posted 05-30-2009 03:40 AM               

Expanding the discipline of archaeology into the cosmos, this unique volume offers a perspective rarely considered. It discusses the historic trail of material culture that humankind has left behind during space exploration. The authors describe this collection of artifacts as being evidence of our heritage as a species on Earth that is worthy of investigation. Gathering insights from several leading thinkers, they discuss topics that include the cultural landscape of space, spacecraft development and forensics, field techniques, our environmental footprint, and the evaluation of an archaeological record in space. Highly authoritative, it is an exciting journey into the final frontier.

About the Author
Ann Garrison Darrin has worked at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for more than 10 years. Ann Darrin is a member of the principal staff and is the manager in the Milton S. Eisenhower Research Center for the Aerospace and Materials Sciences group. Prior to joining the laboratory, Ann worked at NASA Goddard Space Center in aerospace engineering and was the Division Chief for Assurance Technologies. As a technologist, Ann holds numerous patents and has participated in several exciting, albeit small, technology "firsts" in space.

Beth Laura O’Leary has taught anthropology at New Mexico State University since 1991. She has worked in cultural resource management for the federal government, private firms, and universities. She is currently vice chairperson of the Cultural Properties Review Committee, a governor-appointed policymaking board on historic preservation for the state of New Mexico. Beth is a recognized expert in the emerging field of space archaeology and heritage. In 1999, she received a grant from the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium to document the archaeological assemblage at the Apollo 11 lunar landing site and to investigate ways to manage and preserve it for the future. She is a member of the World Archaeological Congress Space Heritage Task Force.

• Hardcover: 1035 pages
  
• Publisher: CRC; 1 edition (June 22, 2009)
  
• ISBN-10: 1420084313
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1420084313

posted 05-31-2009 08:14 PM               

It would be nice to see increased interaction between the component of academia and the Archeology community focused on space heritage preservation and we collectors.

Of interest, Dr. Alice Gorman runs this Space Archeology blog which hosts links to a number of other organizations/resources focused on space heritage preservation.