Reclaiming Space: Progressive and Multicultural Visions of Space Exploration

Description

Reclaiming Space is an innovative study of space travel's history, legitimacy, and future. The NewSpace movement that presently dominates spaceflight culture is characterized by distinctly Western, free-market capitalist values and associated with the space ambitions of the super-wealthy. This book exists to incubate, illuminate, and illustrate a more diverse and inclusive conversation about space exploration. Reclaiming Space asks: What would space exploration be like if we prioritized, or even simply acknowledged, the perspectives and value systems of individuals who are disabled, aren't white, aren't male, or aren't characteristically Western in their values? What can these perspectives teach us all about space exploration and its value (or even its potential for harm) that cannot be easily recognized or appreciated under the NewSpace status quo? And what should we be doing differently when it comes to space exploration? The twenty-seven original essays in this volume provide much needed perspective on space exploration by offering counterpoints to mainstream thinking about space. Essays address subjects such as the history and development of spaceflight culture, both within and outside the United States; the impact of science fiction and space art on how we conceptualize space; diverse cultural narratives and responses to space; and the ways space exploration might be leveraged in support of repairing injustices. Reclaiming Space also considers what our responsibilities might be as a spacefaring species in the distant future. Contributors include academics who research space exploration, spaceflight culture, space ethics, and space policy, as well as space artists and authors of award-winning science and speculative fiction. Written for space enthusiasts of all backgrounds, Reclaiming Space is an engaging, provocative volume of essays showcasing the perspectives of women, persons of color, and others who are typically left out of discussions of space exploration. Dedication Contents Foreword • Lori Garver Preface List of Contributors 1. An Introduction to Reclaiming Space • James S. J. Schwartz, Linda Billings, and Erika Nesvold PART 1: THE EVOLUTION AND HISTORY OF SPACEFLIGHT 2. Neoliberalism: Problematic. Neoliberal Space Policy? Extremely Problematic • Linda Billings 3. Space from Āfār: From Africa Across the Indian Ocean to the Pacific • Mukesh Chiman Bhatt 4. Cold Warrior Magic, Africana Science, and NASA Space Race Religion, Part One: Laura Nader’s Contrarian Anthropology for Afrofuturist Times • Edward C. Davis IV 5. Global Participation in the “Space Frontier” • Alan Marshall 6. Phrenology in Space: Legacies of Scientific Racism in Classifying Extraterrestrial Intelligence • William Lempert PART 2: THE ART OF ENVISIONING SPACE 7. The Language of Space • Mary Robinette Kowal 8. Spacefaring for Kinship • Vandana Singh 9. Opportunities to Pursue Liberatory, Anticolonial, and Antiracist Designs for Human Societies beyond Earth • Danielle Wood, Prathima Muniyappa, and David Colby Reed 10. African Space Art as a New Perspective on Space Law • Saskia Vermeylen and Jacque Njeri 11. Embodiment in Space Imagery: Beyond the Dominant Narrative • Daniela de Paulis and Chelsea Haramia 12. Appreciating What’s Beautiful about Space • James S. J. Schwartz PART 3: CULTURAL NARRATIVES AND SPACEFLIGHT 13. Sacred Space: Decolonization through the Afrofuture • Ingrid LaFleur 14. Sherpas on the Moon: The Case for Including “Native Guides” in Space Exploration • Deana Weibel 15. Indigeneity, Space Expansion, and the Three-Body Problem • Tony Milligan 16. On Loving Nonliving Stuff • Daniel Capper 17. Reclaiming Space: On Hope in a Jar, a Bear in the Sky, and the Running Red Queen • Kathryn Denning PART 4: BEING ACCOUNTABLE IN THE PRESENT 18. Contact Zones and Outer Space Environments: A Feminist Archaeological Analysis of Space Habitats • Alice Gorman 19. Occupy Space: Will Disabled People Fly? • Sheri Wells-Jensen 20. Protecting Labor Rights in Space • Erika Nesvold 21. Reclaiming Lunar Resources: Paving the Way for an International Property Rights Regime for Outer Space • Ruvimbo Samanga 22. Starlink or Stargazing: Will Commerce Outshine Science? • Tanja Masson-Zwaan 23. Creating a Culture of Extraterrestrial Environmental Concern • William R. Kramer PART 5: VISIONS OF THE FURTHER FUTURE 24. Desire, Duty, and Discrimination: Is There an Ethical Way to Select Humans for Noah’s Ark? • Evie Kendal 25. Deconstructing and Reprivileging the Education System for Space • Janet de Vigne 26. Astrobioethics Considerations Regarding Space Exploration • Octavio Chon-Torres 27. Greening the Universe: The Case for Ecocentric Space Expansion • Andrea Owe 28. Will Posthumans Dream of Humans? A Message to Our Dear Postplanetary Descendants • Francesca Ferrando Index