Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-17-2021
Abstract
We offer an archaeological analysis of the visual display of “space heroes” and Orthodox icons in the Russian Zvezda module of the International Space Station (ISS). This study is the first systematic investigation of material culture at a site in space. The ISS has now been continuously inhabited for 20 years. Here, focusing on the period 2000–2014, we use historic imagery from NASA archives to track the changing presence of 78 different items in a single zone. We also explore how ideas about which items are appropriate for display and where to display them originated in earlier Soviet and Russian space stations starting as early as the 1970s. In this way, we identify the emergence and evolution of a particular kind of space station culture with implications for future habitat design.
Recommended Citation
Walsh, Justin St. P., Gorman, Alice C., and Wendy Salmond. 2021. Visual displays in space station culture: An archaeological analysis. Current Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1086/717778
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Art and Design Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Other Religion Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Slavic Languages and Societies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Comments
This article was originally published in Current Anthropology in 2021. https://doi.org/