The article was published at The Conversation.
Associate professor of art history and archaeology at Chapman University.
The Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies is Alice Gorman.
A new era of space stations is about to start. NASA has announced three proposals for a space station.
The first attempts to create places for humans to live and work in space outside the framework of government space agencies have been proposed. They're part of a space technology that's driven by commercial opportunities. This is what it will take to get humans to Mars.
A photo tour of the International Space Station.
Two space stations are currently occupied in low Earth orbit, both belonging to space agencies. The International Space Station has been occupied since 2000 with a typical population of seven crew members. The first module of the Chinese station was launched in April of 2021.
The International Space Station is set to retire at the end of the decade. It was an important symbol of international cooperation after the Cold War and the first long-term space habitat.
Plans for multiple private space stations represent a major shift in how space is used. Will these stations change the way people live in space, or will they stay the same?
Commercializing life in space.
NASA supports commercializing space. The development of private cargo services to supply the International Space Station began about a decade ago, as did the development of private vehicles to deliver astronauts to the moon.
A private module to be attached to the International Space Station was awarded a $140 million contract by NASA in February 2020. Philippe Starck will design a luxurious interior.
Starck compares it to a nest. Tourists can look out at Earth and space from the huge viewing area.
The first module is due to be delivered to the space station in the year 2025. By the time the International Space Station is retired, the modules will be free-flying.
A contract has been signed with a French-Italian company to build 50% of the International Space Station's habitat.
Three other groups have been selected for the first phase of NASA's commercial space station competition.
A group of companies proposed a station called Starlab to provide research, manufacturing, and tourism opportunities. Orbital Reef, a project by Blue Origin, Sierra Space, and Boeing, followed.
How are space stations used?
It is not clear if the private space stations will be more liveable than the previous generations of space stations.
Older space stations were usually designed to meet engineering constraints. What lessons have been learned to make life better in space?
There was little research on the experience of astronauts on space stations. The International Space Station Archaeological Project is using social science approaches.
We've learned a lot from 20 years of living on the International Space Station.
Since 2015, we have developed new, data-driven understandings of how the crew of the International Space Station adapt to life in a context of confinement, isolation, and microgravity. We measure their interactions with built spaces and objects around them. What are the patterns of use of different spaces?
Information never considered before in habitat design is revealed by asking these kinds of questions. The crew of the International Space Station personalize different areas of the space station with items that reflect their beliefs, interests, and identity.
The crew doesn't use all spaces equally. People from different nationalities, genders, and space agencies appear in some modules more than others. The way work is divided up between crews and agencies is related to these patterns.
The lack of gravity is a big challenge. The objects act as "gravity surrogates" by fixing them in place while everything else floats around. Our research is looking at how crew adapt gravity surrogates to make their activities more efficient and how different spaces are used.
Society and culture in space.
Designers and engineers have a long way to go to make space stations comfortable and welcoming for the predicted space tourism market.
The plans for space stations are ambitious and could change how humans live. It's likely that the companies working on them don't know how people use space habitats.
They will only be able to make real changes that improve mission success and crew well-being if they turn towards new kinds of questions and research from a social and cultural perspective.
The Conversation's article is a Creative Commons licensed one. The original article can be found here.
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