How Cosmic Explorations Are Reshaping Life on Earth

In recent years, space exploration flights have surged at an unprecedented pace and frequency. These developments have ignited a spectrum of emotions and responses across the globe—from jubilant celebrations in the galleries where onlookers watch launches to cynical scoffs from online commentators to the quiet defiance of those who refuse to participate.

This series brings together writing from several members of a collaborative, interdisciplinary research project called ARIES (Anthropological Research into the Imaginaries and Exploration of Space). Across field sites on several continents, our project explores how people are interacting with and imagining outer space across cultures and communities today—and how those perspectives reflect back on our lives on Earth. As anthropologists, we talk with people whose lives are intertwined with space exploration, from space enthusiasts to entrepreneurs to local residents who live near launch pads, research centers, and other infrastructures that support the space exploration industry.

Popular narratives on space exploration tend to swing between two opposite positions: Some see it as a benefit to humanity while others remain disinterested in and critical of such ventures. In part, that’s because space exploration can bring up conflicts between different ways of knowing, valuing, and relating to the cosmos.

But our research has found that in everyday life, many individuals and communities find themselves somewhere in the middle. They may want to engage in space exploration but feel excluded from the way its systems are organized. Or they might take issue with how decisions are made by government or business leaders that affect their communities without listening to their concerns.

From launching small, semi-amateur satellites to the biggest, most powerful rockets in human history, this new era of spaceflight and exploration is fueled by a developing private industry. The global space economy, which includes what governments spend, grew 8 percent to US$546 billion in 2022 and was projected to expand by 41 percent over the next five years, according to a report by the Space Foundation. The number of orbital launches climbed steadily as well—from 145 in 2021 to 186 a year later. The space ambitions of ever more nations—big and small alike—are also growing, evidenced, for example, by the expanding list of countries joining the Artemis Accords.

Despite this new impetus, advocates of space exploration still struggle to mobilize publics behind their goals. The pieces in the series tell the stories of three very different launches around the world that reveal some of these tensions as they play out in real-world settings.

These stories and the rest of the ARIES team’s work forefront the often informal, everyday labor that goes into space exploration. We’ve witnessed the joyous passion that drives many who contribute to space exploration efforts. We’ve also exposed some gloomy realities—for instance, colonial legacies that have created hierarchies and inequalities around the world that make accessing outer space difficult or impossible for some communities.

Taken together, these stories help document the incredible potentials of space exploration—as well as the obstacles that still stand in the way of making the commercial space industry truly “for the benefit” of all humanity.