English

The Influence of Social Movements on Space Astronomy Policy

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics 2014-08-27 v2

Abstract

Public engagement (PE) initiatives can lead to a long term public support of science. However most of the real impact of PE initiatives within the context of long-term science policy is not completely understood. An examination of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, and International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 reveal how large grassroots movements led by citizen scientists and space aficionados can have profound effects on public policy. We explore the role and relevance of public grassroots movements in the policy of space astronomy initiatives, present some recent cases which illustrate policy decisions involving broader interest groups, and consider new avenues of PE including crowdfunding and crowdsourcing.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1408.4987,
  title  = {The Influence of Social Movements on Space Astronomy Policy},
  author = {Hannah E. Harris and Pedro Russo},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1408.4987},
  year   = {2014}
}

Comments

Accepted for publication in Space Policy journal