【AI前沿】Before it comes down, what should be saved from the International Space Station?

Preserving ISS heritageBefore it comes down, what should be saved from the International Space Station?What went up cannot all come down (for museum display).Robert Pearlman–May 22, 2026 1:59 pm|31Smithsonian curator Teasel Muir-Harmony (at left) moderates a panel on “Why Save ISS Heritage” with Jacob Keaton, NASA ISS acting director; Gabriel Swiney, director of the Office of Space Commerce’s Policy, Advocacy and International Division; and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen on May 21, 2026, in Washington, DC.Credit:

      AIAA/David Becker/PWHLSmithsonian curator Teasel Muir-Harmony (at left) moderates a panel on "Why Save ISS Heritage" with Jacob Keaton, NASA ISS acting director; Gabriel Swiney, director of the Office of Space Commerce's Policy, Advocacy and International Division; and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen on May 21, 2026, in Washington, DC.Credit:

      AIAA/David Becker/PWHLText
    settingsStory textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth*StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers onlyLearn moreMinimize to navHumans do not just visit space; they live there, but a major part of that is coming to an end. The platform that made the longest continuous human presence in space possible is becoming history.With NASA and its partners beginning preparations for the destructive end of the International Space Station (ISS) as soon as 2030, those who collect, curate, and study the station are nowasking how to preserve the historic and culturally significant artifact, given that it is far too large and complex to keep intact.The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on Thursday hosted a three-part panel discussion, bringing together space program officials, museum curators, an archeologist, and an astronaut to begin answering the why, what, andhow the ISS might be saved. The sessions were part of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA) ASCEND conference in Washington, DC.NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen on the “Why Save ISS Heritage” panel during the AIAA’s ASCEND conference, on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington, DC.Credit:
                                  AIAA/David Becker/PWHLNASA astronaut Stephen Bowen on the “Why Save ISS Heritage” panel during the AIAA’s ASCEND conference, on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington, DC.Credit:

      AIAA/David Becker/PWHL“I had a friend who works on the Artemis [moon] program come up to me when we had25 years [of continuous human residency]. ‘Congratulations, guys! You made space boring.’ And we did—and that’s a good thing, actually,” said Jacob Keaton, acting director of the International Space Station for NASA’s Space Operations Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in DC. “Not only did we make it boring because of the technical competence that the team brings to the table, we made it boring because it became part of our national fabric, almost.“This is just something that we do. We have people in space,” said Keaton. “The ticket tape parades after Apollo were wonderful. That’s a historic achievement—for Artemis, too, absolutely. But for the space station, this is just who we are now. I think it’s underappreciated the amount of work that it took to become boring.”From “boring” to “evocative”So how do you capture “boring” and make it accessible in how the program will be exhibited in museums for many years to come?“I like spaceflight nominal, that’s my favorite type of spaceflight,” said Stephen Bowen, acting director of cross-directorate technical integration at NASA and an astronaut who has spent 227 days in space, including 186 on the International Space Station in 2023. “Nominal is the way to be. I don’t need any excitement.”Bowen said what should be preserved arethe crews’ experiencesfrom the 74 expeditions to date, and those still to come.“Having the opportunity to train around the world and throughout, you get to meet amazing people. Just that aspect can get lost if we don’t continue these international missions, and I think that’s really important going forward,” he said.“I’m not a big person on holding onto things,” said Bowen. “The biggest legacy, and what we should preserve, is just continue to fly similar missions. I think that’s the biggest thing we can continue to do to maintain those specific items.”“We can’t bring everything back from the space station, so I’ll leave it up to others to figure out what that is, and what priority,” he said.Some of those others include Justin Walsh, a professor of art history, archeology, and space studies who performed the first archeological fieldwork to occur off Earth as the creator of theInternational Space Station Archeological Project, and Jennifer Levasseur, curator of the International Space Station collection at the National Air and Space Museum.“The cupola has long held a fascination with people,” said Levasseur as the moderator of the day’s second panel, speaking of the station’s multi-windowed module. “Obviously, bringing it back may not be