Understanding True Interdisciplinarity: Lessons from Space Research

Posted on by Zindzi Cresswell

Aerial view of ESA's European Space Operations Centre atrium in Darmstadt, showing spiral staircases around satellite models and green seating areas across multiple levels.

One of the benefits of working in research universities - whether on contract, as a consultant, or as part of a project team - is meeting a wide range of people and learning about their research. The whos, the whys, and the whats. It's varied work, involving constant leaps between subject areas and specialisms. No wonder friends and family have no idea what I do - it's always changing.

Sometimes there's crossover. Disciplines and experiences meet, helping me facilitate introductions, interventions, or new perspectives for better outcomes across my network. And sometimes the crossover just makes me laugh, which is often all you need when life asks you to be nimble and ready for change.

Five years ago, I was in Darmstadt at the European Space Agency's European Space Operations Centre with a colleague from the University of Oxford's business engagement and partnerships team. We were there to learn about the centre, the people working there, and where mutually interesting research opportunities might lie.

Since then, my work has largely been at the edge of the space ecosystem - bringing people together on tech projects, making connections, promoting awareness of the different pathways into research or space. Not everyone needs to be an academic or rocket scientist. A diversity of skills and experience is needed from different disciplines and expertise to address issues in areas where there's no jurisdiction yet. A truly inclusive and interdisciplinary approach that changes the questions we ask and how we see things – it's not enough to think "We have a space project, let's bring in some social science methods to apply here and see what happens".

What really brought the distinction home to me, a learning that finally landed properly and that made me laugh at myself, was time spent last week promoting a session for the Future of Human Reproduction team about Reproduction and Bioethics in Space.

In 2020, it would never have occurred to me to bring expertise in philosophy, ethics, English literature, or science fiction into work about space - even though my role was based in the social sciences and humanities, thinking about how to apply this research. I thought I understood interdisciplinarity, but I was taking a shortcut: applying social science methods to practical situations and focusing on the result. I understood the value intellectually, but I hadn't fully grasped what the arts and humanities could offer - how they fundamentally reframe the questions, not just answer them.

Working with the FoHR team has shown me the difference.

When you're exploring the future of human reproduction (in space or not), you need more than bioethicists assessing risks. When different disciplines work together, something shifts.

You need literary scholars unpacking science fiction's influence on how we imagine future families, philosophers questioning whose reproduction gets prioritised, designers to help the theoretical become grounded in tangible ways. As well as psychologists, linguistics and legal scholars revealing narratives, interests, and influencing factors while questioning possibility.

The value isn't in applying their tools to answer a question - it's in how their approach and perspectives changes what we're asking in the first place.

Sometimes life needs to send you the same message more than once before the learning really lands. Five years apart, two visits to "space" - one literal, one conceptual - and finally, I get it.

Here’s to asking the right questions and having the right people around you to learn from – and quite frankly help you see what you’re missing.

Related Blogs

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.

Back to blog listing