Abstract
Dreams of space – of not-Earth – have inspired humanity over the ages. Dream-inspired humans made space travel a reality. Without our dreams, there would be no space programs anywhere. Artistic, religious, philosophical, and ethical perspectives are not frills or mere add-ons to space activities. They are absolutely essential parts of all aspects of all space endeavors. At the same time, without the science and technology that enables humans to loose the bonds of Earth, humans would still only be dreaming of space while never going to the Moon and beyond. But science and technology are themselves the products of human dreams and desires. Dreams, beliefs, science, and technology – along with natural and human resources harnessed by human will and labor – are all required to attain and maintain space activities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
J.B. Burnell, Astronomy and Poetry, in Contemporary Poetry and Contemporary Science, ed. by R. Crawford (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006)
J. Clair (ed.), Cosmos: From Romanticism to the Avant-Garde (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, 1999)
W. Dingbo, Chinese science fiction, in Handbook of Chinese Popular Culture, ed. by W. Dingbo, P. Murphy (Greenwood, Westport, 1994)
A. Fraknoi, The music of the spheres: astronomical sources of musical inspirations. Mercury 6(3), 15–19 (1977)
A. Fraknoi, More music of the spheres: further astronomical sources of musical inspiration. Mercury 7(6), 129–132 (1979)
A. Harrison, Starstruck: Cosmic Visions in Science, Religion and Folklore (Berghahn Books, New York, 2007)
W.K. Hartmann et al. (eds.), In the Stream of the Stars: The Soviet/American Space Art Book (Workman, New York, 1990)
R. Matthew, Japanese Science Fiction: A View of a Changing Society (Routledge, London, 1989)
I. Milojevic, S. Inayatullah, Futures dreaming outside and on the margins of the western world. Futures 35(5), 483–507 (2003)
D. Raitt, ESA and the arts: a programme in the making. Acta Astronaut. 60, 48–54 (2007)
A. Roberts, The History of Science Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dator, J.A. (2012). Visions of Not-Earth: Space Arts. In: Social Foundations of Human Space Exploration. SpringerBriefs in Space Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3094-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3094-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-3093-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-3094-0
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)