BIS Diary Notice

Less Remote

29 September 2008 - 3 October 2008

An international symposium to run parallel to the 2008 International Astronautical Congress (IAC).

This symposium will offer a forum in which specialists from many disciplines will be invited to consider the future of space exploration in the context of our current understanding of social, economic and technological imperatives. One of the aims of the symposium is to foster a dialogue and exchange between the cultural and space communities. It will run in parallel with the IAC, but will also be promoted amongst the arts community. LESS REMOTE delegates will also have access to the IAC exhibition hall and highlight lectures. IAC delegates will have free access to LESS REMOTE.

Speakers from the Space Science & Engineering and Arts & Humanities communities will present keynote lectures on space exploration and its possible futures. Papers are also invited from the broad constituency of interest among artists, cultural analysts and historians that has examined the wider implications of the scientific exploration of space for the better part of a century.

Four main strands addressed:

Cultures and Space
This strand will address the inter-relationship between the idea of the cosmos and the nature of space exploration. It invites contributions that highlight the multiplicity of cosmologies that currently hold sway in the world, and considering the consequences of a tacit consensus on the range of opportunities for future space exploration.

The Introspective Urge
This strand will focus on humankind’s image of itself as a determinant of space technology. It will explore the changing sense of self that has driven the arts and the sciences for the past four centuries relative to the engagement with space exploration. It will consider the impact of a changing self-image – for example as a consequence of ubiquitous global communications - on future space science.

Leaving a Trace
Already human space exploration has left an archaeological trace in the local solar system. Should this residue of radio noise and scientific by-products be regarded as ownership or just plain carelessness? How we see this trace will impact on the future of space exploration. We invite technical and ethical debate on the impact we have already had on the local solar system, and how our views will affect the possible future of space science and engineering.

Living Space
In this strand we invite consideration of the continuity between the needs of humans on Earth and the possible demands of spacefarers in remote and often hostile environments.

Venue
The LESS REMOTE symposium will take place at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), Glasgow.

For more information and a call for papers, see www.lessremote.org