Until now, space research has focused on science and technology. In the future, though, when the general public is able to travel to and live in space, social factors will become increasingly important. As space becomes more familiar, we will be forced to think more deeply about the relationship between humanity and space. The International Institute for Advanced Studies (IIAS), in cooperation with JAXA, conducted a study on the human and social aspects of space development. The results were summarized in a report titled "The Humanities and a Social Scientific Approach Toward Space Issues."
The study was conducted by an international team of scholars, led by IIAS fellow Dr. Tomio Kinoshita, who recently spoke to us about the research.