Overcoming challenges of all kinds is a mainstay of global space exploration and commercial space development, but how do those in the business feel about challenging the very essence of humanity’s future in space - or at least the pathway to get there? In her new book, Ground Control, anthropologist Savannah Mandel experiences an everyday ‘moment of rupture’ which sets off deep reflections about the journey ahead. Her article for ROOM, an edited extract from Ground Control, raises a series of tough questions for the commercial space industry and humanity at large.
I continued to stare, causing the line of disgruntled passengers being shepherded out of the station to come to a shuddering halt. Someone pushed me, bumping my shoulder as they shoved past. I exhaled. How long had I been holding my breath?
It was as if roots had sprouted from my feet and grown straight down through my boots. As if Mother Earth herself had turned my head and said, “Look. Look, you fool. They will be left behind. What say have they had in these conversations about space, child? You’re dreaming of the stars while this is happening?”
It was March 2018 and protesters were calling for an end to the Turkish invasion of Syria and the mass murder of Kurdish people. We, London commuters, weren’t forced to stay in King’s Cross Station, and let’s be honest, that would have made bigger news than the protest itself. Instead, transport officials kept the rear entrance farthest from the protestors open.
