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Archaeology and Heritage of the Human Movement into Space pp 29–47Cite as

Robot Avatars: The Material Culture of Human Activity in Earth Orbit

Part of the Space and Society book series (SPSO)

Abstract

This chapter discusses orbital debris from a cultural heritage perspective. It examines the cultural material related to space exploration with a specific focus on “space junk” and the increasing amount of material remains including thousands of satellites, rocket bodies, parts and piece of spacefaring objects. The author argues that the materials and design reflect social and political interactions with space as well as humanity’s adaptation to a new environment. The study of space heritage can add to the history of space exploration and contemporary life on Earth.

Keywords

  • Global Navigation Satellite System
  • Global Navigation Satellite System
  • Earth Orbit
  • Orbital Debris
  • Space Situational Awareness

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig. 3.1
Fig. 3.2
Fig. 3.3

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Acknowledgments

I’d like to particularly thank Marco Langbroek for his awesome photography skills and permission to use the photograph. Much gratitude to Charles Stross, who inspired me to start looking at Matrioshka brains, and provided valuable research leads. I would also like to thank Twitter colleagues @spacearcheology and @JohnJRoby who assisted in tracing obscure references and terms, and @SarahMay_1 and @LornaRichardson for transcontinental writing company in #madwriting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia

    Alice Gorman

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  1. Alice Gorman
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Correspondence to Alice Gorman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Anthropology, New Mexico State University at Las Cruce, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

    Beth Laura O’Leary

  2. Division of Social Sciences,, Penn State University Abington College, Abington, PA, USA

    P. J. Capelotti

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Gorman, A. (2015). Robot Avatars: The Material Culture of Human Activity in Earth Orbit. In: O’Leary, B., Capelotti, P. (eds) Archaeology and Heritage of the Human Movement into Space. Space and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07866-3_3

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