Space Development Research Articles

Ballet not for everyone: A reply to Szocik

The recent note by Konrad Szocik explicates the argument against human space settlement from social exclusion, which is often alluded to, but rarely explicated in the refereed literature. I briefly discuss the weaknesses of this and similar arguments.

Biomarkers for biosensors to monitor space-induced cardiovascular ageing

Human presence in space has uncovered several health concerns related to the space environment that need to be addressed for future space missions. The hostile space environment includes radiation and microgravity that cause various pathophysiological effects. Among them are conditions related to the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system shows a dysfunctional and deconditioning state, similar to ageing on Earth, once exposed to the space environment. As we aim for longer space missions to the Moon, Mars, and thus into deep space, better understanding, monitoring, and development of countermeasures for these accelerated ageing processes are necessary. Biomarkers and their integration into biosensors therefore become important tools to understand the underlying mechanisms, develop countermeasures and monitor accelerated cardiovascular ageing. In this review, we will provide a brief overview of the space environment and its effects on the human cardiovascular system. We list the known potential cardiovascular ageing biomarkers relevant to space along with our current knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of cardiovascular ageing. We also explore in more details about the various biosensors used, their specifications, and how lab-on-a-chip systems are crucial to the development of these biosensors for tracking cardiovascular ageing during upcoming space missions.

Why space exploitation may provide sustainable development: Climate ethics and the human future as a multi-planetary species

Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival on Earth. As far as humans are a single-planetary species, our further survival seems to be seriously threatened by these on-going pressures. In this paper, we discuss ethical issues arising from the possibility of space exploitation and space colonisation as remedies for a forthcoming climate catastrophe. We argue that it would be unwise to presume that in the time span required humans will change their behaviours and/or develop new technologies so that irreversible, harmful climate change on Earth is averted. Space exploration and exploitation are considered as a natural continuation of the human attempt to explore and exploit. We conclude that space colonisation may provide a path to the sustainable development of humanity and that it would be remiss of humans not to explore this possibility seriously.

Skeleton extraction and pruning point identification of jujube tree for dormant pruning using space colonization algorithm.

The dormant pruning of jujube is a labor-intensive and time-consuming activity in the production and management of jujube orchards, which mainly depends on manual operation. Automatic pruning using robots could be a better way to solve the shortage of skilled labor and improve efficiency. In order to realize automatic pruning of jujube trees, a method of pruning point identification based on skeleton information is presented. This study used an RGB-D camera to collect multi-view information on jujube trees and built a complete point cloud information model of jujube trees. The space colonization algorithm acts on the global point cloud to generate the skeleton of jujube trees. The iterative relationship between skeleton points was represented by constructing a directed graph. The proposed skeleton analysis algorithm marked the skeleton as the trunk, the primary branches, and the lateral branches and identified the pruning points under the guidance of pruning rules. Finally, the visual model of the pruned jujube tree was established through the skeleton information. The results showed that the registration errors of individual jujube trees were less than 0.91cm, and the average registration error was 0.66cm, which provided a favorable database for skeleton extraction. The skeleton structure extracted by the space colonization algorithm had a high degree of coincidence with jujube trees, and the identified pruning points were all located on the primary branches of jujube trees. The study provides a method to identify the pruning points of jujube trees and successfully verifies the validity of the pruning points, which can provide a reference for the location of the pruning points and visual research basis for automatic pruning.

In search of a TOST': The rise of Cosmism in contemporary Russian culture

The landscape of contemporary Russian culture is ground zero for the recent revival of Cosmism, the late nineteenth century utopian quest for immortality and space colonisation. Overwhelmed, as we are in the west, with accounts of geo-political conflicts with Russia, it is especially timely to interrogate the underlying social narratives that are inseparable from these conflicts. To do so, we must simultaneously juggle the discourse of post-colonial studies, a close look at the circulation of nationalism, the nostalgia for Soviet times, an explosion of religiosity, and the ideological and cultural work being done by the prominent cosmist devotees, Anton Vidokle and Arseny Zhilyaev. 'In search of a "POST": The rise of Cosmism in contemporary Russian culture' navigates through the specter of contemporary neo-liberal Russian culture on its way to Cosmism's other-worldly narrative of a cult of the ancestors and the immortality for all. Since the 2000s Cosmism has entered intellectual vogue. Touted as a harbinger of post-humanist ideas,1 it offered a vastly different view of the future, one that blurred the borders between the scientific, the religious and the fantastical (Smith 2016:4). Cosmism thus appears to function as a temporary refuge from the human denigration subsequent to the Fall of the Soviet Union and, more recently, the death caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Cosmism's focus on theorising is at the expense of formal explorations and new visual languages. They are not challenging the status quo but perpetuating centuries' old Russian traditions of millenarism2 and mystical fabulism and thereby not promoting any real advancement in constructing a new identity for a post-Soviet society.

Green space settlement landscape optimization strategy under the concept of ecological environment restoration

This article focuses on the urban development strategy and urban overall planning under the concept of ecological environment restoration, and determines planning guidance, planning principles, and planning goals. First of all, the urban green space settlement landscape design based on the ecological concept is jointly carried out from the three aspects of natural landscape, artificial landscape and human landscape. Secondly, in the research on the structural characteristics of urban green space and its temporal and spatial evolution, based on the four phases of remote sensing images, the application of remote sensing and GIS and other spatial information technologies, with the assistance of basic data and sample plot surveys, has achieved a survey. Comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the evolution of the quantity structure of urban green space, the evolution of vegetation coverage, and the evolution of vegetation structure are given. The results of the experiment found that the total area of urban green space has shrunk during the study period. Through summarizing and summarizing, the basic design process and elements are derived: the natural landscape emphasizes its ecological diversity from the green space settlement landscape form, slope protection, topography and planting design. In summary, the green space settlement landscape design of natural landscape, artificial landscape, and human landscape is more scientific and complete. Based on the analysis and evaluation of the natural conditions, social economy, urban nature and development planning, the current situation of the urban water system and other background data in the planned area, with the theoretical guidance of landscape ecology and environmental behavior, the case study combines the landscape ecology. The restoration design is used to test the application methods of ecological landscape restoration.

Humans Versus Robots in Space Exploration and Colonization

In his article, “Should Space Travel be Human or Robotic? Reasons for and against full automation for space missions,” Maurizio Balistreri explores the ongoing debate regarding whether space travel, exploration, and extra-terrestrial colonization should be the domain of humans or robots. Balistreri explores both technical and normative arguments for why extraterrestrial ventures ought to be wholly robotic or human, ultimately taking no explicit side in the debate. However, in this article we argue that by even posing the question in this binary fashion, Balistreri and others are making a mistake at the outset. We show that there are certain missions and aims which require humans and others that plausibly may be undertaken solely by robots, but for all missions and aims there is likely to be some degree of human-robot pairing. More than this, we show that the question should not be whether space travel, exploration, or extra-terrestrial colonization ought to be generally human-centric or robot-centric, but rather that each and every mission should be examined on its own, as the values and disadvantages of humans versus robots are apt to be highly specific to the realities of particular discrete missions.

STUDY OF SOCIAL SPACE IN OPEN SPACE CASE STUDY OF KAMPUNG KELING, MEDAN CITY

To survive and be sustainable, urban villages certainly face big challenges due to the dynamics of development and changes occurring in a form of need in planned open space settlements due to the need for meeting places and joint activities in the open air. With joint meetings and relationships between people, it is likely that various kinds of activities will arise in open public spaces. As a form of need in open space settlements that are planned because of the need for meeting places and joint activities in open spaces. With joint meetings and relationships between people, it is likely that various kinds of activities will arise in these open public spaces. Spatial circulation occurs due to activities and series of activities that form pathways and connect existing activities. The circulation geometry with which it accommodates and the combination of several paths will form a configuration of the t activities that are traversed. Open space is a public place where people carry out routine and functional activities that bind a community, both in the normal routine of daily life and in periodic celebrations. Public space is generally defined as a physical and visible place in the city or wherever we gather. As the third room, a special place outside the home or office where people can gather. Open space which is always located outside the mass of the building that can be utilized and used by everyone and provides opportunities to carry out various activities. As a form of need in open space settlements that are planned because of the need for meeting places and joint activities in open spaces. With joint meetings and relationships between people, it is likely that various kinds of activities will arise in these open public spaces. Spatial circulation occurs due to activities and series of activities that form pathways and connect existing activities. The development of urban areas as centers of economic and governmental activity has triggered an increase in the need for space. Until the 1960s Kampung Keling was still dominated by the Tamil community, after that they gradually sold their land to the Chinese community. In the 1970s this residential area developed into the most elite commercial area in Medan City.

Posthuman Wars

Among the various ethical problems associated with the hype surrounding Space Colonization, one that has received little attention concerns the internal tension within the Posthumanist paradigm. While at the core of many of the hyper optimistic portrayals of the departure from Earth towards Outer Space there is the idea that this would represent a key component for humankind to evolve into a Posthuman, better, version of itself, other visions of Posthumanism might paint a direr picture. This paper wants to argue that such a clash would be particularly strong when applied to the different—and contrasting—narratives connected to Posthumanism and the Climate Crisis, deserving urgent attention.

Architectural evolution of space settlements in cinema and television

Space settlement as a science fiction theme has been very popular in the last 70 years in cinema and television. Gaining its roots from scientific and technological developments, the topic evolved throughout decades to become much more comprehensive nowadays. The evolution that started with physical models to depict the space station as a pure geometric form continues today with much more complex structures that express the infrastructure, features, and appearance of a space settlement. Through developments in space technologies, together with the progress in computer generated imaging methods, contemporary movies represent space stations and settlements in a much detailed way. Therefore, the architecture of the space settlement in cinema and TV becomes a remarkable theme. Consequently, the role of architects in the design of space settlements in cinema and TV increases. This paper presents an analysis of the architectural evolution of space stations and settlements in cinema and TV through examples with a chronological order from 1950s to 2000s. The analysis is based on the relationship of scientific requirements of a space settlement and existing scientific studies on the design of space settlements with their reflections on the cinema and television industries. The outcomes of the analysis put forth that the detail level, functionality, and architectural style of space settlements in movies evolved through time. Therefore, architects’ role in movies and the design of space settlements shall increase thanks to the developments in representation, production, and construction technologies

Legal Ramifications of Space Colonization: Jurisdiction, Rights, and Governance

The criminal, moral, and regulatory structures that manage human behaviour and relations past Earth's borders are together known as space governance. The gift summary delves into the diverse sides of area governance, encompassing troubles related to jurisdiction, human rights, governance structures for extraterrestrial groups, and the dynamic field of area law and coverage. It makes its way through case research and examples, illuminating joint efforts, commercial enterprise endeavours, and the demanding situations associated with area aid utilization. The research emphasizes how essential it's miles for global collaboration, bendy criminal frameworks, and moral issues to form sustainable and accountable area exploration and colonization.

Depathologising Female Depression: Colonising Women’s Psychic Space in Celeste Ng’s <i>Everything I Never Told You</i>

Women have long been disproportionally pathologised as melancholic or depressive as if they are naturally passive or deficient. Specifically, depressed mothers are usually believed to be responsible for their children’s abnormality. Celeste Ng’s novelEverything I Never Told You (2014) portrays similar predicaments of three generations of mothers and daughters. While many researchers mostly blame mothers for their daughters’ depression and/or suicide, they fail to explain the vicious cycle that perpetuates the blame-the-mother myth and more specifically, the mechanism of social oppression in stigmatising women. UsingKelly Oliver’s conceptualisation of social melancholy and colonisation of psychic space, this study explores the relationship between social complexity and its consequences on the psychic space of women. This study argues that Ng’s female subjects suffer “social melancholy” as a result of the colonisation of their psychic spaces. Without a supportive social space where positive representations of womanhood and motherhood are valued, those female subjects regard themselves as defective and depressed. The reductionist attribution of responsibility to the mothers is criticised, as it risks individualising and decontextualising the pathology of society in denigrating women in general and mothers in particular, and ultimately rendering them depressive and even suicidal.

Space not for everyone: The problem of social exclusion in the concept of space settlement

The subject of this paper is a continuation of the discussion initiated by Milan M. Ćirković. Ćirković criticized a number of arguments skeptical of the idea of space settlement. However, he omitted arguments referring to social justice and equal access, which, as this paper tries to show, are arguably the most serious skeptical remarks against the idea of space colonization. The paper emphasizes that both space exploration and, ultimately, potential space colonization run the risk of exacerbating inequality and, as such, are not projects pursued for all of humanity.

Used (Lived) versus Offered (Plain) densities of human settlement in space: An instance of the probabilistic consumption model

To people living in areas, the denser is the area, the more numerous are the opportunities of interpersonal and social interaction, of employment and of amenities of all kinds. The spatial density of human settlement is basically studied according to places, that is, area weighted. The notion of population-weighted density, or lived density, puts human density in the perspective of the people that experience it. Considering, respectively, the land units and the people as statistical populations of their own, the article provides a probabilistic model of human density in a geographical space, as a random variable in each statistical population, with specific probability density functions (PDFs) and cumulative distribution functions. The PDF of lived, “Used density” is derived from that of the plain, “Offered density” through a consumption model: Thus, their relationship is a specific instance of a well-established probabilistic model. The average used density is systematically larger than its offered counterpart: The ratio amounts to one plus the squared coefficient of variation of offered density. The relation between the two statistical distributions is illustrated using a Lorenz curve; the associated Gini index constitutes an indicator of population heterogeneity in a geographical space. A case of France’s population as of 2019 is studied to demonstrate the methodology.

The information catastrophe and space settlement

A further argument for human space settlement is formulated on the basis of the risk of information catastrophe, as recently outlined by Melvin Vopson. Both the increase in the overall material basis of the human civilization and the lowering of operational temperature will act to mitigate this type of risk. Human space settlement and the creation of the Solar System technosphere is certain to advance both these important trends.

Correction to: Could Humans Dwell beyond the Earth? Thinking with Heidegger on Space Colonization and the Topology of Technology

Correction to: Could Humans Dwell beyond the Earth? Thinking with Heidegger on Space Colonization and the Topology of Technology

A Lunar Backup Record of Humanity

The risk of a catastrophic or existential disaster for our civilization is increasing this century. A significant motivation for a near-term space settlement is the opportunity to safeguard civilization in the event of a planetary-scale disaster. A catastrophic event could destroy the significant cultural, scientific, and technological progress on Earth. However, early space settlements can preserve records of human activity by maintaining a backup data storage system. The backup can also store information about the events leading up to the disaster. The system would improve the ability of early space settlers to recover our civilization after collapse. We show that advances in laser communications and data storage enable the development of a data storage system on the lunar surface with a sufficient uplink data rate and storage capacity to preserve valuable information about the achievements of our civilization and the chronology of the disaster.

The final frontier: what is distinctive about the bioethics of space missions? The cases of human enhancement and human reproduction.

We examine the bioethical issues that arise from long-duration space missions, asking what there is that is distinctive about such issues. We pay particular attention to the possibility that such space missions, certainly if they lead to self-sustaining space settlements, may require human enhancement, and examine the significance of reproduction in space for bioethics. We conclude that while space bioethics raises important issues to do with human survival and reproduction in very hazardous environments, it raises no issues that are distinct from those in terrestrial bioethics. Rather, space bioethics raises extreme versions of bioethical issues that are already found in the military, when working in extreme environments (such as Antarctica), or when living in circumstances (such as in prison) where one’s autonomy is severely curtailed.

Red Light Enhances Plant Adaptation to Spaceflight and Mars g-Levels.

Understanding how plants respond and adapt to extraterrestrial conditions is essential for space exploration initiatives. Deleterious effects of the space environment on plant development have been reported, such as the unbalance of cell growth and proliferation in the root meristem, or gene expression reprogramming. However, plants are capable of surviving and completing the seed-to-seed life cycle under microgravity. A key research challenge is to identify environmental cues, such as light, which could compensate the negative effects of microgravity. Understanding the crosstalk between light and gravity sensing in space was the major objective of the NASA-ESA Seedling Growth series of spaceflight experiments (2013–2018). Different g-levels were used, with special attention to micro-g, Mars-g, and Earth-g. In spaceflight seedlings illuminated for 4 days with a white light photoperiod and then photostimulated with red light for 2 days, transcriptomic studies showed, first, that red light partially reverted the gene reprogramming induced by microgravity, and that the combination of microgravity and photoactivation was not recognized by seedlings as stressful. Two mutant lines of the nucleolar protein nucleolin exhibited differential requirements in response to red light photoactivation. This observation opens the way to directed-mutagenesis strategies in crop design to be used in space colonization. Further transcriptomic studies at different g-levels showed elevated plastid and mitochondrial genome expression in microgravity, associated with disturbed nucleus–organelle communication, and the upregulation of genes encoding auxin and cytokinin hormonal pathways. At the Mars g-level, genes of hormone pathways related to stress response were activated, together with some transcription factors specifically related to acclimation, suggesting that seedlings grown in partial-g are able to acclimate by modulating genome expression in routes related to space-environment-associated stress.

Space Colonization and Exonationalism: On the Future of Humanity and Anthropology

First anthropology became unbound from “the village”, then from the single site, and gradually from the physical site altogether. As humans resume their push into space, anthropology is set to become unbound from the earth itself. This essay considers what the discipline has offered and can offer toward understanding the present and future of space colonization. It begins by examining the surprisingly long and productive history of anthropology’s engagement with the subject, going back at least to the 1950s. Then it surveys current analysis of law, sovereignty, and nationalism in space, which largely imagines law and identity in off-earth settlements as more-or-less direct extensions or transfers of earth law and identity; in other words, space settlers will remain affiliated with and loyal to their source countries (or companies). However, taking seriously the analogy of terran migration and colonialism, where colonies developed distinct and separatist identities, the essay predicts the emergence of exonationalism, in which over generations colonists will invent new identities and shift their affiliations to their non-terran homes and ultimately seek independence from the earth. The essay concludes with reflections on how the settlement of space, still a distant goal, will reshape our definition of the human and therefore the practice of anthropology as the science of human diversity.