Beyond Earthnocentrism: Anthropology on the High Frontier ALBERT A. HARRISON Summary In a review of the first 25 years of manned space flight, this paper offers an anthropologist's perspective on human activities in space. The paper argues that anthropology and other social sciences have much to offer in understanding the emergent space culture, which will become increasingly important in a time of long-duration stays beyond earth. Review of Manned, Short-duration Flights The first quarter century of men and women in space has been marked by two eras. The first of these, which ran from the late 1950s to approximately 1970, involved the initial orbital flights and landings on the moon. These space ventures were, in part, one more manifestation of the cold war, and the early astronauts and cosmonauts were combatants locked in battle. As James Oberg has so carefully documented, Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev viewed human spaceflights as methods for demonstrating Soviet will and technological superiority; successive achievements were carefully timed to impact earthly political developments [1]. US President Kennedy was only too happy to join the battle and divert attention from the Bay of Pigs fiasco and other woes. The social and technical systems used to meet the challenges of the nascent space era reflected the priorities of the time. For example, the rapidly developed Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo crafts were intended to allow individuals and then groups of two and three to take the minimum number of steps necessary to reach the moon. Other uses for these spacecraft were of secondary importance, and, it is partly because of this fact that there were no Americans in space during the late 1970s. The choice of military test pilots for cosmonauts and astronauts reflected both the primitive living conditions and the international tensions. Military test pilots are physically and mentally conditioned to survive under harsh and dangerous conditions. Additionally, as representatives of major cultural institutions they embody and project their cultures' values. Returning from the heavens, cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin saw fit to mock western religious beliefs. ‘I looked and looked and looked and I didn't see God', he noted [2]. The first seven astronauts introduced to the USA in 1959 made clear their beliefs in God, country, and family [3]. The first space era began grinding to a halt when Neal Armstrong landed on the Moon in 1969. Although his landing was followed by several others and then by a few Albert A. Harrison, Department of Psychology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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