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Cosmic Risk Society

Modern society is premised on an Enlightenment ideal of ‘progress’, one using new technologies (such as space flight) towards a much-improved world. But the last 100 years or so have shown that...

Cosmic Surveillance

In the late 18th century the philosopher Jeremy Bentham presented his ideas for a ‘panopticon’. This was a structure allowing invisible monitoring of deviant populations. Most obviously it...

Militarising the Cosmos

Outer space is now central to the maintenance of military power. It offers what the US Joint Chiefs of Staff call ‘full-spectrum domination’, in which the US enforces a monopoly over air, land and sea....

Outer Space as Resources

It is sometimes argued that three planets would be needed if everyone on Earth is to achieve the standard of living enjoyed by the affluent West. This is usually said as a warning against excessive consumerism and...

Outer Space Law

Who owns outer space? Who should be allowed to own it? According to the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty, ‘outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by...

Satellites and Social Networks

Satellites are a key part of 'the network society'. Institutions of all kinds are now based less on conventional hierarchies and more around networks of people. These networks use satellite-based communications...

Social Movements

Social movements raise the issues of space-humanisation in acute form. Some movement organizations, such as The Mars Society, actively promote the exploration of the cosmos. They argue that the revival of space...

Space Fiction and Space Fact

How do the fantasies of space fiction relate to society’s actual relationship with outer space? There are some complex, two-way, relations involved here. On the one hand space fiction can be seen as...

Space Tourism

Space tourism is a burgeoning industry. For about $30 million  a space tourist can currently be ferried to the International Space Station. For around $200,000, s/he will soon be able take a suborbital trip. Plans...

Why is space-humanisation happening?

Why are we trying to humanise the cosmos? On the one hand there those who see see it as a product of human nature.  Exploring new frontiers fulfils a basic human yearning to explore. It...

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