Abstract
This paper investigates the material culture of icons on the International Space Station as part of a complex web of interactions between cosmonauts and the Russian Orthodox Church, reflecting contemporary terrestrial political and social affairs. An analysis of photographs from the International Space Station (ISS) demonstrated that a particular area of the Zvezda module is used for the display of icons, both Orthodox and secular, including the Mother of God of Kazan and Yuri Gagarin. The Orthodox icons are frequently sent to space and returned to Earth at the request of church clerics. In this process, the icons become part of an economy of belief that spans Earth and space. This practice stands in contrast to the prohibition against displaying political/religious imagery in the U.S.-controlled modules of ISS. The icons mark certain areas of ISS as bounded sacred spaces or hierotopies, separated from the limitless outer space beyond the space station walls.
Highlights
How the perspective of being outside the world—that is, in space—changes personal approaches to spirituality among space travelers has been the subject of numerous studies (e.g., Suedfeld 2006; Weibel 2016, 2020; Weibel and Swanson 2006)
Religious practices are manifested in more mundane ways inside space stations, including the International Space Station (ISS)
Since we are unable to travel to the site to make observations in person, we have developed innovative methods to study the culture of ISS (Walsh and Gorman 2020)
Summary
How the perspective of being outside the world—that is, in space—changes personal approaches to spirituality among space travelers has been the subject of numerous studies (e.g., Suedfeld 2006; Weibel 2016, 2020; Weibel and Swanson 2006). Since we are unable to travel to the site to make observations in person, we have developed innovative methods to study the culture of ISS (Walsh and Gorman 2020) Chief among these is the examination of historic photographs. The launch of icons and their return to Earth, is often documented by Russian news media, allowing us to track the dynamic nature of the Zvezda display. This display reveals the interplay between personal and institutional, even state-sponsored, expressions of faith, exemplified by the variable function of the aft wall as an “icon corner” of the kind found in adherent Russian domestic spaces; or an iconostasis, an integral part of Orthodox churches
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