The Past of the Future / The Future of the Past: Stories from the Archaeology of a Space Station

Hunter College, exact location TBD, 6 PM

Justin Walsh has been working in archaeology for 25 years, including at sites in the US, Spain, Jordan, and Italy. Since 2015, he has co-directed the first full-scale archaeological investigation of a site in space, the International Space Station. In this talk, he will discuss different aspects of the project, including the first archaeological experiment ever to happen off of the Earth. He will also talk about how social science disciplines like archaeology will be fundamental for improving life on Earth and in space.

Biography

Justin Walsh is professor of art history, archaeology, and space studies at Chapman University, and Ad Astra Fellow in space habitats and space archaeology at the University of Southern California. In the past, he has been a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, a Fulbright Fellow in Greece, and Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol. His International Space Station Archaeological Project won awards from the AIA and the American Anthropological Association in 2023, and, in 2024, he was included in the Explorers Club 50, recognizing “remarkable explorers changing the world and extending the meaning of exploration.”