An historian’s viewpoint — Historical approaches to human space flight and the “Humans in Outer Space” project

Abstract

Why do we need an historian in the introductory session of a conference that is devoted to looking forward towards the future of the Earth and indeed of the universe? Is there any real reason why we should look backward, to the past experience of humankind, in order to provide a context for papers that will deal with, among other things, interstellar communication, human impact on other planets, space governance, etc.? Is there anything else besides the fact that I, personally, have been involved in this project since its beginning, to assess whether past experiences of discovery, encounter, and contact — whatever we want to call the meeting of diverse entities — could help us provide a good practical and ideological framework for what may indeed lay ahead in the future — if not ours, then that of our progeny?