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Known as Dr. Space Junk, Dr. Alice Gorman is a world-renowned expert on space archaeology. Dr. Gorman takes particular interest in the field of orbital debris and is passionate about the preservation of key objects that orbit our planet for the sake of our cultural heritage in space. In this article, Dr. Gorman highlights why some orbital debris deserves protection and preservation.

Vanguard satellite; Credits: NASA

This year is the 60th anniversary of a very special piece of space junk. On March 17, 1958, the US launched a silver sphere of metal the size of a grapefruit into Low Earth Orbit. Vanguard 1 wasn’t the first satellite in orbit, or even the second — but despite coming third, it’s the only one which survives from the International Geophysical Year of 1957–1958. The oldest human object in space is still orbiting silently at about 600 km above our heads.

And it’s far from alone. Among the roughly 3000 or so defunct spacecraft which no longer work are many others with their own unique stories. My favourites include Telstar 1, the first active telecommunications satellite launched in 1962, which I’m pretty sure influenced the design of the Doctor Who creatures called the Mechanoids. There’s also the Indonesian telecommunications satellite Palapa A1, launched in 1976, and seen as a symbol of uniting Indonesia’s 17,000 islands and 300 languages. TRAAC, an experimental satellite launched in 1961, carried the first poem into space. Among the stuff we now call space junk are satellites and rocket bodies which reflect visions of space from the Cold War to the cubesat.

But there’s a problem. Satellite technology came to maturity in the 1960s, at the same time as the growth of environmental consciousness. Indeed images of the Earth from space, such as those taken by the first weather satellite TIROS 1, were a big part of this. People were speculating about the impacts of leaving human litter in space from the 1960s, and by the 1990s it was clear that we could no longer ignore the high speed junk that space industry was creating. The risks of a space station or expensive satellite colliding with a bit of space junk and being damaged or even destroyed were just too great.

Read more at: https://spacewatch.global/2018/03/spacewatchglthemes-space-archaeology-alice-gorman/

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Artconcept of Audi Lunar Quattro visiting Lunar Roving Vehicle

As part of their mission, the Team is set to return to the landing site of Apollo 17, the last time humans walked on the Moon which launched on December 7th, 1972. PTScientists are interested in how the Apollo hardware has stood the test of time on the Moon. Using their Audi lunar quattro rovers they aim to get the first look at the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle since it was left by Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, and send high-definition images back to Earth.

This is a thrilling prospect for the space archaeology community. However, things aren’t quite that straightforward, as Robert Boehme, CEO and Founder of PTScientists explained to Helen Jameson, Editor-in-Chief, SpaceWatch.Global.

How aware is the PTScientists team about space archaeology and what is your perspective on the preservation of historical sites in space?

I founded the project nine years ago when we came together as a group of scientists and engineers that wanted to participate in the Google Lunar XPrize challenge to send a robot to the Moon. Something that I am still proud of today is the fact that in our first public presentation we were already talking about going back to visit an Apollo site with two robots. The point I want to make is that this is an idea that we had in the very early days.

Read more at: https://spacewatch.global/2018/03/spacewatchglthemes-space-archaeology-ptscientists-dna/

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Starman in the cherry red Tesla leaving earth orbit on Feb 6th 2018

In February 2018, millions of people watched the maiden flight of Falcon Heavy and its unusual payload: a cherry red Tesla roadster. Behind the wheel was “Starman”, a mannequin clad in a space suit. Multiple cameras on the vehicle captured the ride, as David Bowie’s Space Oddity was played during the launch. Humorous, geeky, and emotive.

The roadster belonged to Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX. He sent it because he liked “the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future.” But doesn’t even this “endlessly” have an end?

On Earth, natural forces such as wind, rain and earthquakes have weathered down buildings, monuments and the daily evidence of civilization such as tools, clothing and personal items. Historical artefacts like the Pyramids are standing, but we will never know about all the things that aren’t.

Realistically, it’s not just our creations, but also their creators — the inventive engineers, Homo sapiens, who all have a limited time span on Earth. What will remain of the things we make and of us in the future?

The idea of protecting the things we make from the ravages of time is a recent phenomenon. For example, it was not until 1978 that the Pyramids were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with other sites such as the Colosseum and the Lascaux cave. But despite our best efforts, anything on Earth is subject to the same forces that shaped the planet itself. We may be able to mitigate the effects of time, but this is an active process. As we disappear, so will everything that we guarded.

But now space exploration has opened a door to a potentially eternal safe room. We can protect objects forever by freezing them in time — in the permanent and indelible vault of space. This vault already contains some objects, such as the spacecraft already sent into and out of the solar system.

Space: an eternal vault

Golden Record

In 1977, everyone at NASA’s Cape Canaveral was holding their breath. The interplanetary probe Voyager 2 was on the launchpad and, in seconds, it would begin its long journey for fly-bys of the largest planets in the solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Voyager 1, Voyager 2’s twin sister, would launch in September of the same year.

Less than forty years after their launches, these two probes changed status, from “interplanetary” probes to “interstellar” probes. Today, both spacecraft are receding into the vastness of space. Next stop: the star Ross 248, which Voyager 2 will reach in 40,000 years.

Before the launch, the astrophysicist Carl Sagan suggested including a time capsule on these spacecraft. And thus, the idea of the “Golden Record” was born — a portrait of Humanity in the form of a modern version of a 16.5 rpm vinyl.

The record would store a few minutes of audio recording sounds from the Earth, music, and greetings in 55 languages, as well as a selection of many drawings and illustrations, and photographs. There were photographs of male and female gametes, conception of a child, a woman breastfeeding, the structure of DNA, a fisherman and his net, an airplane taking off, a diver exploring the underwater world. A scientific Rosetta stone was also included.

In the documentary “The Farthest”, the record is identified as the real “heartbeat of the spacecraft”. This heart is likely to be eternal — the life expectancy of the Golden Record is thought to be in the billions of years. It is deep frozen in time.

Carl Sagan recognized that alongside the literal message of the Golden Record — one that might not even be intelligible to anyone that finds the record — there are many implied ones. He said “The Voyager is itself a message. In their exploratory intent, in the lofty ambition of their objectives, in their utter lack to do harm, and in the brilliance of their design and performance, these robots speak eloquently for us.”

Read more at: https://spacewatch.global/2018/03/spacewatchglthemes-space-archaeology-todays-spacecraft-tomorrows-archaeology/

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Dr. Beth O’Leary is a foremost expert and pioneer of space archaeology and has been involved in the development of the science for the last 20 years. Inspired by a question raised by a grad student, O’Leary has tirelessly worked to promote the protection of humanity’s heritage sites in space. Here, she speaks to Helen Jameson, Editor-in-Chief, SpaceWatch.Global about her inspiration, the progress of the field and the future as humanity plans a return to the Moon.

Can you begin by telling me how you initially found yourself getting involved in space archaeology? What was the attraction?

Moon Landings on TV

I always wanted to be an astronaut and I was in high school when they landed on the Moon. I was an exchange student in Bergen, Norway and I remember those grainy images and how exciting it was because everyone around me was speaking Norwegian and at the time I didn’t, and to hear that deep Texas accent say ‘The Eagle has landed’ made me want to be an astronaut.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any female astronauts at that time, and my journey to space archaeology and heritage began because of a very good question from a New Mexico State University Anthropology grad student, Ralph Gibson. He asked me: “does federal preservation law apply on the Moon”. I had been teaching a seminar on the US Federal law and I thought it was a great question. So we decided to find some money so that we could go and do some research and luckily, here at NMSU, they have what is called the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium. That’s an educational outreach programme of NASA that gives funding to researchers working on projects about space. When we proposed this in 2000, it was the first time a humanities scholar had ever asked this question and the director, Pat Hynes, believed in the project. So, myself, two students, and my colleague, Dr. Jon Hunner were awarded the money to research two questions: 1. Does federal preservation law apply on the Moon and 2. What’s up there? We started that journey and we realised that we obviously couldn’t go back to the Moon and because there were so many lunar sites we would have to focus on one site. That was the Apollo 11 Tranquility Base site the first human lunar landing. So the reason why I am here has spiralled from that question.

This is an emerging field in itself but has it become more prominent and is it receiving more attention?

More can be read: https://spacewatch.global/2018/02/spacewatchglthemes-space-archaeology-interview-dr-beth-oleary/

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by Michelle Hanlon of For All Moonkind

For All Moonkind is a young organization already having considerable impact on the discussion about how we preserve our heritage in space. Just recently, it was named one of the most innovative companies in space by Fast50. The mission behind what this group of lawyers, scientists, archaeologists, communications executives and policymakers is trying to achieve seems simple: “Ensure the six Apollo Lunar Landing and similar sites in outer space are recognized for their outstanding value to humanity and consequently preserved and protected for posterity as part of our common human heritage.” However, there are many hurdles to clear, as Michelle Hanlon, Space Lawyer and Co-Founder of For All Moonkind, explains.

It was described as an agonising dilemma. In April 1959, the Egyptian Minister of Culture contacted the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Egypt needed help. In order to promote and accelerate its industrialisation and the modernisation of its economy, it needed to harness the power of the Nile River. Unfortunately, the plan to build what is now known as the Aswan High Dam would result in the creation of a vast lake. A lake which would assure the obliteration of 3,000 year-old temples and monuments — footprints of an ancient civilisation known as Nubia. In October of that same year, the Sudan sent a similar plea to UNESCO. Neither country had the money or the capability to protect these historic sites.

The response was swift. UNESCO spearheaded a global international effort to rescue the Nubian heritage that its Director- General knew humanity could not afford to lose.

Read more at: https://spacewatch.global/2018/02/spacewatchglthemes-space-archaeology-nubia-moment-michelle-hanlon/

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