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最准的六合彩论坛 Email:聽alica.zimmerlin.16@ucl.ac.uk
Year of Start: 2018
Supervisors: Professor Victor Buchli (最准的六合彩论坛) (Primary), Dr. Aaron Parkhurst (最准的六合彩论坛) (Secondary), Dr. Denis Vidal (EHESS/CNRS) (Third)
Subject: Material Culture
Fieldsite:聽JAXA, Japan
PhD Research
Anthropology of Outer-Space: Worlding at JAXA
My research is focusing on the Hayabusa 2 exploratory mission currently enfolding at JAXA.
Ryugu is a C-type asteroid which exploration and sampling is believed to shed light on the origins of the Solar System, Earth and the 鈥渙rigins of life鈥�.聽The Hayabusa 2 mission is using multiple exploratory rovers, an impactor and several sampling devices to take pictures and samples from it. JAXA researchers believe that discovering more about the way robots are adapting to an outer-space environment might be helpful for future explorations. The practice of digging into Ryugu鈥檚 ground and analysing samples will provide information on the 鈥淓arth鈥檚 and humanity鈥檚 past鈥� (Prof. Kubota JAXA), and by that, enlighten the scientists on what humanity鈥檚 future might become.聽
Robotics and space exploration question the 鈥渕oral dilemmas鈥� involved in researches that have a 鈥渇uturistic vibe鈥� and are popular in pop culture. Space exploration and robotics being both born after their fictional counterparts are influenced by dystopian visions of humanity's doom (The Terminator, Westworld, Capek, Asimov,鈥�). These fictional 鈥榩redictions鈥� of robotics and space exploration's outcomes are in turn also influencing current practices of engineers and scientists alike, leading to even more time and multi-temporalities entanglements.
Outer-space is conceived as the 鈥渆xtreme鈥� and alien environment where almost everything is possible. Current anthropological researches question the impact of an extra-terrestrial life on worlding and socialisation. Their informants already see this future as realistic, mostly wondering about 鈥榯rivial鈥� aspects such as its practicality, assuming that 鈥渉umanity鈥檚 future lies elsewhere鈥�. My informants share this viewpoint, yet, they are currently testing this ideology with their rovers. This takes a fundamental step towards this ideology of a futuristic extra-terrestrial human life. This research is also focusing on the impact of the rovers used in the mission. JAXA researchers have a multi-layered envisioning of these robots: no simple tools for sampling on the asteroid; they also represent JAXA鈥檚 hope for humanity鈥檚 future extra-terrestrial life. Problematics relating to the potential breaking of the human/nonhuman boundary is a recurrent anthropological topic. What makes this current setting new is the complete lack of human resemblance in the design of the robots, creating novel forms and understandings of personhood.
Research interests
- Space anthropology
- Anthropology of the Extreme
- Anthropology of the Techniques
- Robotics and Human-Robot Relations
- Japanese and East-Asia Studies
Education History
- 2019-2020 Visiting student Kubota lab ISAS/JAXA
- 2018- present PhD Candidate in Anthropology
- 2018 Internship Tarachine 鈥淢other鈥檚 Radiation Lab Fukushima鈥� (Japan)
- 2017- 2018 MRes Anthropology 最准的六合彩论坛 (UK) (Distinction)
- 2017 Internship Division of Systems Science and Informatics Hokkaido University (Japan)
- 2016-2017 MA Material and Visual Culture 最准的六合彩论坛 (UK) (Distinction)
- 2013-2016 Bachelor Degree in Anthropology, Social Science, Ethnology at the University Paris-West Nanterre La D茅fense (France) (Honours)
Honours, Awards & Funding
- 2018 AHRC/LAHP Doctoral Studentship
- 2018 GBSF Funding