Photo: NASA
Astronauts as the Origin of Space Society
- 6 December 2021
- 12:00 - 13:00 (GMT)
- Online
- https://dajf.org.uk/event/astronauts-as-the-origin-of-space-society
- events@dajf.org.uk
- Tweet
Space exploration is becoming more accessible than ever, and an increasing number of people are expected to travel to space in the near future. The idea of humans travelling to and living in space is certainly fascinating, but how is it likely to develop from here?
In this seminar, we will look at human forays into space in the past, present and future. Our special guest, astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, will talk about her motivations in becoming an astronaut and her experiences of travelling and living in space. She will also share her thoughts about how space travel and living might change in the future.
About the contributors
Special Guest: Naoko Yamazaki is an aerospace engineer and an astronaut. In April 2010, she was onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as part of the crew of STS-131, an assembly and resupply mission to the International Space Station. Since retiring from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in 2011, Yamazaki has served as a member of the Japan Space Policy Committee that is part of the government’s Cabinet Office. Yamazaki is also the representative director of Space Port Japan Association, an alliance of space corporations and local governments with interest in space. Its aim is to establish Asia’s first spaceports in Japan. In 2020, Yamazaki joined the council of the Earthshot Prize, a global environment prize intended to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet. She grew up in Chiba prefecture of Japan, close to Tokyo. Her degree in aerospace engineering was from the University of Tokyo.
Moderator: Doug Millard is Deputy Keeper, Technologies and Engineering at the Science Museum, London. He has produced many space exhibitions, lectured widely and appeared on television and radio. His publications include The Black Arrow Rocket (2001), Showcasing Space (2005) and Satellite (2017). In 2006 he gained his MSc in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of London. He was senior curator for the ‘Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age’ exhibition (2015) and its transfer to Moscow (2016), and editor of the associated publication. In 2019 he organised the Culture Space research programme looking at broad cultural interpretations of space exploration. He is currently researching global perspectives of space exploration that will inform development of a new space gallery at the Science Museum and the planning for a major exhibition about Mars, scheduled for 2024.
