ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA—According to an NPR report, researchers led by archaeologists Alice Gorman of Flinders University and Justin Walsh of Chapman University will study “space culture” on the International Space Station (ISS), which opened in November 2000, by examining a grid made up of photographs taken by crew members. In this first phase of the project, the daily photographs will allow the archaeologists to investigate life on board the ISS as it changes over a 60-day period. Walsh explained that there are social and cultural dimensions to the problems the scientists on board the ISS face when working to solve technical, engineering, and medical issues. In particular, Gorman and Walsh plan to examine how the crew of the ISS interacts with each other and with equipment that originated in countries other than their own; see if the objects on board reflect gender, race, class, and hierarchy; and determine if the crew alters the ISS to suit their needs and desires. To read about the extraterrestrial origins of glass incorporated into an ancient Egyptian pectoral, go to "Scarab From Space."
