Student Spotlight: Haley Lambert’s Interdisciplinary Project Investigates Space Exploration Accountability

Interdisciplinary research integrates two or more disciplines or specialized bodies One of the main goals of the Interdisciplinary Studies (INDS) program is to work with students across the university to embrace INDS methods in their original research. Haley Lambert, an animation major, has taken this opportunity in her INDS directed study project on space exploration. of knowledge to advantage multiple combinations of data, tools, perspectives, concepts and theories.

This approach helps students advance fundamental understanding and solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or field. Haley was attracted to the INDS approach because “it felt like the only way to fully research and comprehend all the information that I’m piecing together for my project.” Specifically, her study examines who controls space and how common space transports impact different global communities. As technological advances support both the increased militarization and privatization of outer space, organizations such as Space Force, NASA, Space X, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) press toward another “space race.”

Many countries are getting involved in not only space travel, but satellites and space stations as well. “Technology has come such a long way since the days of the Apollo missions,” Haley tells us. “Overall, there has been a huge increase in the amount of space travel, so while it’s important for us to continue to grow this technology, we also need to be aware of the impact it can have on earth. We need to hold both business and the military accountable for use of that technology. We cannot stop the growth of space exploration, but we do have the power to control how it’s explored.”

Last. Updated on February 25, 2021.