Alice Gorman

Biography

Dr Alice Gorman is an internationally recognised leader in the field of space archaeology and author of the award-winning book Dr Space Junk vs the Universe: Archaeology and the Future (MIT Press, 2019). Her research focuses on the archaeology and heritage of space exploration, including space junk, planetary landing sites, off-earth mining, and space habitats. In 2022, she co-directed (with Justin Walsh) an archaeological survey on the International Space Station, which was the first archaeological fieldwork ever to take place outside Earth. She is an Associate Professor at Flinders University in Adelaide and a heritage consultant with over 30 years’ experience working with Indigenous communities in Australia. Gorman is also a Vice-Chair of the Global Expert Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities, a member of the Advisory Council of the Space Industry Association of Australia, a Senior Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and an expert member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for Aerospace Heritage.

She is a regular contributor to national and international space policy, particularly focusing on issues of equity, social justice and rights of nature. She was part of a collective that drafted the first Declaration of the Rights of the Moon in 2021. She also contributed to the Vancouver Recommendations on Space Mining. Asteroid 551014 Gorman is named after her in recognition of her work in establishing space archaeology as a field.

Photo credit: Daniel Kukec