Mythologies of Outer Space

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) is associated with the University of Calgary and plays a key role in our local community. For over forty years the Institute has worked to foster humanities research and to encourage interdisciplinary discussion. It also engages citizens on matters of importance to our world. The Institute, for instance, brings together scholars and citizens annually in a day-long forum to discuss current cultural and societal issues. In today’s geopolitically turbulent world, this is a vital and valued function.

The theme selected for the 2022 CIH community forum was ‘The Final Frontier: Mythologies of Outer Space’. Speakers and attendees from diverse backgrounds examined the various ways humanity has regarded space exploration over past centuries. They discussed our responsibilities towards stewardship of the space environment, and considered how Indigenous ways of knowing could help us better manage our relationship with the heavens.

The deliberations from the 2022 forum are now being published. The book, to be entitled ‘Mythologies of Outer Space’, will be available later this year from the University of Calgary Press. Editors James Ellis and Noreen Humble asked me to reflect on the overarching messaging of the book’s 14 chapters and then write an Afterword. I was honoured to do so. (Since astronauts are often weightless, it is a rare privilege to be asked to weigh in on important matters – ha!)

This is the Afterword that I contributed to the book:

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I have enjoyed a privileged career as an astronaut. Living and working in space for over two hundred days aboard three different spacecraft was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My career did not entail solely the exploration of space, but also the exploration of oneself. The demands of the flights, as well as the rigours of training, regularly took me to my limits – physically, mentally and emotionally. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I am pleased, therefore, that the Calgary Institute for the Humanities also deems the exploration of outer space to be a socially important issue and worthy of interdisciplinary discussion. In fact, during a daylong community forum in May 2022, the Institute convened esteemed scholars and citizens to celebrate and deliberate on a range of topics related to the final frontier. How gratifying!

And what an eclectic group of humanists, artists and social scientists that gathered together! The contributors to the forum entitled The Final Frontier: Mythologies of Outer Space included, amongst others, a space archaeologist, an Indigenous astronomer, science fiction scholars, poets and artists. Some contributors shared their love of astronomy and others their fascination with spaceflight. In this publication which recaps the forum deliberations, I enjoyed reading how the Ancient Greeks regarded space, and how more contemporary writers have imagined voyages to the Moon. I share the same sense of wonder and spirit of adventure.

Of all human endeavours, space exploration must surely be one of the most all-encompassing. Everything that I have accomplished in my career as an astronaut has been based on collaboration – collaboration across disciplines, across cultures and across international borders. While my own space travels were confined to low Earth orbit, I await upcoming explorations farther into our solar system by the next generation of astronauts. A return to the Moon is anticipated later this decade. I hope to see astronauts walk on Mars within my lifetime.

My ongoing engagement in human spaceflight has often led me into lively debates about exploration with colleagues in a variety of settings – aboard orbiting spacecraft, as panelists at conferences, or over beverages at a neighbourhood pub. Being an engineer, physician and astronaut, I tend to contribute technical, medical and operational perspectives to these conversations. My colleagues add insights from their own particular backgrounds and experiences.

Participation from the humanities, the arts and the social sciences in these sorts of discussions is especially valued. I admire my liberal arts colleagues for their abilities to ask the right questions and to examine technological matters through a lens of humanity. Positioning problems of societal importance within the context of a bigger picture and in relation to comparable events from the past is critical to addressing the complex, multifaceted issues facing today’s space program.

Similarly, there are insights from Indigenous ways of knowing that could guide humanity’s future forays into the solar system. In addition to being the first explorers of Turtle Island (the continent of North America), Indigenous peoples uphold a resource management mindset aligned with sacred beliefs and principles of stewardship. Their systems engineering approach to life asserts that all living beings are part of an integrated and interconnected whole; nothing in our natural ecosystem operates independently.

In many SciTech fora, the voices of the liberal arts, Indigenous and other communities renowned for clear and critical thinking have been under-represented. While I would never ask one of my non-technical friends for advice on how to rendezvous and dock a spacecraft, I seek their guidance when faced with contentious quandaries. Critical thinking skills are sorely needed to guide our space community through this present era of unprecedented dynamism and disruption.

It is a privilege to live and work in space – a realm of infinite majesty and mystery. Spacefarers understand that this privilege comes with a responsibility to the long-term welfare of space, our planet and all its inhabitants. There is no place in space for the careless, the exploitative, the selfish or the defiant. Beyond the concerns raised in this book by Alice Gorman, Hilding Neilson and Chris Pak about terraforming (making planets habitable for humans), lunar mining and colonial attitudes within some research circles, there are a litany of other looming issues with equally troubling consequences. For instance, a plethora of new entrepreneurs are now engaging in space affairs. Commercial ventures are being sparked by tectonic advances in rocket technology and subsequent reductions in the costs of launching payloads to space. While these remarkable innovations from companies like SpaceX are certainly welcomed, one has to ask whether the new players rushing in to seek profits from beyond Earth’s atmosphere will treat the environment with respect. Will they be mindful of the repercussions of their actions? Or will space become another marketplace dominated by billionaire-backed multinationals with little consideration for the privilege of operating there?

Stewardship is not the only concern on my mind; I also worry about safety of flight. Emergency situations can arise in space at any time – from launch to landing or anytime in between. The harsh environment, the formidable power of rockets and the hyper velocities of our spacecraft can be unforgiving and catastrophic when things go wrong. In the six-plus decades of human spaceflight, 18 astronauts and cosmonauts have died while serving aboard spacecraft. I lost seven dear colleagues in the Columbia disaster of 2003. Risk will continue to be an inherent part of any undertaking in space – human or non-human. All participants must understand this and regard safety as their top priority.

So, I am outraged when military forces of sparefaring nations feel compelled to test the operability of their anti-satellite systems in space, creating clouds of shrapnel in low Earth orbit. The resulting debris from these demonstrations persists for years and is a threat to the wellbeing of astronauts living there. Spaceflight is already dangerous enough without adding this deliberate man-made hazard.

Figure 2.2 from Michael Byers and Aaron Boley’s book ‘Who Owns Outer Space?: International Law, Astrophysics, and the Sustainable Development of Space’. Cambridge University Press, 2023. – Cumulative on-orbit distribution functions (all orbits) for tracked debris (top), payloads (middle) and rocket bodies (bottom). The ‘on-orbit’ curves are just the difference between the ‘catalogued’ and ‘decayed’ curves. The 2007 and 2009 debris spikes are a Chinese anti-satellite test and the Iridium 33–Kosmos 2251 collision respectively, while the 2021 spike is the Russian anti-satellite weapon test. The recent, rapid rise of the satellite (payload) curve represents NewSpace.

Lessons have not been learned. As I write this Afterword, the morally unthinkable is being considered. It is reported that a nuclear-armed anti-satellite weapon is being developed by a foreign state. If deployed in space and triggered, such a weapon could destroy a wide array of commercial, civil and military satellites and render low earth orbit unusable – a tragic outcome for global society.

Human behaviour seems resistant to change. We made similar mistakes in past centuries when settling former frontiers, exploiting public Commons and colonizing unceded territories. The transition of exploratory objectives from discovery to exploitation has historically not gone well and I fear that when humans reach the Moon and Mars, we will behave the same.

You may ask whether there are international rules to enforce the necessary mindset. Yes, there are. The United Nations Outer Space Treaty (1967) is regarded as the ‘Magna Carta’ of space law and provides the basic principles for the use of outer space. It was intended to curb unacceptable behaviour. However, this treaty was crafted in the Cold War-era when few nations could access space. Its original authors did not foresee the day when thousands of spacecraft would orbit our planet daily, when a rapidly growing global space sector would be worth $469 billion, or when more people would fly to space as paying tourists than as government-trained astronauts.

Being out-paced by the speed of innovation, the Outer Space Treaty is not up to the task of regulating present-day activities. It states, for instance, that nations must pay regard to other nation’s activities and not interfere with them. Unfortunately, the wording of the Treaty is vague and does not impose a clear legal obligation to not pollute space or a responsibility to clean up debris.

The follow-on Moon Treaty of 1979 is included in this publication as an appendix. While it states that activities that disrupt the lunar environment are prohibited, it has not been adopted by any of the major space nations that are currently vying to land on and exploit the Moon.

This is therefore an opportune time for the global space community to come together and reform existing, inadequate governance structures. I am not a governance guru and have no expertise in policy, law or diplomacy, but it seems to me that space governance should be a team sport with a diversity of players. To better address the novel challenges and uncertainties of the 21^st century, governing bodies would be well served to double down on a commitment to cross-cultural, multidisciplinary, and international representation. The path forward should be decided by a spectrum of players broader than the traditional governmental and industrial stakeholders. The exploration of space is too important to not include all voices and to not balance all interests.

Cafe Terrace at Night – Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

Yes, the opinions of those who regard space for military purposes must be heard. But they must be balanced by those who espouse space exploration as a means of peaceful collaboration. The industrialist who aspires to mine lunar resources must be heard, but so must the poet who looks to a full moon in a midnight sky for inspiration, and the romantics who share a bottle of wine on a patio bathed in untainted moonlight. The voice of the capitalist who introduces broadband services to underserved corners of the planet must be balanced by the voice of the elder who educates villagers on the constellations of Indigenous lore. Short-term returns-on-investment as espoused by corporate CEOs must be balanced by longer-term outlooks of youth intending to preserve outer space for the generations that follow.

Ojibwe sky star map – credit: A. Lee, W. Wilson & C. Gawboy

The numerous boards, councils, and executive bodies entrusted to oversee space matters on the global stage as well as on regional and corporate levels would benefit from more diverse and inclusive memberships. Points of view and experiences from under-represented communities could guide governing bodies in understanding the ‘why’ of the problems to be solved before starting to work on the ‘how’.

Don’t get me wrong – I am not jaded. I believe that we live in exciting times and there are reasons to be hopeful. The exploration of space engenders hope for humanity because of the promise of global collaboration. Throughout my training and spaceflights, I found that the visions that united my crewmates and me were more powerful than any issues that divided us.

Yes, I am frustrated by misguided decision-makers and some aspects of space governance, but I have many kindred spirits who are determined to explore space safely and sustainably, and with equity and peaceful intention.

The Artemis Accords, for instance, are a helpful stopgap measure. The Accords are nonbinding, bilateral agreements between the United States and other countries wishing to partner in NASA’s Artemis program. While not universal and not without controversy, the Accords do affirm the intent of the Outer Space Treaty and provide common principles, guidelines, and best practices to manage explorations of the Moon and beyond.

I enjoyed reading Mythologies of Outer Space. While highlighting the wonder and awe of space exploration, the essays also shine a critical light on environmental and ethical implications. The book reaffirms in my mind that the exploration of space cannot be regarded simply as a research and development undertaking. Yes, there are many technological and operational hurdles to be overcome, and these are best addressed by the rocket scientists and engineers. But this will be the easy part. The hard part of future exploration will be managing the spectrum of partners and the diversity of interests so that we can explore safely, sustainably, equitably and peacefully. It won’t be easy; it will be hard. It will measure the best of our energies and skills. And we must succeed because the exploration of the final frontier is too important to get wrong.