On March 15th, as part of the Regular seminar of the STS Center, Denis Sivkov (Institute for Social Sciences, RANEPA, Moscow) will give a talk entitled Russian "Craft" Space Exploration.
Following the steps of Elon Musk, groups of enthusiasts appear in Russia to explore space and master space technologies on an amateur basis. The amateurs attempt to create, test, and implement functioning artifacts that also containt performative elements.
From the perspective of social studies of space and futuristic anthropologies, the talk will tackle three cases of the Russian "craft" space exploration: launching a satellite into orbit, sending a mousetronaut into upper atmopsphere, or manufacturing spacesuits. The speaker will pay special attention to the technological solutions and innovations, skills of collaborative and team work, and practices of mastering new professions, which can in the nearest future become part of our everyday space exploration.
15 March, 6 p.m. Room 218, 1 Shpalernaya St.