"If space suits and vessels are designed for blind and deaf individuals, they’ll be safer—tactile feedback, the use of sign language, and multimodal methods of managing equipment mean all astronauts can function better in situations where their sensory experience shifts. None of us can rely on our bodies functioning in space the same way that they do on Earth; a radical reframing of our ideas of accessibility and adaptability are necessary to create devices and environments that serve humans as best as they can in outer space."
When I first started reading the article, I thought to myself, "ummm, where are you going to go with this one?!" This is proof of how I had a hard time with seeing how a disabled person would thrive in space without a whole separate spaceship being made to accomodate them. You really opened my eyes on how much safer a trip to space can be and how much more can be accomplished with space travel being redesigned to allow disabled folks onboard.
I remember reading or listening to a poem where the artist said something along the lines of, "when our different languages make it hard for us to understand each other, let's go under water because everyone sounds the same under water." Reshaping space travel to include folks with disabilities mean creating systems and programs that, one, puts abled and disabled people on the same playing field as well as also puts a bigger safety net for everyone incase an unexpected issue occurs--their radios get fried and they can't speak to each other (sign language!)
"If space suits and vessels are designed for blind and deaf individuals, they’ll be safer—tactile feedback, the use of sign language, and multimodal methods of managing equipment mean all astronauts can function better in situations where their sensory experience shifts. None of us can rely on our bodies functioning in space the same way that they do on Earth; a radical reframing of our ideas of accessibility and adaptability are necessary to create devices and environments that serve humans as best as they can in outer space."
When I first started reading the article, I thought to myself, "ummm, where are you going to go with this one?!" This is proof of how I had a hard time with seeing how a disabled person would thrive in space without a whole separate spaceship being made to accomodate them. You really opened my eyes on how much safer a trip to space can be and how much more can be accomplished with space travel being redesigned to allow disabled folks onboard.
I remember reading or listening to a poem where the artist said something along the lines of, "when our different languages make it hard for us to understand each other, let's go under water because everyone sounds the same under water." Reshaping space travel to include folks with disabilities mean creating systems and programs that, one, puts abled and disabled people on the same playing field as well as also puts a bigger safety net for everyone incase an unexpected issue occurs--their radios get fried and they can't speak to each other (sign language!)
- Sir Charles