The first off-world archeological "dig"studying human culture aboard the International Space Station was launched this week.
We want to know if they will find anything useful up there.
Most people working on long-duration human spaceflight are trying to solve technical, engineering, or medical issues, according to the researchers. If they ignore the social and cultural dimensions of the problems, their solutions will be sub-optimal.
The International Space Station Archaeological Project (ISSAP) posted a picture of the areas they will be studying over the next 60 days. The kinds of objects that move in and out of the station will be photographed each day so Walsh and Gorman can study them for clues about culture and life in space for astronauts.
The Japanese Experiment Module has Express Rack 5 on the front wall, the European Drawer Rack on the front wall of the European Columbus module, and the starboard workstation in the US Node 2 module.
It is interesting to know which tools astronauts use and how they move around the space station over time. Will that give a lot of insight into how the various cultures interact on the space station? Since the astronauts will know they are being watched, will that change the outcome?
We are not the only skeptics.
One reader questioned the researchers via the social networking site, "I am incredibly confused why this is an archeological dig rather than an anthropology study."
The ISSAP said that they were examining material culture, which is the traditional domain of archaeology.
Most definitions of archeology list it as a branch of anthropology and a study of material remains, so we can see where the team is coming from. In places where residents are long gone, archeological digs tend to happen, whereas in places where the people are still alive, they are very much still alive.
We have faith that the team will come up with interesting conclusions, but the overarching goal seems a little too expansive.
The project asks how material culture reflects gender, race, class, and hierarchy.
We would love to be proven wrong if photos of the ISS help us understand elements of human culture and space exploration.
A huge black diamond from space is going to be sold.
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