Vienna, Konzerthaus, 11-12 October 2007
This conference “Humans in Outer Space – Interdisciplinary Odysseys”, co-organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), was the first comprehensive trans-disciplinary dialogue on humans in outer space. It went further than regarding humans as mere tools for exploration or better robots, and investigated the human quest for odysseys beyond the atmosphere and reflected on the possibilities to find extraterrestrial life. The conference had emerged from an initiative by the European Science Foundation, represented through Monique van Donzel and Jean-Claude Worms, and was carried by its respective committees on Humanities, Space Sciences and Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences. ESPI acted as the local organiser with the sponsorship of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology. The conference was co-chaired by Luca Codignola (Professor for History at the University of Genoa) and Kai-Uwe Schrogl (Secretary General of ESPI). Twenty-five outstanding experts from the various disciplines approached first the questions of comparison between historic explorations and today’s space exploration as well as space as a source for inspiration. Then, three “odysseys” were investigated: humans in Earth orbit, humans in space exploration and humans migrating the Earth. The dialogue between space scientists, historians, psychologists, philosophers, lawyers, political and literary scientists was intellectually stimulating, exciting and – looking at space from the angles of the movies and public relations – also entertaining. The conference ended with drafting a first sketch of a “Vienna Vision for Humans in Outer Space”. This “vision statement” provides a European perspective in identifying the relevant needs and interests linked with space exploration taking in particular account the contribution of the humanities (history, philosophy, anthropology), the arts, as well as the social sciences (political science, economics and law).
The “Vienna Vision” was already presented at various international forums: by Agnieszka Lukaszczyk and Nicolas Peter (ESPI) at inter alia the International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon in October in Sorento, by Jean-Claude Worms (ESF) and Gerhard Haerendel (Chairman of ESA's Advisory Committee on Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration) at the International Space Exploration Conference in November 2007 in Berlin, and will be presented at the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in February 2008 in Vienna.
Background
The ESF Standing Committee for the Humanities (HUM (formerly SCH)) took a strong interest in the study of the implications of space exploration by humans. This interest led HUM (formerly SCH) to lead an interdisciplinary initiative on this topic with the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) and the ESF Standing Committee for Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences (LEE (formerly LESC)), and organise a workshop in Genoa, Italy, in March 2007. At that workshop scholars who usually have few reasons to meet in scientific forums exchanged views in a non-traditional fashion.
Non-traditional because, beyond the technical aspects linked to human presence in space that have been studied by space scientists and engineers for the last five decades, humans in space pose challenges that go much further than their ability to survive, and questions that can only start to be addressed in the light of modern understanding of historical events such as the Columbian encounter of 1492.
Following Genoa, a major conference took place in Vienna in October 2007 to further debate and conclude this activity. The publication of corresponding policy by ESF was foreseen. This conference, co-organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), was the first comprehensive trans-disciplinary dialogue on humans in outer space. It went further than regarding humans only as tools for exploration or the better robots. It investigated in the human quest for odysseys beyond the atmosphere and also reflected on the possibilities to find extraterrestrial life. It opened up new perspectives in assessing humankind’s present and future outside the Earth and documented this in a “Vienna Vision on Humans in Outer Space”.
