Space Race Research Articles

Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon

Over the past 50 years, the space race has potentially grown due to the development of sophisticated mechatronic systems. One of the most important is the bio-inspired mobile-planetary robots, actually for which there is no reported one that currently works physically on the Moon. Nonetheless, significant progress has been made to design biomimetic systems based on animal morphology adapted to sand (granular material) to test them in analog planetary environments, such as regolith simulants. Biomimetics and bio-inspired attributes contribute significantly to advancements across various industries by incorporating features from biological organisms, including autonomy, intelligence, adaptability, energy efficiency, self-repair, robustness, lightweight construction, and digging capabilities-all crucial for space systems. This study includes a scoping review, as of July 2024, focused on the design of animal-inspired robotic hardware for planetary exploration, supported by a bibliometric analysis of 482 papers indexed in Scopus. It also involves the classification and comparison of limbed and limbless animal-inspired robotic systems adapted for movement in soil and sand (locomotion methods such as grabbing-pushing, wriggling, undulating, and rolling) where the most published robots are inspired by worms, moles, snakes, lizards, crabs, and spiders. As a result of this research, this work presents a pioneering methodology for designing bio-inspired robots, justifying the application of biological morphologies for subsurface or surface lunar exploration. By highlighting the technical features of actuators, sensors, and mechanisms, this approach demonstrates the potential for advancing space robotics, by designing biomechatronic systems that mimic animal characteristics.

Orbiting history: dueling narratives of the U.S.-Soviet space race

Orbiting history: dueling narratives of the U.S.-Soviet space race

Middle spacepowers’ integration with the global supply chain for the space industry: Taiwan and Thailand

Abstract Space as a domain of economic and security competition between great powers has risen to become an arena of active statecraft for middle powers in the twenty-first century. It has set a high-stake stage for not only continuing struggles for catch-up industrialization of late developers but also offering opportunities to capture commercial gains of technological breakthroughs and globalization of markets. We examine these challenges for Taiwan and Thailand, surveying major trends in the emerging space industry and exploring four analytical perspectives on how government-business relations shape adaptive national industrial policies in high-technology sectors with proliferating end-users. We argue that the Asian developmental state model is evolving in response to specific challenges of a global supply chain for commercial space activities dominated by leading space firms and government regulatory actions in the United States. Significant differences in Taiwan’s and Thailand’s space and industrial policy approaches will likely create divergent technological trajectories and reinforce current constraints on improving national security. The longer-term prospect for middle spacepowers remains contingent on the space race between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Space travel across the decades and beyond: A brief history of NASA’s space programme

Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) journey into the cosmos is a captivating tapestry of milestones that have revolutionised our understanding of space. The intense competition in the early part of the Space Race between the US and Soviet space programmes fuelled rapid advancements in spacecraft technology, space science and interplanetary exploration strategies as both countries tried to be the first to put humans on the Moon. For NASA, human exploration began with the Mercury missions, followed by the Gemini missions proving humans could travel and work in space. The early pinnacle of NASA’s human space explorations came with the Apollo programme, which triumphantly made six historic lunar landings bringing back 382 kg of lunar material and leaving many important instruments on the Moon. Following the human Moon landings, NASA embraced space station missions with the marvel of engineering known as the Space Shuttle. This led to the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station (ISS), a colossal orbiting laboratory hosting countless scientific experiments in microgravity. Now, NASA’s future human space exploration sets its sights on going back to the Moon, then onto Mars, aiming to establish a long-term human presence in the Solar System. Additionally, NASA’s science missions encompass Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Biological and Physical Sciences, yielding groundbreaking discoveries about our Sun, climate change, the Solar System and the Universe beyond and how life survives in the harshness of space. NASA’s extraordinary odyssey has left an indelible mark on human history, unlocking the secrets of the cosmos and igniting the dreams for past and future generations to come.

Geek saviours to the rescue? Primitive accumulation, astropropriation, and exoimperialism in NewSpace entrepreneurship

In this paper, we examine the contemporary commercial space race – colloquially known as NewSpace – from a Marxian, technofeminist and decolonial perspective. Theorising the emergent entrepreneurial activities aimed at the human colonisation and exploitation of outer space as part of an ongoing process of primitive accumulation, we contribute innovative conceptualisations of 21st century entrepreneurial space adventurism as exoimperialism, and the privatisation of outer space resources as astropropriation. We develop the notion of geek saviourism as a function of the new geek hegemony within normative white masculinity, used to justify species-level risk under the auspices of homo entrepreneurus, a subgenre of homo economicus. Our critical examination exhorts extreme caution regarding NewSpace entrepreneurial activities, given the longstanding trajectory of entrepreneurial coloniality they reproduce, the mythoi from which they stem, and the devastatingly unequal sociogeny they can generate.

Mass minimization approach for the optimal preliminary design of CMC inner liners in rocket thrust chambers

In the past decade, the world has witnessed a new space race, driven by a growing commitment to reducing the environmental impact of space missions. This has led to the widespread adoption of liquid-propellant rocket engines, which offer several advantages over their solid-propellant counterparts. One key advantage is their reusability, which not only helps to reduce the generation of space debris but also makes space exploration cheaper. To further enhance the performance of liquid rocket engines, researchers have been exploring innovative cooling techniques and advanced materials. Among these materials, Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) have shown great potential in reducing the overall engine weight when used instead of high-tech metal alloys, resulting in lower fuel consumption and emissions during launches. This paper focuses on the mass minimization of inner liners made of CMCs in rocket thrust chambers. At this aim, a computationally efficient preliminary design approach, based on an analytical one-dimensional thermo-mechanical model, is proposed. A case study of mass minimization of an inner liner of rocket thrust chamber is also presented and discussed, by considering five different CMC materials.

Spaceworthiness: the future of space products safety

The new space race, now played by several private companies and remarkable Asian new players, raises new considerations regarding the fair, enjoyable, sustainable, and economically feasible use of space products and their environment: the planet’s atmosphere and outer space. Inspired by the successful (but not easy nor cheap) path coursed by aviation, this article seeks to present a brief history of both industries (air and space) and the available legal framework for space matters in Brazil, Europe, the USA, and at the United Nations level. Lastly, this work discusses the necessity of creating an organization at the molds of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) in the space sector to promote standardization and harmonization among players all around the globe involved in space operations.

Far from Tranquility Base

Abstract The Apple+ television series For All Mankind imagines an alternative history in which the Soviets beat the United States to the moon and the Cold War space race never ends. Gender politics and associated dynamics are central to the action. This article explores plotlines involving two fictional cosmonauts: the first woman on the moon and a male crew member stationed at the Soviet's lunar base. It finds that FAM reinforces Cold War tropes, anxieties, and “us vs them” formulations. FAM's writers miss the opportunity to probe the complexities of gender and personhood in the late Soviet era. Instead of encouraging more nuanced thinking about “the Russians,” FAM's universe perpetuates Cold War sensibilities that promote competition and conflict on Earth and in space.

Space Race Game: A Web-Based Board Game for Aiding Students in Reviewing Thermochemistry, Chemical Equilibrium, and Chemical Kinetics

Space Race Game: A Web-Based Board Game for Aiding Students in Reviewing Thermochemistry, Chemical Equilibrium, and Chemical Kinetics

New world, or out of this world? Columbus – an exploratory study of HASS and STEM success factors in the first “space” race

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which interdisciplinary (HASS, i.e. non-STEM) factors—in particular, accounting, stakeholder management and accountability—enable, influence and motivate large human exploration ventures, principally in maritime and space fields, utilizing Columbus’s and Chinese explorations of the 1400s as the primary setting.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes archival data from narrative and interpretational history, including both academic and non-academic sources, that relate to two global historical events, the Columbus and Ming Chinese exploration eras (c. 1400–1500), as a parallel to the modern “Space Race”. Existing studies on pertinent HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) enablers, influencers and motivators are utilized in the analysis. The authors draw upon the concepts of stakeholder theory and the construct of accountability in their analysis.FindingsFindings suggest that non-STEM considerations—politics, finance, accountability, culture, theology and others—played crucial roles in enabling Western Europe (Columbus) to reach the Americas before China or other global powers, demonstrating the pivotal importance of HASS factors in human advancements and exploration.Research limitations/implicationsIn seeking to answer those questions, this study identifies only those factors (HASS or STEM) that may support the success or failure in execution of the exploration and development of a region such as the New World or Space. Moreover, the study has the following limitation. Relative successes, failures, drivers and enablers of exploratory ventures are drawn almost exclusively from the documented historical records of the nations, entities and individuals (China and Europe) who conducted those ventures. A paucity of objective sources in some fields, and the need to set appropriate boundaries for the study, also necessitate such limitation.Practical implicationsIt is observable that many of those HASS factors also appear to have been influencers in modern era Space projects. For Apollo and Soyuz, success factors such as the relative economics of USA and USSR, their political ideologies, accountabilities and organizational priorities have clear echoes. What the successful voyages of Columbus and Apollo also have in common is an appetite to take risks for an uncertain return, whether as sponsor or voyager; an understanding of financial management and benefits measurement, and a leadership (Isabella I, John F. Kennedy) possessing a vision, ideology and governmental apparatus to further the venture’s goals.Originality/valueWhilst various historical studies have examined influences behind the oceangoing explorations of the 1400s and the colonization of the “New World”, this article takes an original approach of analyzing those motivations and other factors collectively, in interdisciplinary terms (HASS and STEM). This approach also has the potential to provide a novel method of examining accountability and performance in modern exploratory ventures, such as crewed space missions.

EO Satellite Data Management and Privacy Law

The relevance of the space sector is increasing, with reference not only to the traditional telecommunications satellites but also to Earth Observation satellites, equipped with increasingly sophisticated electro-optical, radar and spectrographic payloads capable of collecting increasingly precise and well defined data. This space race sees the participation above all of private entities that carry out extensive data collection, with the sole aim of making it profitable. In this light, the aim of the paper is to specifically analyze the issue of personal data processing, also with regard to the latest advances in the field of sensors and access to space.

Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race by Mary-Jane Rubenstein (review)

Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race by Mary-Jane Rubenstein (review)

Rocket Science for The Space Race

Rocket Science for The Space Race

The Asian Space Race: New Priorities for the Industrial Development of Solar System Bodies

The Asian Space Race: New Priorities for the Industrial Development of Solar System Bodies

The Complexities of Cooperation Over Outer Space: Political Practice and Prospects

The formation of the political and legislative regime concerning use of outer space becomes every day more relevant. The research is intended to further expand current studies devoted to this issue by providing thorough information on the formation of the world’s first international legal framework for outer space territories use. The author examines in chronological order the regulatory and institutionalization process of the world’s first informal system that determined interaction among the participants of the space race. At the same time, this study provides a detailed analysis of the problems related to the formation of a comprehensive international regime, allowing author to make a conclusion about the ineffectiveness of the current system based on targeted international treaties and the necessity of modifying the formalisation approaches. In addition, article proposes potential scenarios for the formation of a political and legal outer space regime. The author assesses the possibility of establishing military hegemony alongside militarisation of outer space, analyses prospects for a codified peaceful co-development regime in the absence of workable space diplomacy initiatives, as well as considers the possibility of privatisation of space under free competition and the probability of preserving the current regime.

Development of cooperation in the space industry: from 1959 to 1962

The article reveals the main aspects of the or­ganization of cooperation in space activities at the initial stage of its development when the fiercest space race between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America was taking place. The main goals of the international community concerning joint research and develop­ment of outer space and celestial bodies, as well as the circumstances that influenced the formation of such cooperation at this stage, are explained and analyzed.
 In addition, the article is also concerned with the issue of the international bodies establishment related to the organization and control of joint space activity, the issue of the organization of in­terstate cooperation in outer space in the direction of creating communication accessible to the pop­ulation of the entire planet with the help of satel­lites, the issue of legal regulation of joint activity in outer space and on celestial bodies, as well as the issue of creating an international network of space­ports for launching sounding rockets by all interest­ed participants in space activities (in particular, to make it possible for non-state organizations to take part in space activities).
 Considering the modern competition among states in the struggle for dominance in outer space and on celestial bodies and the dangers that such a competition brings, the study returns to the origins of space activity to identify and analyze the factors that influenced the formation of international cooperation in space (both negatively and positively).
 The main focus is on international documents adopted by the United Nations General Assembly between 1959 and 1962.
 Specifically, the results of the study of the three main Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in this period regarding international cooperation in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes are presented.

Space Nostalgia in The Old Drift: Memorializing Matha Mwamba, the Afronaut

In the two former Cold War superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, memorializations of the space race serve as sites of nostalgia, fueling feelings of national pride. This paper investigates this in a Zambian context by analyzing how the history of Zambia’s participation in the space race is fictionalized in Namwali Serpell's novel The Old Drift. The novel creates a fictionalized account of the childhood and adolescence of Zambia's first female Afronaut, Matha Mwamba, filling the silence in the archives regarding the life of this marginalized historical figure. Significantly, Serpell uses the form of the Bildungsroman when reimaging Matha's private history, framing Zambia's period of transition from British colony to independent nation state as one of upheaval and transformation. In mourning the lost future of Zambia's failed space program, the narrative engages in reflective nostalgia as defined by Svetlana Boym. Any narratives of progress are merged with tales of personal hardship. A critically nostalgic approach allows Serpell to illustrate how past visions of the future can serve as inspirations for the present.

Evolution of United States’ space policy: An approach of proactive engagement

United States space policy has largely reflected the outlook of a major power. The key distinguishing feature of such a state is their willingness to proactively reshape and engage with international regimes and organizations. They do this to protect their strategic goals and national interest. US space policy has historically been shaped by geopolitical tensions and rivalries. Its space policy is an extension of the military doctrines and strategies that it subsequently developed. The article examines different periods since the start of the space race. These periods reflect how US space policy has adapted to meet new challenges.

The Eagle, the Rocket, and the Moon: U.S. Postal Iconography at the End of History

In this Photoarticle, we survey what we will call the post-historical U.S. postage stamps of the last third of the twentieth century. We focus on stamps depicting the space race and space travel, as well as the linkage of some of those stamps to the 1992 Olympic games, to analyze the iconographic and narrative consequences of an increasing turn toward the commercialization of postal services. The stamps we consider coincide with a series of new commercial strategies on the part of the United States Postal Service (USPS) and a broad resurgence in public interest in space travel. While many critics during the 1960s considered the space race to be a distraction from more pressing political concerns—such as urban poverty or the war in Vietnam—by the 1980s and 1990s, space travel had become a less controversial endeavor (perhaps due to its large-scale defunding), and astronauts, especially the Apollo 11 astronauts, were widely lauded as heroes. We have chosen this “topical” focus (as stamp collectors say) for two reasons. First, the iconography of space exploration is dominated by one specific moment, when the lunar module Eagle touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969. Despite an ongoing history of space exploration before and after 1969, the moon landing, we will argue, was treated in postal iconography as a timeless event —a climactic technological triumph that seemed to announce what Francis Fukuyama, in an influential essay, called “the end of history.”

Islam and Space Exploration

ABSTRACT Today, the space race has resumed where it left off in the 1970s. The first race threatened Christianity. This time the race threatens Islam. The potential settlement of planets, like in the atmosphere of Venus where the “sun rises from the west” and on Mars, threatens Islam. Anti-religious forces may use space exploration and future human settlement off-Earth to undermine Islamic doctrines. For these reasons, Muslims need to settle on other planets and create an artificial Islamic habitat. The widespread opinion among Muslims is that the world is unique and that there is no concrete biology outside the world. It is possible to encounter “intelligent beings” on other planets, and anti-religious forces may use these discoveries to undermine Islamic teaching. If Islam is to thrive in the context of humans as a spacefaring species, traditional Islamic teaching needs to be moderated and be ready for new situations that differ from planet Earth.