Archaeological practice throughout history has always focused on terrestrial sites. This is changing as humanity continues its push into space. And after more than two decades and more than 270 inhabitants, the International Space Station has provided researchers with the first area to examine using archaeological approaches.
In a study published Aug. 7 in the journal PLOS ONE, a team at California’s Chapman University applied a traditional field strategy known as a shovel test pit to analyze how the ever-changing “microsociety” aboard the ISS has adapted and shifted over time. On Earth, these projects involve digging small excavations at regular intervals across a site to gather information about how artifacts are distributed, then selecting particularly promising pits for more thorough study. Since there is nothing to “dig” on the ISS, however, the team chose six locations throughout the space station and tasked astronauts with taking daily pictures of each space for roughly two months in 2022.
The researchers’ paper focuses on findings from the first two fully documented sample sites – a square site officially designated for equipment maintenance and another located near the station’s training equipment and toilets. Using a new open-source image analysis program developed by the team, the researchers identified 5,438 examples of “artifacts” used for various purposes. Among them were an augmented reality headset, Post-It notes, gloves, tools and writing implements such as Sharpie pens. Once meticulously sorted, the team then compared the daily photos to the ISS astronauts’ activity reports to see how the actual use of these spaces ranked against their supposed official designations.
“Several general characteristics are revealed by archaeological analysis of the material culture of a space station,” the researchers write in the conclusion of their paper. “First, even in a small, enclosed area occupied by only a few people during a relatively short sample period, we can observe divergent patterns for different locations and phases of activity. Second, while distinct functions are evident for these two squares, they are not the functions we expected prior to this research.”
As on Earth, researchers discovered that certain spaces do not always retain their original purpose. Although it was designated as an equipment maintenance area, the astronauts mainly used this space for various storage. And while the training and toilet area was never designated for specific use, the astronauts repeatedly turned it into a makeshift closet for resealable bags, various toiletries, and even a rarely used computer.
“We were a pretty organized crew that was also pretty much on the same page about how to do things,” said an unnamed astronaut during the study’s crew discussion. “Over time … we organized the lab and got on the same page about where we put things and how we’re going to do things.”
While the researchers note that this shows how functionality is assigned to different ISS regions through “use and mutual agreement,” they add that, “At the same time, the station does not go up on time. Different people have different ideas about how and how you should do things.”
[Related: Why food tastes more bland in space.]
While it is only an initial study on the subject, it is the first of its kind to document how humans adapt to a new environment completely removed from what we as a species evolved to handle. The team argues that providing greater flexibility of space use can help improve the crew’s autonomy and improve their overall well-being. They also]believe that further studies using both the shovel test pit and other methodologies, while designed for Earth, could help planners when considering habitat designs for future, long-term missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
“By applying a very traditional method of sampling a site to an entirely new type of archaeological context, we show how the ISS crew uses different areas of the space station in ways that differ from mission plans and designs,” they said. researchers in an accompanying statement. .