Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-17-2020
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 a airs. 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.
Recommended Citation
Salmond, Wendy; Walsh, Justin; Gorman, Alice. 2020. "Eternity in Low Earth Orbit: Icons on the International Space Station." Religions 11, no. 11: 611. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11110611
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
The authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Art and Design Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Other Religion Commons, Slavic Languages and Societies Commons
Comments
This article was originally published in Religions, volume 11, issue 11, in 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11110611
Data associated with this project can be viewed on Open Context and Chapman University Digital Commons.