SPACE-Gov: Senses – Towards a Multi-sensorial Inclusive Space Future
Dr Nikita Chiu, Senior Lecturer in Innovation Policy, was awarded the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science Award.
On 13 November 2023, Dr Chiu convened a public-facing event with keynote speaker – Dr Wanda Diaz-Merced – Executive Director of the Arecibo AC3 Center, home to the legacy of the Arecibo telescope. The Arecibo telescope not only made major scientific contributions, it also played a major role in recent popular culture, having been featured in major films such as <Contact> and <GoldenEye>.
Background
The world is thrilled to learn of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) announcement of John McFall’s election as the world’s first-ever parastronaut. Recently having commenced his training at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany, John is to contribute to a feasibility study programme at ESA that aims to explore the potential of sending individuals with diverse abilities to go to space in the future. This pioneering initiative has the prospect of making space more inclusive, ensuring that space continues to be a domain of collective aspiration and inspiration. Building on findings from the SPACE-Gov project and COST research network — TRACTS, this event seeks to bring the public on an exploratory journey of what a multi-sensorial and inclusive space future may look like.
Current space science and exploration rely heavily on a mono-sensorial approach (i.e. visual, with limited sonic supportive elements). However, evidence suggests that astronauts experienced reduced mobility and sensory input in micro-gravity. Astronauts have also reported experiencing temporary blindness while conducting spacewalk. In these critical moments, they have to turn to their other senses (e.g. tactile, sonic) to ensure the return to safety.
While the announcement of the world’s first parastronaut demonstrates our path towards a more inclusive space future, we believe that inclusivity goes beyond accommodation and accessibility, and that the integration of a multi-sensorial approach could be crucial in strengthening astronauts’ physical and mental wellbeing while in orbit. The SPACE-Gov project identified that the integration of additional sensorial input (e.g. tactile and sonic alarm) could help enhance safety and security for astronauts in extreme environments in orbit.
The event commenced with a presentation of findings from the SPACE-Gov project at Exeter, which identified the hostile conditions and risks that space activities often needed to overcome in achieving remarkable milestones. This was followed by a discussion around the prospective integration and mainstreaming of different human senses into future space science and activities. The speakers and audience explored how a stronger emphasis on scent and taste could help strengthen future ESA astronauts’ wellbeing while in orbit and how the analysis of sonic space data to illustrate how a multi-sensorial approach could lead us to more groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
SPACE-Gov: Senses sought to inspire and enthuse a more inclusive space and technology sector, not only to enhance diversity in the workforce, but also to make critical contributions to strengthening safety and security for future scientific endeavours.
This event was designed to engage an adult general public and professionals and policy-stakeholders in the space and technology sector (e.g. professionals from the science park, local entrepreneurs, local culinary businesses). The event hopes to raise awareness of the potentially significant contributions that a diverse workforce could play in mitigating risk and enhancing safety in a professional environment. It also hopes to engage the wider professional community to adopt an inclusive and/or multi-sensorial approach in advancing science and technology.
Archived details of the event could be found on the ESRC Festival of Social Science webpage here.