Space archaeology is so recognised as a type of archaeology now that there is a slew of weird bot-made videos about it, very disembodied, however, as if space archaeology is not a thing done by actual real people who are space archaeologists. Some of these videos are very dodgy indeed, but others, to be honest, are not bad! Here is a selection:
What is space archaeology?
In archaeology, space archaeology is the research-based study of various human-made items found in space, their interpretation as clues to the adventures humanity has experienced in space, and their preservation as cultural heritage.
Space archaeology: where no trowel has gone before
This video is talking about a project we published our first results from recently in an article in PLOS One - a survey of the ISS using photography. They haven't exactly got our results right but they have picked up on the fact that the ISS is a pretty messy place. So it's really weird to have no mention of us! However, I do like the fancy graphics - it would have been great to be able to afford this type of science communication! Here is the script:
Space archaeology, where no trowel has gone before. So apparently archaeologists got bored of digging in the dirt and thought hey, why not space. Thus we have the first archaeology project aboard the ISS. Astronauts use space like the rest of us, use a junk drawer ignoring the design and creating cosmic chaos. The photos show astronauts turning neat space stations into floating garages. There's no ancient treasure up there unless you count misplaced tools and forgotten snack wrappers but hey at least now we know that even in space humans are just as good at cluttering up their environment. Maybe in the sequel we'll find out how the aliens feel about all this.
Here's a link to the actual paper, and you can find out more at the website of the International Space Station Archaeological Project.
Unveiling Cosmic Relics: Space Archaeology Explored!
It's surprising just how much this video gets right! It refers to my work and those of others such as Bill Rathje and PJ Capelotti on the archaeology and heritage of orbital debris, and goes on to talk about archaeology on the Moon, which my friend and colleague Beth Laura O'Leary pioneered. Importantly, it mentions a goal a few of us space archeologists have: to contribute to the planning of future missions.
This is gonna blow your mind. High above us, orbiting silently, are relics of human ingenuity - leftovers from space missions past. I'm talking about space archaeology. Imagine this: thousands of satrellites, spent rocket stages and even tools dropped by astronauts, all swirling around Earth at mind-bending speeds. These aren't just pieces of metal: they tell the story of our journey into space. Each piece of debris has its own tale, from the very first satellite, Sputnik, to the sophisticated telescopes and exploratory probes we send out today. And guess what: it's not just about what's floating around Earth. On the Moon, there are abandoned lunar rovers, footprints, and even a falcon feather left there by astronaut David Scott to demonstrate Galileo's theory of gravity. Space archaeologists are like detectives, piecing together the history of space exploration from these artefacts. They help us learn from past missions to better plan future voyages. And perhaps most fascinating of all, they remind us of our first tentative steps into the cosmos.
Unveiling Secrets of Space: The Fascinating World of Space Archaeology
When I started working on space archaeology, I was looking at the impacts of rocket launch sites on Indigenous people (you can read about it here and here) and the archaeology and heritage value of space junk in Earth orbit (here and here). I feel I've had an impact when a weird bot-thing makes a video about my research! Here is the script:
Now when you think of archaeology you might imagine digging up ancient ruins or unearthing forgotten artifacts but space archaeology - it involves studying defunct satellites and man-made debris left floating in the vast expanse of space. This might seem like an oddity but it's truly remarkable what these relics can tell us about our own activities in space.
Space Archaeology
Apart from an egregious overuse of 'cosmic', 'celestial' and 'civilizations', the originator of this video 'Multifarious King' has said some things about space archaeology that I quite like. For example:
Celestial archaeologists become custodians of cosmic heritage, piecing together the narrative of ancient celestial cultures from the fragments scattered across the cosmic expanse. Yet, amid the cosmic excavation, the celestial archaeologists grapple not only with the challenges of interpreting cosmic artifacts but also with the cosmic responsibility of preserving the cosmic legacy. Ethical considerations, the pursuit of historical truth, and the cosmic echoes of the impermanence of cosmic civilizations infuse the cosmic investigations with purpose and wisdom.
I would be more interested if they had not used virtually the same text to do space exploration, space law (I particularly love the celestial courtrooms), space nuclear power, space technology, space telescopes, space-based radar, space-based solar power, spacecraft design, and spacecraft propulsion! Everybody gets a microgravity or cosmic ballet (nice). Spacecraft propulsion might be the most out there, claiming that gods provide propulsion! After this one, Multifarious King moves on to engineering with a version of the same text. Hard to know what the motivation or value is!
This video is also an example of category confusion, confusing space archaeology with astronomy, astrobiology and exoarchaeology.
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