Astrosociology, sociology of outer space, or sociology of the universe is the study of the relationship between

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

, extraterrestrial places, and the wider

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

and society. It is an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

study between space-related

sciences Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and sociology that seeks to understand the impact of human society outside our current planetary system. Astrosociology focuses on space exploration and related issues alongside the social and cultural dimensions of outer space from the viewpoint of human civilisation.

History

Astrosociology started as a subfield and interdisciplinary area of study in 2003 to research the two-way relationship that exists between outer space and society, or astrosocial phenomena (e.g. the social, cultural, and behavioral patterns related to outer space). In 2008, Jim Pass created the Astrosociology Research Institute (ARI) as a nonprofit research centre to advance the field of astrosociology.

Research areas

Commercialisation of space

The process and phenomenon of

globalisation Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

can be seen to be expanding past our

planetary system A planetary system is a set of gravitationally In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interacti ...

and into space commercialisation. The market drives of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

and

neo-liberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

presents space as an untapped resource for marketisation. This presents a shift from the

Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

and astropolitics of the Cold War and into a new era of space commercialisation. Examples of this seen in

Blue Origin Blue Origin, LLC is an American private spaceflight, privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Am ...

and

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

that offer private contract services for government agencies like

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Extraterrestrial life

The existence of

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

, life outside of Earth, is an ongoing scientific search as well as societal debate.

Astrobiology Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

to planetary geology are some of the disciplines interested in finding life elsewhere in space. Astrosociology intersects these by exploring the social dimensions of finding extraterrestrial life – exploring the impact of human systems throughout religious to economic. There is also research into how these extraterrestrial places and potential life interlink with our own world, with the global environmental and ecological systems here on Earth, and vice versa. This potential relationship of space and extraterrestrial places impacting our society, humanity, and humans as we know ourselves alongside our impact elsewhere plays an ongoing astrosociologcial paradigm within research.

Human civilisations beyond Earth

A focus of astrosociology is the presence of human populations outside the confines of Earth. A paper presented at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) by Jim Pass in 2006 outlined: "For a number of reasons, the construction of a single space colony represents a future social reality strongly likely to play itself out repeatedly as the twenty‐first century advances". The ramifications of societal settings beyond earth, with advancing new technology and logistical programmes like

and

Deep Space Transport The Deep Space Transport (DST), also called Mars Transit Vehicle, is a crewed interplanetary spacecraft concept by NASA to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days.

, create questions for the continuation of society outside of Earth. A promenant issue sits around time and how the passing of time is understood outside of the day-night cycle here on Earth. Human existence outside of Earth creates new areas of astrosocial and astropolitical dimensions that our societies have never experienced so far. Astrosociology presents space currently as an extra-social factor (e.g. not related to our social world), as a social construct outside of our social experience, and as related based on public opinion. As our explorations into space continue to breakdown the hard divide of society and the universe, space becomes more and more a social factor within our societal experiences.

Space exploration

Understanding future expansion into places like the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, and elsewhere outside of Earth needs a reflection on the sociological factors throughout exploration phases. An example of this is looking at past space explorations and social dynamics, from leadership relations among

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s to work-rest scheduling, to provide sociological insight into future space exploration missions. As humans remain in an era phase of space exploration and travel, the astrosociological focus is often on the micro societal aspects of space that are created in situations like the International Space Station and future space missions.

References

{{Sociology2 Interdisciplinary subfields of sociology Outer space