One of the first ethnographies I read when beginning my Social Anthropology Master’s degree course was Beamtimes and Life Times: The World of High Energy Physicists (1988), by Sharon Traweek. She based this seminal account on her five years of fieldwork within the almost exclusively male domain of particle physicists, studying their culture, cosmology and worldview. One fascinating aspect that she underlines is the peculiar relationship that exists between these scientists and the accelerators and detectors they use to identify subatomic particles and understand their behaviour. The accelerators are some of the largest machines built and a great part of the scientist’s life is spent inside them: hence, not just a machine, but a place. Inside these accelerators are placed the detectors, each designed and crafted by a group of scientists to find answers to their specific research questions: not just a machine, but a conceptual and intellectual fingerprint. A new particle found may unveil a big mystery about the universe and catapult a scientist to academic stardom, however, it could also prove the whole hypothesis to have been built on a misguided assumption and thus, failure. As cosmologies and careers are at stake and the data collected may promote a paradigm shift, the detectors hold the hope of access to a hidden world. Therefore, they are more like portals than machines.  Image: NASA - Extravehicular Activity There is a same high dependency on machines in space science in order to access far away or invisible events and data, and this steered my attention toward human/non-human relationships in this context. This dichotomy itself is rather a cultural construct, and in some cultures this line is not clearly defined and is variable according to the cultural context, being more or less defined in certain places at certain times. In the context of space science, it becomes even more blurred. When applied to an astronaut, for instance, this concept tends not to make sense. In fact, an astronaut only becomes an astronaut in conjunction with the spacesuit/spacecraft, or they would be unable even to reach space to become a space-traveller. In this sense, you do not have simply the human (astronaut) and the non-human (spacesuit, spacecraft), but one single entity. An astronaut is inexorably a cyborg: a hybrid of organism and machine. The close relationship of dependency between the human and non-human in space science tracks back to the 17th century, when Galileo Galilei was the first to use instruments, another specific kind of non-human, to enhance the vision and turn the invisible visible. It was a humble telescope compared to Hubble, which has already “seen” galaxies 13 billion years away, however it was able to spot the four biggest Jovian moons and the rings of Saturn. That instrument was responsible for a paradigm shift, as it provided empirical evidence to legitimate the heliocentric model offered by Copernicus the century before. Since then, the cosmos has become ever closer and more familiar. The big boost was the beginning of the space program, when engineering masterpieces began to be developed and were sent out into our cosmic neighbourhood in a quest for further answers about the origins and constituents of our solar system and the universe. These satellites, spacecraft, rovers and other robotic equipment do not belong to the same category as the ordinary, factory-produced machinery that fill the lives of most Westerners, machines that make our lives easier. They are not produced on an industrial scale; instead, they are individual pieces, designed and crafted to mirror the scientist’s quest, possibly one to which they have dedicated their entire lifetime. Anyone not familiar with this scientific culture might think of all this astronautic paraphernalia as simply being pieces of metal, in a similar way to any other machine; however, this is not the case. These machines are the scientists’ allies in outer space, “who” have been conducting fieldwork outside Earth and on behalf of the humans that built and invested in them with actions, knowledge, expectations and aims. They become the augmented extensions of humans, allowing them to reach places where the presence of people is prohibited due to the distance and inherent hurdles and dangers. And as this contingent of non-humans keeps growing and probing further into outer space, our knowledge of the universe keeps expanding and paradigms continue shifting. These machines underline the creativity and ingenuity of humans on the one hand, while also highlighting our limitations on the other. United together, however, some limitations can be circumvented. It is due to the findings of this contingent of non-human aiders on whom scientists bestow their expertise that we now know a lot more about the material and immaterial cosmic context in which we live. Until very recently, scientists continued to contemplate whether water existed on other worlds or if it might be an Earthly exclusivity. Nonetheless, data gathered by the many probes sent into orbit and those landing on other cosmic bodies suggest that water is rather universal. Evidence of water molecules has already been found on the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, comets and other satellites like Europa and Encedalus, which orbit Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, and are believed to have liquid oceans beneath their icy crust. One of the main goals of current and future space exploration is to find out about the existence of alien life in the universe, either intelligent or not. As water is fundamental to life as we know it, these discoveries fuel the hope of finding life elsewhere in the universe. Further unmanned missions will be sent to gather more data. Additionally, since the early 1990s with the help of powerful telescopes like the Kepler space telescope, there has been the discovery of thousands of other planets outside our solar system, and the hunt for Earth-like planets orbiting a star in a habitable zone or ones suitable to be terraformed has already begun. Our dependence on these machines to obtain data that provides information about the unknown and the invisible to the naked eye is so high and intertwined that it defies the limits of human/non-human relationships. In 2017, after orbiting Saturn and its moons for 13 years, the Cassini space probe dived to its death on the planet’s surface after running out of fuel, and a documentary entitled Goodbye Cassini, Hello Juno was launched to celebrate its “lifetime” of achievements. From inception to end this mission lasted 20 years, and comments made about the spacecraft by crewmembers that were interviewed when gathered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) headquarters for the “funeral” showed that it was far more than just a machine. They were clearly all deeply grieving the loss of Cassini, treating it as if it were a person who had just passed away. Athena Coustenis, an astronomer and planetary scientists who developed one of the 12 instruments onboard, stated that “Cassini will be getting and sending data till its last breath…I’m going to cry my eyes out. It is a 20 year old friend”. For her part, Julie Webster, in charge of remotely managing the spacecraft for JPL, said the most difficult period of flying an aircraft is the first three years “because you are kind of learning what makes the personality of the spacecraft”. Indeed, Cassini showed itself to have an obedient and flawless character: “It was a great spacecraft, it did exactly what we asked it to do. All the way to the end. No surprises”, concluded Webster. The words used to refer to it, such as breath, personality and friend, clearly showed there was a relationship involving affection and trust, and that Cassini was considered a kind of human being.  Russian MIR Space Station (1986-2001) Cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin echoes this form of affection for the Russian space station MIR, where he spent 185 days onboard. In the documentary MIR Mortals (1998), addressing the hurdles faced by the crew in its final months, Lazukin explains the emotions felt at the final moment of its decommissioning. When the dot that represented it disappeared from the ground control screen, he said, “It was as if someone had died. And it wasn’t just me feeling that, everyone who worked on it did. It was like burying a good friend”, adding that nobody thought of it as “just pieces of metal”. If in their perception MIR died, then we can assume that it was considered to be alive. This makes perfect sense given that space stations are self-contained Earth analogue environments, on which astronaut lives depend and that offer a unique perspective of what it means to be human in an extra-terrestrial context.
The robotic heralds that Western societies have been launching into space have collaborated in cosmological paradigm shifts and offered new possibilities for the future of terrestrial beings in alien worlds. If one day this becomes a reality, in keeping with the plans of the leading space agencies and even private space companies, the line between human/non-human will make even less sense, since to be human in this new context will imply permanently having/wearing non-human extensions. The line will then become irreversibly blurred.
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Thais RussomanoInnovaSpace Founder, CEO & Scientific Director Set your imagination flowing and just consider the following scenario: "What's your preference? Cultural holidays? Something more adventurous?" asked the travel agent. The clients would think for a moment and then, slightly hesitantly, they would respond. "We like extreme sports, like mountain climbing, parachute jumping, or diving into the depths of the oceans." "Excellent - and so I suggest Mars! On the Red Planet there is an extinct volcano, Mount Olympus, the highest in the Solar System, three times taller than our own Everest!" recommended the agent. "And there the gravity is just one-third that of Earth, which reduces your body to just over 30% of what you weigh here. Therefore, it's even easier to climb mountains there." I added, as the Space Medic of the Intergalactic Travel Agency. This conversation and many others like it could be heard during a summer festival in London's Brockwell Park in late July, thanks to the creative thinking of Guerrilla Science, who wanted to present the idea of the possibility of experiencing holiday trips to different planets. Children and adults entered into the game, discussing possible destinations, the activities that could be offered on each planet, or on the moon or an asteroid, the distances to be travelled, and the costs of such a vacation to places far beyond the limits of the Earth. Actors played the role of the travel agents, while I introduced aspects of space tourism that can affect the health of intergalactic adventurers, such as exposure to radiation, the absence of gravity, and confinement within a spacecraft. Projects, such as this, still belong in the realms of science fiction for now, but they will begin to take shape in the not-so-distant future with the political, scientific and technological advances of Space Tourism. And in response to those of you who do not believe such a thing, Albert Einstein would say - "Something is only impossible until someone doubts it and ends up proving otherwise.” Gabriela Albandes de SouzaInnovaSpace Culture & Education Project Manager InnovaSpace took another step this week towards achieving its aim of bringing space closer to society, to reach out to underserved communities, and to make science and space more accessible and inclusive, when InnovaSpace founder Thais Russomano gave a virtual lecture about the participation of women in the space programme to an audience of 39 young ladies, aged between 10 and 12 years from two state-run schools in Gravataí, Brazil, as part of a project called ‘Elas no Lab’ (Girls in the Lab).  Project organisers Eduarda Rosa Ferreira, Indáia Pereira de Matos and Júlia Alvares Missel This project is the brainchild of three high school students from the Escola Sesi de Ensino Médio Albino Marques Gomes, a private high school in the same city in southern Brazil. Eduarda Rosa Ferreira, Indáia Pereira de Matos and Júlia Alvares Missel had the idea of creating workshops to raise the interest of young girls to pursue scientific careers, as part of a project led by their Physics teacher Cláudia Fraga Germano. Cláudia set her students the task of developing projects that would benefit state-run schools, which often do not receive sufficient funding to invest in the sciences, and lack proper laboratories and equipment. The activities also involved a rocket building workshop using recycled materials, a VR glasses experience that allowed the girls to virtually “travel around the universe”, the photo and video recording of the activities, and an exclusive Q & A session about space science with Thais Russomano at the end of her lecture. Feedback from the girls who attended the event was very positive, with many celebrating this unique and fun experience of learning about science. Another mission accomplished successfully due to a collaboration of working ideas and ideals in partnership! However, consider this just a first step – as InnovaSpace is proud to announce the launch of a new outreach project called Valentina – more details to be posted soon! Thais RussomanoInnovaSpace Founder, CEO & Scientific Director The ancient practice of yoga has its roots deep in the ancestral traditions of India. The word comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which has countless meanings, such as controlling, uniting, concentrating, or integrating. Yoga is seen as a way of harmonising the body and mind, through meditation, breathing techniques and postural exercises.  Despite its influence on various cultures over time, and it being practiced on a daily basis all over the world, I have to confess that I knew very little about this centuries-old practice, that is, until I was invited by Guerilla Science to take part in their Space Yoga class at the Brighton Yoga Festival, held on the weekend of 14th-15th July this year, at the Sussex County Cricket Ground in Brighton & Hove, neighbouring towns on the English south coast. Rather luckily, my invite did not involve me personally having to perform breathing exercises or adopt certain body positions, as my hosts may have been a little disappointed! It was, however, to talk about the changes undergone by astronauts when they spend time in microgravity, as yoga therapy has been contemplated and researched as a possible complementary activity that could benefit astronaut health and emotional wellbeing, as discussed in a 2012 article published by Joan Vernikos et al*. and a 2013 interview, hosted on the YouTube channel YogiViews. This combination of yoga and space science is an initiative of Guerilla Science, an organisation that develops events for festivals, museums, galleries and cultural shows, with the goal of connecting people and science through experiences that are fun, inspiring and challenging! Yoga teacher Gemma Hart conducted the yoga class in five blocks - first, the anti-gravitational muscles of the back and legs were worked; then systems supporting equilibrium and coordination, all of which are impaired by microgravity; next a walk against resistance, as would happen during a space walk; followed by a demonstration of the effect of microgravity on spinal elongation; and ending with the effects of a lack of gravity on the cardiovascular system. As Gemma, guided the participants as they assumed different body postures, I described some of the effects that microgravity has on the body and mind of the astronaut. And so it was in this way, that on a beautiful sunny day in Brighton by the sea, I was introduced to this ancient practice, merged with science to form - a space yoga class.
*Yoga Therapy as a Complement to Astronaut Health and Emotional Fitness – Stress Reduction and Countermeasure Effectiveness Before, During, and in Post-Flight Rehabilitation: a Hypothesis - Gravitational and Space Biology Volume 26 (1) Apr 2012 Thais RussomanoInnovaSpace Founder, CEO & Scientific Director The importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) education has long been talked about, with education policy and curriculum choices targeting these areas to improve competitiveness in science and technology development, and to try and address the shortage of skills in the workforce. While these subjects are extremely relevant in today's world, they do not underpin the innovative process in isolation, often requiring a streak of creativity and imagination to set an idea free. History demonstrates well the productive link between the STEM areas and Art, with Leonardo da Vinci being a classic example - both a great scientist and astounding artist. The practice of art in its numerous senses, such as, language, physical art, music and design, among many others, can provide imaginative opportunities for communication and expression and inspire the young to be creative with their ideas. Blending art into the STEM areas can also provide a conduit by which to attract the interest of those who might not normally consider the sciences. Although a scientist and doctor myself, I have always been drawn to the arts and am equally as happy writing an article on space physiology as I am writing a romance novel. So when I was contacted by a gentleman from a theatre group wanting to know if I could share a little space knowledge with them, I was delighted to say yes!  The FLUX Phase theatre group brings together a diverse group of actors in training, currently completing an MA in Acting at the E15 Acting School in Loughton, Essex. Their latest production is based on Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity, which states that as you travel close to the speed of light, time passes more slowly. So imagine if one identical twin makes a journey into space on a near light-speed spaceship, leaving the other twin at home on Earth, and then returns from 30 years space travel. Will the twin who stayed home have aged more? Will one look much older than the other? This is the Twin Paradox!  Flux Phase Theatre group I had the great pleasure of virtually meeting with this group of actors to discuss the effects that microgravity has on the human body during a space mission - of which there are many! We chatted about bones, muscles, heart, lungs and the brain, and how these all react to being in an environment where there is no gravity, and in turn, they asked many interesting questions related to body movement and human behaviour in space - an interesting two-way process of bringing together science and art. The clip below of a rehearsal session is just a taste of this very interesting and creative production, which can be seen at The Albany in Gt Portland Street, London, as part of The Camden Fringe on the 4th & 5th August 2018. Well worth a visit, and anyone turning up in a spacesuit or an Albert Einstein mask can enter for free!! "The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin ... or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity." Mae Jemison, 1st African American woman in space Roberto D. FanganielloInnovaSpace Scientific & Strategic Consultant It is with immense pleasure that I helped to catalyze the partnership between InnovaSpace and R-Crio, announced last week. I have been assisting both companies ever since they started operating : R-Crio back in 2014 and InnovaSpace since its incorporation in the United Kingdom, in September, 2017.  InnovaSpace CEO Thais Russomano (middle), R-Crio President José Ricardo Muniz Ferreira (right) & myself in London, UK R-Crio is a cell technology company headquartered in Campinas, Brazil, whose main service is the processing and storage of adult stromal cells isolated from the pulp of baby teeth. R-Crio also functions as an accelerator of projects, programs and nascent companies, with the final goal of delivering the promise of regenerative medicine and cell-based tissue bioengineering to society, safely and efficiently. A plenitude of these incubated initiatives are educational and this is where I see substantial synergy between R-Crio and InnovaSpace. It is where I also believe that this partnership can benefit both companies the most. InnovaSpace has a very solid educational basis, which was achieved by a commitment of our team, diligently and wisely orchestrated by Thais Russomano, to think creatively and innovatively about the shape and the focus of each project, to always appoint the best people we can and set clear priorities for each different program and to delineate activities where human potential can be fully realized. At InnovaSpace, with each and every educational enterprise, we are committed to the advancement of a broad education based on critical thinking, instead of a narrowly-focused technical training. We are not dedicated to teaching people what to think, but how to think, and to instil people with the capacity to make fruitful use of information. At the very core of each new project is the understanding that the best way to surpass the constrainment of opportunities due to race, gender, religion, economic background and geographic location is by the development of freedom to think clearly and independently, and to equip oneself for the ample array of challenges we face in life.  In a broader sense, InnovaSpace and R-Crio also have a lot in common. Both companies have the hallmark features of genuine leaders, of drawing the best out of each project and of inspiring each team to pursue meaningful goals. Both have worked extremely hard and have persevered and thrived in the face of many adversities. And both have stretched way beyond their comfort zones. Nearly everyone has heard the proverb that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. I am certain this partnership will benefit both companies and, as they start to “go together” and continue to grow, they will have more latitude to go as far as their boldest aspirations.
Adriana Bos-MikichDepartment of Morphological Sciences, ICBS, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil The growing global interest in space programs, including space colonization strategies, will necessarily have to consider the reproductive process in outer space. Humans procreate through sexual reproduction, a near ubiquitous feature of living organisms on Earth. Furthermore, sexual reproduction is the fundamental strategy through which living organisms colonize new environments, as proven by Darwin´s theory of evolution. Successful colonization in a new niche represents the selection of adaptation-advantageous traits in well-adapted individuals and the elimination of those that do not express these advantageous characteristics. The individual advantageous/non-advantageous variability is achieved by new genetic combinations that occur during the formation of sex cells, a process called meiosis, which is unique and essential to sexual reproduction. In addition, the interaction between male and female gametes, leading to fertilisation and the creation of a new human being, is a critical feature of human reproduction. Male and female sex cells must join together to form a new individual, the zygote, however, living circumstances in outer space may not provide favourable conditions for male and female gametes to join together naturally. In addition, the highly developed physiological mechanisms involved in human sexual reproduction may not be as effective when subject to a new environment, such as would be experienced if humans colonised another planet. Moreover, the effects of the high levels of radiation observed in space and microgravity on mammalian reproduction are largely unknown. In view of these difficulties and uncertainties, it is quite likely the use of assisted reproduction technologies, known as fertility treatment, will need to be considered for this fundamental issue of future lives spent in space stations or other planetary habitats.
#HumanFertility #FertilityInMicorgravity #AssistedConception Gabriela Albandes de SouzaCulture & Education Project Manager, InnovaSpace At first sight, anthropology and space exploration may seem to be two completely different fields with nothing or very little in common. When one thinks about space exploration, the most common associations are with disciplines such as engineering, physics, medicine, robotics, IT, and others related to the technology required for the endeavour and for keeping humans alive. On the other hand, anthropology is immediately associated with the study of non-Western, non-white and non-industrialised societies. Indeed, at its beginning as an independent academic discipline in the second half of the 19th century, it was very much about this, and only this. Nevertheless, as anthropology is ultimately interested in finding out what it means to be human and how people make sense of the world in the most diverse contexts, its research spectrum has gradually broadened. Nowadays, it embraces the study of any social group and its cultural idiosyncrasies, including scientists and astronauts.  Every single society has questioned what there is beyond Earth, the origins of the universe and all that it encompasses, including humankind, and each has found explanations to the unknown phenomena through specific modes of expertise. For some, the Cosmos was created by gods and is the home of powerful deities. Others, in a very specific context – Europe, 17th century – started to systematically study outer space using the emergent scientific methods and technological devices that augmented our senses, turned the invisible visible and went where humans could not. This very specific way of making sense of the world has profoundly changed the imaginary about the Cosmos in some societies and changed the way many people perceive and relate to the universe, to Earth and to all the species that live on our planet. Nowadays, in Western scientific cosmologies, the universe is thought to have been created by the Big Bang and to be ruled by natural laws, which can be translated in mathematical equations. Such a worldview is culturally embedded, therefore space exploration and scientists working on this project are subjects that concern anthropology. Furthermore, since the 1970s, people have been living in space for increasingly longer periods of time and have been experiencing what it means to be human in a radically different context. Our sense of ‘being’ is inherently relational to our surroundings, the conditions presented by them and by those around us, which we take for granted here on Earth. Therefore, the experience of living in radically different conditions deeply affects our perspective, our senses and relationships — the “simple” fact that there is no gravity makes everything completely different. Since the International Space Station (ISS) began operating in 2000, this hybrid of dwelling/lab has been permanently inhabited by astronauts from different academic and cultural backgrounds, all of who must live together and cope with the extreme environment of outer space and the challenges it presents. Wherever there are humans together there is social life and culture, and what it means to be human is embedded in this context, and therefore, astronauts consist of a very singular and interesting subject of research for the discipline. Moreover, space exploration is an endeavour that involves the participation of many people working together and sharing the same aims and worldview; its findings and achievements affect the lives of people on Earth; and future projects include the colonisation of other planetary bodies, furthering the human presence outside Earth and turning our species into an interplanetary one. Accordingly, space exploration is an issue that concerns not only hard and natural sciences, but also human and social sciences in general. Although anthropologists from the 1960s onwards began to join the debate about space exploration issues, it is only in the last two decades that the subject has really become a part of the agenda of the discipline. Since then, a wider group of academics have been exploring the frontiers between outer space and anthropology, and carrying out fieldwork (the required method of research to get to know a culture in depth) among people whose activities are related to the area. These studies have become so prolific that nowadays there is a subfield informally called the Anthropology of Outer Space, which includes scholars such as John Traphagan, Lisa Messeri, Debbora Battaglia, David Valentine, Valerie Olson, Stephen Helmreich, Götz Hoeppe. Their contributions have shed light on the previously neglected areas of the human, social and cultural implications of exploring outer space, such as theories of possible ETs, asteroid mining, astrobiology, astronomical practices, life in space, fieldwork in analogue sites, multi-planet species and human/non-human relationships, and NewSpacers commercial activities, among others. As can be seen, this is an extensive and growing area, and one that deserves deeper exploration in a future blog highlighting some of these works.
Prof. Marlise A dos Santos, PhDInnovaSpace Advisory Board member, and Coordinator MicroG-PUCRS  Finding myself in Lisbon, Portugal one chilly February afternoon this year, and as a pharmacist, I was very interested to discover the presence of a Museum of Pharmacy (www.museudafarmacia.pt/) in the city. My husband Arno and I decided to pay it a visit and very much appreciated the history it presented of the evolution of pharmacological therapy, from antiquity to the present, through the use of medicinal plants and drugs from around the world, and especially from Portugal. But even more of a wonderful and unexpected surprise at the end of our visit was the finding of a space pharmacy. As previously mentioned, I am a pharmacist by profession, however and quite unusually, space pharmacy has been one of the most important areas of my professional practice, a specialism in which I have conducted much research and presented the results of studies in scientific congresses around the world. Space Pharmacy is one of those areas that remains with many mysteries and is little studied, either during space missions or land simulations. Whenever medications are prescribed for use in space, it is done so respecting the same dosage and interval of administration that would be used for terrestrial medicine. There are, however, a number of doubts as to how appropriate this might be, with many questions still left unanswered. Are there any differences in the absorption rate of drugs in an environment where the gravitational force is either reduced or even absent? How is the drug metabolism affected in microgravity? Are there changes in the drug excretion? Much more research is still needed to clarify these doubts and to ensure the best health outcomes for astronauts in space. It was, however, wonderful to see that space pharmacy was being considered in this treasure of a museum, and the surprises did not stop there. Integrated into the museum nearby is a restaurant called Pharmacia with a quirky menu, where dishes and drinks creatively continue the pharmacy theme, such as cocktails named after medications and potions, walls decorated with pharmaceutical motifs, waiters wearing white lab coats, and the final bill presented to the customer inside a laboratory examination bottle. Should you also find yourself in Lisbon one day with a couple of hours to spare, I would certainly recommend the museum and restaurant, just one of the many wonderful experiences of the city of Lisbon.
In this Vlog, Dr Lucas Rehnberg, InnovaSpace SGen Hub Coordinator talks about his experience working at the Mission Support Centre in Innsbruck, Austria, providing remote assistance and monitoring to the analog astronauts and crew of the AMADEE18 Mars simulation mission, based in the Dhofar desert in Oman. |
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