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Purposeful Ephemera: The Implications of Self-Destructing Space Technology for the Future Practice of Archaeology

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Archaeology and Heritage of the Human Movement into Space

Part of the book series: Space and Society ((SPSO))

Abstract

This chapter is presented from the perspective of a professional archaeologist who specializes in Greek archaeology, intercultural contact and exchange, and the ethics of cultural heritage. His chapter investigates the mandates for discard and “design for demise” of space objects in the wider context of cultural phenomena from all cultures. The chapter finds comparanda for purposeful ephemera in examples from the media of performance, architecture, and visual art.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Dr. William Ailor of Aerospace Corporation for his invitation to take part in the AIAA panel in March 2012, to Professor Michael Schiffer for his suggestions regarding sampling of the atmosphere, to Professor Stefan Tanaka for directing me to the publications of Arata Isozaki on the Ise shrine, to Mr. Paul McJones for information about the preservation of old software, and to Mr. Patrick Feaster for information regarding the “educing” of old audio recordings. None of these people are responsible for any errors here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA

    Justin St. P. Walsh

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  1. Justin St. P. Walsh
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Correspondence to Justin St. P. Walsh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Anthropology, New Mexico State University at Las Cruce, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

    Beth Laura O’Leary

  2. Division of Social Sciences,, Penn State University Abington College, Abington, PA, USA

    P. J. Capelotti

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Walsh, J.S.P. (2015). Purposeful Ephemera: The Implications of Self-Destructing Space Technology for the Future Practice of Archaeology. In: O’Leary, B., Capelotti, P. (eds) Archaeology and Heritage of the Human Movement into Space. Space and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07866-3_6

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