Uncovering Space History: The Work of an Aerospace Archaeologist

When you think of archaeology, you probably picture Egypt, not orbit. So what does it mean to uncover a satellite that never came home?

Well, it generally means treating space as a place with history, not only a future. Aerospace Archaeologists explore cosmic history by studying the physical leftovers of the Space Age: spacecrafts, wrecks, orbital debris, and artifacts left in space. This includes the satellites that still circle Earth decades after going silent, the launch pads where history was made and then abandoned, and even the footprints and equipment left on the Moon. Aerospace Archaeology allows somebody to blend archaeology, astronomy, and detective work. 

For this career, some understanding of astronomy, astrodynamics, and planetary science is necessary, however it is not classified as a career in astronomy. Though, there are some astronomers who call themselves archaeologists because they decide to look back in time.

The International Space Station (ISS) (NASA Science)

An example of an active place Space Archaeologists like to investigate is the Apollo 11 landing site. On the Moon, Neil Armstrong’s footprints are still there, undisturbed for over 50 years as there has been no wind or rain to remove them. The site can be considered a time capsule, and some archaeologists argue that it must be protected like any national park. However, it is a place nobody has visited in half a century, and the question of who – and how somebody – may study it is still open.

It is obvious that, since nothing lives is on the Moon (as far as we’re concerned), the archaeologists investigating cannot dig at the site, or grab any samples by hand. Instead, the site is studied from a distance, using the tools of the trade: high-resolution images from orbiters, laser altimetry that maps the terrain, and careful analysis of the shadows and tracks left by the astronauts. It's archaeology done through a telescope, piecing together a story from what can be observed without ever touching it.

^{The footprints left by the Apollo astronauts have become iconic, as will those left by the next crop of moonwalkers (NASA)}

Another popular example is Vanguard 1. It was a satelite launched in 1958 – the second satellite the United States ever put in orbit. It is approximately the size of a grapefruit, a ball of metal that has now been circling the Earth for over 60 years. It is the oldest object still in space, due to lost communication in 1964, and is therefore not in a museum. It is still up there, silent, and nobody has touched it since the day it launched.

So, what does it mean to excavate a satellite that never came home? 

For the aerospace archaeologists, it means rethinking what archaeology even is. It's a field where the dig sites are moving at thousands of kilometers an hour, where the artifacts were never meant to be preserved, and where the tools are orbiters and lasers instead of trowels and brushes.

The Apollo 11 landing site shows why this matters: it's a time capsule of human achievement, still sitting exactly where we left it, yet studied only from a distance because no one can touch it. These aren't relics locked safely in a museum – they're decaying in orbit, burning up in the atmosphere, and waiting on a Moon no one has visited in half a century. Preserving them isn't just about nostalgia for the past. It's about deciding, while we still can, what parts of the Space Age deserve to survive – and what future generations should be able to look up and see.

“Space archaeology had always felt rather theoretical.” – Justin Walsh