Virginia Tech researcher questions sending more humans to space

Houston – stop the countdown.

The space industry is accelerating deeper into the cosmos. But a researcher at Virginia Tech wants to hit the brakes and recalibrate.

An outer space anthropologist and doctoral student at Virginia Tech, Savannah Mandel's core argument is that space exploration is an extension of humanity as it exists, rather than an escape from planetary problems.

She is a proponent of unmanned exploration, which involves using spacecraft such as rovers to gather data without human crews. But she wants systemic change in the industry before humans go to outer space. One of these changes is for the inclusion of more social scientists within NASA and aerospace corporations.

Her argument is fueled by a combination of academic analysis and personal reflection. She worked in the commercial space industry and conducted fieldwork at Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport.

She recently channeled her work into her first book, “Ground Control: An Argument for the End of Human Space Exploration.”

In “Ground Control,” Mandel critiques the motivations behind commercial space ventures. Rushing to send more humans to space, she contends, mirrors an imperialist mindset that harms Earth’s humanity and environment. She published the book through Chicago Review Press while also pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society.

Her dissertation — and second book – will center on the history and legalization of asteroid mining. Space agencies and companies are developing technologies and legal frameworks to conduct mining operations for precious metals and other resources.

Earning a Ph.D. is challenging. Some might call writing a book on top of a dissertation a giant leap.

Mandel answered questions about her research, authorship, and what she plans to explore next.

How did your fieldwork at places like Spaceport America and your experiences in the commercial spaceflight industry shape your perspective?

This book is honestly, in part, a memoir of what it was like to be a social scientist working in a STEM field — a field that was highly bureaucratic, highly politicized, and highly technical. I didn’t start off as someone who disliked space. I went into my fieldwork loving space exploration and being passionate about it. But the more I learned and saw and the longer I was in the space industry, the more I started questioning what space exploration means for society and humanity's future.

For example, at Spaceport America, I would have these field notes where, in one margin, I’d list all the pop stars going on Virgin Galactic flights, and in the next margin, I’d have poverty statistics for the local area. It was such a stark contrast. When I went to [Washington] D.C., and started working in space policy and science writing, I saw how militarized space exploration was and how colonial the rhetoric was around it. My time in fieldwork and in D.C. heavily informed the book and my understanding of space.

What do you believe are the most significant cultural outcomes that could result from the continued human exploration and potential colonization of other planets and moons?

One of the biggest concerns I have is rising interest in resource extraction, such as space mining. My dissertation focuses on how resources gained from space mining will be moderated, managed, and dispersed when they get back to Earth. Will further wealth disparities be created because of the mining of these resources? If only the wealthy have access to space, are they going to get richer from these resources while others don’t have access to them at all?

Another issue is who gets a voice in discussions about space. Is human space exploration a global conversation or a local one? When we set up colonies, what do they represent? Will they be a way of establishing territory and ownership over land, and what are the consequences of that? There are a lot of ethical questions to consider about how human space exploration affects those left on Earth.

Given your background in science and technology studies, how do you assess the role of commercial space companies in shaping public and political discourse around space exploration?

Science and Technology Studies is a small field that teaches us that science and technology are socially constructed entities. In other words, when we work on a scientific project or create technology, we don’t do so in an unbiased way. Science and technology are created with intention, cultural motivation, and political influence. Space projects are no different — they typically have a motivation or intention behind them, even if it’s not always explicit.

So when I look at space organizations or any other science and technology companies, I ask questions like, ‘What is influencing this? Who is influencing this? What beliefs and values have gone into this?’ These are the kinds of questions my field encourages.

What counter arguments have you encountered about your position on space exploration, and how do you address them?

One common counterargument is the apocalyptic idea that we need a “plan B planet” in case something catastrophic happens to Earth. My response is that we should prioritize preventative measures on Earth now, so we can avoid those issues to the best of our ability. I mean, sure, the sun will eventually explode our planet, and we could, in several billion years, plan for that event. But in the meantime, we should focus on creating a sustainable planet, managing climate change, and achieving a better living situation on Earth instead of striving for more or better elsewhere and leaving our home planet in the dust.

How has science communication become part of your role as an anthropologist?

Science communication kind of snuck up on me. I started writing for the public because I had all these thoughts in my head about space, space ethics, and futurism and I didn’t know where to put them. I started writing for science blogs and news outlets, and eventually realized I was someone the public could learn from about the social sciences and outer space. There aren’t many social scientists engaging with the public on these topics, so I thought, the morethe merrier. We should be telling the public about the work social scientists are doing in space, technology, and science.

How do you manage to balance the demands of being a Ph.D. student, a teacher, and a writer?

When I actually sat down to write my first book, I had already done about five years of research. I did most of my main body of research and reading during my first master's degree in London, so I had a strong foundation. I also took a semester off to write the book, which I think is valid if you need to pursue projects like this.

Writing a second book while working on my dissertation is a lot harder because I’m doing fresh research on top of schoolwork. It’s all about balance. But it’s also about prioritization, making time for writing, and being persistent. It took me many years of writing, and trial and error before I got an agent. You have to keep at it and have faith in yourself.

Special thanks to Chris Savage and the rest of the staff of the Science Museum of Western Virginia for their help with this article and video. Learn more about the museum and the EYE Planetarium.