Can You Do Archaeology in Space?

Many people are familiar with the field of Archaeology, which is the study of the human past by analyzing artifacts and other material remains. Maybe you have an image in your mind of a person digging at an archaeological site, sifting through the dirt for pieces of broken pottery or other evidence of human occupation.

Did you know that Archaeology is actually one of the four subfields of Anthropology (in North America)?

Did you know that there is even an area of study called Space Archaeology?

Space Archaeology is the study of things in space that have been made by humans, which are analyzed in order to learn about the history of human space exploration. It also includes topics such as the significance of space sites and objects, and preservation of these materials as cultural heritage. 

There is a lot of orbital debris ("space junk") floating around our planet for a Space Archaeologist to study, including old satellites, rocket bodies, bolts, and other items. The two images included with this post are from a 2016 NASA presentation on Orbital Debris Challenges for Space Operations, and these show how much orbital debris is out there in space and how big the pieces of debris are. 

There are many other things to study than just orbital debris floating in space. Some other types of material culture relating to space exploration include rocket launch sites, ground stations, manufacturing sites, and even the Apollo sites on the Moon. And analyzing these things is just the beginning of what a Space Archaeologist does!

Dr. Alice Gorman, also known as "Dr. Space Junk," is famous for pioneering the field of Space Archaeology. You can watch her TEDxSydney Talk below, and visit this link to check out her blog and learn more about Space Archaeology! You can even follow her on Twitter: @drspacejunk

Space Age Archaeology [Alice Gorman's blog]  http://zoharesque.blogspot.co.uk/

Anthropologist's Note: There are lots of pieces of space junk floating around in the area of space surrounding our planet. This creates problems for the International Space Station and new missions that are launched, because this debris can collide with these objects and damage them significantly. Many governmental and scientific agencies around the world are calling for cleanup efforts, but is simply destroying everything "up there" the answer? Should we save some of the space junk that may have historical importance? For example, the first object made by humans that was placed into orbit? What about the first satellite launched for a particular country? What about objects that represent significant technological advances? These are the kinds of questions that Space Archaeologists are asking, as they study the history of human space exploration through these objects. Many more topics are connected to the field of Space Archaeology and will be discussed in future posts.

(Image Credit: NASA)

(Image Credit: NASA)