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Eternity In Low Earth Orbit: Icons On The International Space Station, Wendy Salmond, Justin Walsh, Alice Gorman
Eternity In Low Earth Orbit: Icons On The International Space Station, Wendy Salmond, Justin Walsh, Alice Gorman
Art Faculty Articles and Research
This paper investigates the material culture of icons on the International Space Station as part of a complex web of interactions between cosmonauts and the Russian Orthodox Church, reflecting contemporary terrestrial political and social aairs. An analysis of photographs from the International Space Station (ISS) demonstrated that a particular area of the Zvezda module is used for the display of icons, both Orthodox and secular, including the Mother of God of Kazan and Yuri Gagarin. The Orthodox icons are frequently sent to space and returned to Earth at the request of church clerics. In this process, the icons become part …