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Supporters of astrobiology continue to organize the field around formalized associations and organizations under the guise of the so-called “hard” sciences (e.g., biology and the related physical/natural sciences). The so-called “soft” sciences—including sociology and the other social sciences, the behavioral sciences, and the humanities—remain largely separated from this dynamically growing field. However, as argued in this paper, space exploration involving the search for extraterrestrial life should be viewed as consisting of two interrelated parts (i.e., two sides of the same coin): astrobiology and astrosociology. Together, these two fields broadly combine the two major branches of science as they relate to the relationship between human life and alien life, as appropriate. Moreover, with a formalized system of collaboration, these two complimentary fields would also focus on the implications of their research to human beings as well as their cultures and social structures. By placing the astrosociological implications of astrobiology at a high enough priority, scientists interested in the search for alien life can augment their focus to include the social, cultural, and behavioral implications that were always associated with their work (yet previously overlooked or understated, and too often misunderstood). Recognition of the astrosociological implications expands our perception about alien life by creating a new emphasis on their ramifications to human life on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astrosociology is a relatively new multidisciplinary field that scientifically investigates astrosocial phenomena (i.e., social, cultural, and behavioral patterns related to space exploration and related issues). The “astrosociological frontier” represents an analogous framework to that of space as the “final frontier,” as both territories are quite empty of human activity and ripe for exploration. This focus on the astrosociological frontier provides insights about the need for a social-scientific field to place the human dimension in its proper place alongside familiar space community concerns such as engineering. The astrosociological frontier refers to the lack of development of astrosociology as a scientific field—or anything like it earlier during the space age. It includes both the 1) unoccupied “landscape” in academia characterized by the lack of astrosociology in its curricula and 2) dearth of space research focused on social-scientific (i.e., astrosociological) topics both inside and outside of traditional academia in collaboration with traditional space community members and the new space entrepreneurs. Within academia, the “frontier” is characterized by a lack of courses, programs, and departments dedicated to astrosociology. In the future, proponents of this new field expect the astrosociological frontier to become characterized by a growing number of “settlements” in curricula across the country and world. As things stand, however, the early “astrosociological pioneers” include those who seek to explore these underappreciated issues within academic and professional climates that discourage them from pursuing their interests. Thus, the “1st Symposium on Astrosociology” at the 2009 SPESIF conference represents an important expedition consisting of pioneering participants willing to venture into a little-explored territory with the goal of developing astrosociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we move beyond the fiftieth anniversary of the dawn of the space age, a curious question looms in the background. Why has the discipline of sociology, and the other social sciences, formally ignored the study of social, cultural, and behavioral patterns related to space exploration (i.e., astrosocial phenomena)? There is a void, reminiscent of the false view of outer space as an empty vacuum, represented by sociology’s failure to focus on outer space issues. The attempt to develop astrosociology as a reaction to this long-term reality initially met with some resistance and even ridicule. Simultaneously, however, the support for this new multidisciplinary social science field has grown more intense since the field’s inception. As this author was trained as a sociologist, this essay concentrates on the sociological discipline’s failure to recognize the void. Other types of social scientists can describe the realities of their own disciplines more accurately. In the present case, the study of astrosocial phenomena exists in unorganized forms within sociology and more notably external to it within the space community. Because most astrosocial phenomena presently exist in terrestrial environments, their ramifications for space-capable societies continue to manifest themselves in significant ways. This article addresses some of the issues related to the continued development of astrosociology and the benefits of doing so, using the important example of social problems as the focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The space age marches on. Following President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) and our recent celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of spaceflight on October 4, 2007, we should now take time to contemplate where we have been as it relates to where we are going. Space exploration has depended most strongly on engineers and space scientists in the past. This made sense when crews remained small, manned missions tended to operate in low Earth orbit and on a temporary basis, and the bulk of missions were carried out by robotic spacecraft. The question one must now ask is this: What will change in the next fifty years? One fundamental answer to this question involves the strong probability that human beings will increasingly go into space to live and work on long-duration missions and begin to live in space permanently. This article addresses the need to utilize the other neglected branch of science, comprised of the social and behavioral sciences along with the humanities, as it relates to the shift to a more substantial human presence in space. It focuses on the social science perspective needed to make this possible rather than the practical aspects of doing so, such as the engineering of functional habitats. A most important consideration involves the permanent establishment of a formal collaborative mechanism between astrosociologists and the engineers and space scientists who traditionally comprise the space community. The theoretical and applied aspects of astrosociology each have much to contribute toward the human dimension of space exploration, both on the Earth and beyond its atmosphere. The bottom line is that a social species such as ours cannot determine how to live in space without the input from a social science perspective, namely astrosociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we prepare to go back to the Moon on a permanent basis, it behooves us to take advantage of our return to the Moon by increasing our knowledge base so as to make all aspects of survival possible. The standard approach remains fixed on meeting the challenges related to power, physical habitat, and others associated with the physical environment and personal survival. While this traditional facet of space settlement must be addressed in a successful manner, the other set of variables to the equation for human survival in space receive little attention. In other words, we tend to focus so strongly on getting to a location and setting up a physical habitat that we overlook what it will require to survive in our new social world once the physical environment is functioning properly. We should take care now to begin formal consideration of the psychological, social, and cultural realities that will exist once we arrive. Plans starting with the very first Moon base should integrate research objectives that both (1) construct the integral physical elements of an isolated habitat and (2) study how the new social system operates subsequently. In fact, we should involve social scientists in planning as many of the latter issues as possible before the mission begins. This dual approach will serve as a first step to acquiring the critical knowledge necessary for human beings to live in isolated space environments situated too far away from the Earth that practical assistance is not readily available. Astrosociology, being a multidisciplinary social scientific field, can serve to unite social scientists interested in space research to work together on this issue and others in a formal manner. This, in turn, will make it possible for them to collaborate with space scientists and engineers in order to foster a fully comprehensive approach to make space settlements livable on a long-term basis. This collaboration, involving natural scientists and social scientists working together for the common goal of implementing sustainable space societies and conducting relevant research to improve the next project, represents a fundamental shift to a new paradigm currently unfamiliar. This paper lays out the basics for this new paradigm, for consideration by both the social science community and the space community. © 2007 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. As early plans are considered, we must take into account that societies on Earth serve to carry out a variety of life functions and, in so doing, must meet the social needs of their citizens. While the proper engineering/construction of space habitats is necessary to ensure survivability of the inhabitants of a physical environment in space, it remains insufficient to ensure proper functioning of a social environment in space. This paper assumes that the physical environment is adequate to sustain life reliably (that is, to provide life support) and focuses instead on issues related to the sustainability of a society in space from primarily a sociological perspective. The astrosociological argument serving as a central theme here is that we must carefully consider research findings of Earth-based societies and their communities and apply the sociological lessons learned to the planning of space colonies. Moreover, the astrosociological perspective can serve to provide a formal mechanism for collaboration between social scientists and space scientists so that construction of a particular space colony proceeds based on the greatest level of understanding possible. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a discipline, sociology has largely refused to address astrosocial phenomena(i.e., social/cultural patterns related to "outer" space). A large element of this self-imposed indifference/resistance relates to the general assumption that this neglected area of social life is not legitimate and thus not worthy of sociological inquiry. This essay takes the defiant stand that, not only should astrosociological issues be considered legitimate, any space enthusiast strongly interested in astrosocial phenomena must strongly consider astrosociology as the focus of his or her professional career (despite the potential negative consequences).This essay invites sociologists and other interested scientists to join in breaking down the boundaries currently excluding astrosociological issues from the mainstream discourse within the sociological community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]