Human Spaceflight in Social Media: Promoting Space Exploration Through Twitter

Human Spaceflight in Social Media: Promoting Space Exploration Through Twitter Pierre J. Bertrand,1 Savannah L. Niles,2 and Dava J. Newman1,3 turn back now would be to deny our history, our capabilities,’’ said James Michener.1 The aerospace industry has successfully 1 Man-Vehicle Laboratory, Department of Aeronautics and Astro- commercialized Earth applications for space technologies, but nautics; 2Media Lab, Department of Media Arts and Sciences; and 3 human space exploration seems to lack support from both fi- Department of Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of nancial and human public interest perspectives. Space agencies Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. no longer enjoy the political support and public enthusiasm that historically drove the human spaceflight programs. If one uses ABSTRACT constant year dollars, the $16B National Aeronautics and While space-based technologies for Earth applications are flourish- Space Administration (NASA) budget dedicated for human ing, space exploration activities suffer from a lack of public aware- spaceflight in the Apollo era has fallen to $7.9B in 2014, of ness as well as decreasing budgets. However, space exploration which 41% is dedicated to operations covering the Internati- benefits are numerous and include significant science, technological onal Space Station (ISS), the Space Launch System (SLS) and development, socioeconomic benefits, education, and leadership Orion, and commercial crew programs.2 The European Space contributions. Recent robotic exploration missions have positively Agency (ESA) maintains a budget of 400Me for human space- influenced public perception by utilizing video and social media flight, approximately 10% of its total budget.3 While mission communication. How can these new communication technologies be successes continue under these constraints, financial as well as used to better serve human spaceflight? How can space agencies and renewed public support is required for human exploration to astronauts inspire tax-paying citizens, and thus politicians, to become a strategic and high priority among many nations. commit to an ambitious, global human spaceflight program based on Exploration is the expansion of the realm of human experience, international collaboration? This article analyzes how the Twitter the redefinition of what it means to be human,4 and despite the network related to human spaceflight is organized, measuring how nondirect benefits for society, numerous rationales rely on it. influence and relationships are linked, to better capture the best Primary and secondary rationales justify human spaceflight.4 practices and enhance the promotion of space exploration. We Primary ones, which rely on the presence of humans, include outline the Twitter network and organization related to human national pride, international leadership, and inspiration. Sec- spaceflights and show how the use of media (i.e., photos and videos) ondary rationales where humans augment the benefits of mis- in tweets can affect the notoriety and popularity of Twitter accounts. sions include science, economic development, and education.4 We investigate the cultural differences of astronaut followers. This Human spaceflight is an efficient way to build identity and article crystallizes the study performed on the Twitter human contribute to national stature.5,6 Human spaceflight remains spaceflight network. This is the first study analyzing the use of social a powerful instrument for international diplomacy, which media to communicate about human spaceflight and its potential. can promote peaceful international relations. The ISS is the Future work needs to be done to characterize the effectiveness of best example, currently. Space exploration also offers an Downloaded by MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY from online.liebertpub.com at 01/18/18. For personal use only. using such a platform to build adequate support for human space- ‘‘extraordinary opportunity to stimulate math, science and flight, in comparison to more conventional communication tools. engineering excellence’’6,7 in countries involved in these programs, a significant benefit, as many governments cur- INTRODUCTION rently place high priority on science, technology, engineering, Human Space Exploration and mathematics (STEM) education.8 The rationales of human ‘‘ e cannot be indifferent to space, because the spaceflight are more topical than ever, but the paradigm needs grand slow march of intelligence has brought to change in order to build a strong and ambitious space ex- us, in our generation, to a point from which we ploration program. In the time of a flat world within a global W can explore and understand and utilize it. To economic crisis,9 international collaboration appears to be the Manuscript presented at the International Astronautical Congress, 65, Toronto, Canada, September 29–October 3, 2014. Copyright ª 2014 by IAF. DOI: 10.1089/space.2015.0004 VOL. 3 NO. 2 2015 NEW SPACE 117 BERTRAND ET AL. framework for the new exploration era. As a coordination of very inspiring way: Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gained financial and intellectual resources, international collabora- more than 22 million views on his ‘‘Space Oddity’’ YouTube tion increases the scope of programs beyond the capabilities of video,6,14,15 andinspiredtheentirespacecommunity,especially individual space agencies.5,6 ‘‘Engage the public in explora- the Anglo-Saxon world. The video of the Curiosity landing,16 tion’’ is one of the 8 common goals and objectives that the demonstrating both the technological challenge of the mission International Space Exploration Coordination Group de- and the human joy of the ground control staff, has gone viral fined,1 in order to build a sustainable human space explora- and was part of the Google Zeitgest 2012,17 summarizing the tion endeavor that will last for decades. year 2012. Other salient examples have demonstrated an effec- tive use of social network to convey messages, make the space Communication in Human Spaceflight community react, and inspire the Web: the Rosetta campaign Astronauts are the incarnation of space exploration; they during the summer of 2014 was a case in point.18 embody national prestige, inspire younger generations, and The interactive tools provided by the Internet are also very represent a very efficient way to gain public support, therefore useful to educate and provide informal education supple- providing an incentive for nations to fund human spaceflight mental to a classroom activity.19 Different social phenomena programs. However, astronauts remain very nationalistic: are involved in this new communication tool: public infor- their influence is difficult to spread across borders, especially mation, public education, public engagement, public support, due to language barriers and lack of identification. This issue and public participation.10 However, one does not necessarily presents an obstacle for ambitious international cooperation. lead to another. Public participation seems to be a key phe- As astronaut Gerhard Thiele states in the ‘‘European Identity nomenon to endure public involvement. Some campaigns through Space’’ report, ‘‘while in the astronauts’ country the have successfully demonstrated the benefits of public partic- news coverage is usually very broad and at a prominent place ipation: the #HumansInSpace campaign, where Twitter users in the newspaper or the TV news, in other European media the were asked to provide ideas for human spaceflight program,6 space mission usually receives hardly more than a short or NASA spacesuit design vote.20 The groundswell is a rela- 5 mention.’’ What is true among the European countries col- tively inexpensive communication tool, prone to cross the laborating within ESA is an even greater reality between borders of culture and language, and appears to be the adapted different agencies. In addition to the cultural gap that can tool to build the space exploration program of tomorrow, form between an astronaut and the public, a loss of general based on international collaboration. awareness about astronauts and their activities is observed. For example, Americans are currently less able to name an Twitter for Human Spaceflight Communication American astronaut than was the case right after the Apollo One of the common objectives that space agencies share is era.10 According to Gabriel Almond, the engagement of the to use interactive communication tools to provide virtual citizens depends on a combination of interest in the topic and experiences using real and live exploration data.1 Google + or a sense of being adequately informed about it,6,11,12 and re- Youtube are particularly adapted to inform, communicate, cent studies have shown that both the well-informed public interact, and inspire large and different communities of In- and the public interested in human spaceflight have relatively ternet users. However, they are all different in the way they low awareness compared to other public policy issues.6 work and connect people. Twitter, launched in March 2006, is However, the communication paradigm is rapidly changing one of the most notable and used real-time message routing with the development of the Web 2.0, an expression referring platforms,21 also known as a microblogging service. The Downloaded by MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY from online.liebertpub.com at 01/18/18. For personal use only. to the interactive and collaborative evolution of the Internet. principle is that users can communicate

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