENOVA space exploration(UMANITIES and ,OCALSPONSORS $)3!- QUAI,EZAY -ARNÏSIA VIA"ALBI 3TRASBOURG humans in outer space; it was'ENOVA also to go beyond&RANCE see- )TALY %MAILMVANDONZEL ESFORG %MAILCODIGNOL UNIGEIT ing humans ‘only’ as tools in exploration, ors$R*EAN #LAUDE7ORMS as the best s$R+AI 5WE3CHROGLn#HAIRPERSON %UROPEAN3CIENCE&OUNDATION %UROPEAN3PACE0OLICY)NSTITUTE %UROPEAN3PACE3CIENCES#OMMITTEE possible robots, and to address3CHWARZENBERGPLATZ the inherent QUAI,EZAY -ARNÏSIA human 7IEN 3TRASBOURG !USTRIA &RANCE quest for odysseys beyond the%MAILKAI UWESCHROGL atmosphere. ESPIORAT %MAILJCWORMS A challenge ESFORG s0ROF5LRIKE,ANDFESTER 5NIVERSITËT3T'ALLEN #ONFERENCECONTACT was also to bring together scholars+ULTURWISSENSCHAFTLICHE!BTEILUNG who usuallyPERSONS have 'ATTERSTRASSE 3T'ALLEN s'ENERALENQUIRIES few reasons to meet in scientifi3WITZERLAND c forums, and%MAIL(I/3 #ONF exchange ESPIORAT %MAILULRIKE,ANDFESTER UNISGCH s!GNIESZKA,UKASZCZYK views in a non-traditional fashion.s$R-ARCEL%GLI Non-traditional%UROPEAN3PACE0OLICY)NSTITUTE be- %IDGENÚSSISCHE4ECHNISCHE 3CHWARZENBERGPLATZ (OCHSCHULE:àRICH 6IENNA cause, beyond the technical 'RUPPE7ELTRAUMBIOLOGIEaspects linked!USTRIA to human 4ECHNOPARKSTRASSE %MAILALUKASZCZYK SPACEGENERATIONORG :àRICH presence in space that have3WITZERLAND been studieds-ARIE3UCHANOVA by space %MAILMARCELEGLI SPACEBIOLETHZCH %UROPEAN3CIENCE&OUNDATION (UMANSIN/UTER3PACEn (UMANITIES5NIT scientists and engineers for thes0ROF/LIVIER&RANCIS last fi ve decades, QUAI,EZAY -ARNÏSIA hu- )NTERDISCIPLINARY/DYSSEYS 5NIVERSITÏDU,UXEMBOURG 3TRASBOURG #AMPUS+IRCHBERG &RANCE 6IENNAs /CTOBER "2" %MAILMSUCHANOVA ESFORG mans in space pose challenges RUE2ICHARD#OUDENHOVE +ALERGI that go much further 3TANDING#OMMITTEEFORTHE(UMANITIES3#( ,UXEMBOURG %UROPEAN3PACE3CIENCES#OMMITTEE%33# ,UXEMBOURG than the ability to survive. %MAILOLIVIERFRANCIS UNILU In March 2007, an ESF strategic workshop was or- ganised at the University of Genoa entitled ‘Humans in Space. A Humanities Assessment of the Implications 0RINTRUN 3EPTEMBER 0HOTOCREDITS'ETTY)MAGESIMAGEOF-ARS %3!¥-03FORTHE/3)2)34EAM 3%44).'3#)%.#%!'%.$!3&/2%52/0% of Space Sounding and Exploration’,,OCALSPONSORS addressing some of the issues identifi ed above. The central theme was the role and situation of humans in orbit around the Earth, their place in exploration, and the search for life Space’. It was successful not only on a scholarly level, in the universe. Should humans explore space? Do the through discussions with colleagues in other disci- (cultural and economic) drivers for exploration require plines with whom, indeed, regular interaction is not human participation? What are the human abilities and self-evident, but also in demonstrating the necessity reasons to adapt to such extreme conditions as pre- and productive contribution of humanities and social sented by the space environment beyond Earth? Are science disciplines in understanding the universe in there scientifi c grounds that should lead humans to be which we live, or will live in the future. prepared for ethical and societal consequences of an We would like to thank the participants to the encounter with extraterrestrial life? workshop in Genoa, as well as the speakers at the con- The interaction resulting from this workshop paved ference in Vienna, for sharing their views in an open and the way for a conference on Humans in Outer Space, cross-disciplinary manner. We would also like to thank held on 11-12 October 2007 in Vienna, locally organised Prof. Luca Codignola from the University of Genoa and by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) with sup- SCH member, and Prof. Kai-Uwe Schrogl from ESPI, for port of the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation their invaluable support and driving force in bringing the and Technology (BMVIT) and the fi nancial support cross-disciplinary dialogue about, as well as Ms Marie of the European Space Agency (ESA). Scholars from Suchanova from ESF and Ms Agnieszka Lukaszczyk various disciplines and backgrounds, including history, from ESPI for taking care of the practical arrangements cultural and religious studies, the arts, anthropology, and organisation of the Vienna conference in a profes- policy, law, ethics and economics, but also space sci- sional way. The fi nancial contribution from ESA to this ences and technology, presented their views. The conference is kindly acknowledged. proceedings of this conference will be published by Springer later this year. This conference resulted in a continued and fur- Dr. Monique van Donzel, ther strengthening of the interdisciplinary European ESF Head of Unit,
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