Language of Space

Does exploration of our universe call for a new universal language?

Whilst only a handful of nations (Soviet Union/Russia, U.S., China) have launched their own crewed spacecraft, astronauts from more than forty different nations have made the unforgettable journey into space.

The collaborations across different countries is surely one of the greatest achievements of the space sector, transcending traditional boundaries and borders, diluting age-old rivalries and overcoming cultural barriers.

The passion for space exploration has been a unifying force, bringing together like-minded people from across our world to drive the exploration of our universe.

The example set by the teamwork and support of these groups provides a wonderful template for how humanity has so much more in common than that which divides us and how much more effective we are working harmoniously, with shared knowledge.

Whilst the geo-political, diplomatic and economic divisions have repeatedly been overcome in the pursuit of space exploration, some practical barriers remain.

Obstacles to collaboration

One such obstacle to collaboration is language. With disparate nationalities being brought together to form teams working in some of the highest-stakes situations imaginable, the need for effective communication is clear.

But the path to achieving this clarity in communications is far from straightforward.

Historically, all astronauts travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) must make the voyage as guests of the Russians on board Russia’s workhorse vessels: Soyuz. All the controls of the Soyuz spacecraft are in Russian, meaning alongside the $80 million ticket-price, astronauts face the daunting task of learning a new language before they are cleared to join the mission into space.

For British astronaut Commander Tim Peake, learning to speak Russian was by far the biggest challenge of his journey to space.

Peake revealed the challenges of learning Russian even drove him to question the viability of becoming an astronaut: “I felt like walking out halfway through,” he revealed. “The further down the training we got the more technical the Russian language became.

“Learning Russian has been the single most difficult aspect of my training. I love systems, I love diagrams, I’m not a natural linguist and Russian for me has been particularly hard. It’s probably the part that I found the toughest, and at times, the least enjoyable.”

How much talent and energy do we risk losing if education in languages remains a barrier to entry for a huge proportion of the world’s population living without access to the means to develop linguistic skills?

Does it seem anomalous that with ingenuity and innovation so inextricably entwined with space-exploration, language remains a stumbling block?

Is it time to turn some of the problem-solving energy so famously associated with spaceflight to the challenges connected to communication?

After all, a workable solution wouldn’t simply reduce the barriers preventing some from joining the cohort of space explorers. It could also be a route to reducing the cost of space-travel and most significantly, make the journeys safer by lowering the risk of incidents caused by misunderstandings or delays in reactions to issues.

Air travel leads the way

Air travel provides unwanted examples of the risks associated with confusion caused by language barriers.

On the morning of April 25, 1980 Dan Air Flight 1008 departed from Manchester, England, destined for mountainous Canary Isle, Tenerife. At 1:21 pm, the plane ploughed into the side of the island’s mount La Esperanza, killing all 146 people on board.

The cause of the disaster was found to be a misinterpretation made by the Boeing 727’s flight crew. The plane was instructed by the control tower to take an unpublished, not officially approved, and potentially dangerous holding pattern above Los Rodeos Airport. But the pilot also seems to have mistaken the word “inbound” for “outbound” in the instructions he received, flying in the opposite direction to which he was supposed to.

This tragedy shows the terrible consequences of errors in understanding which – if they occur in a conventional work environment – may be inconsequential but when they take place at the sorts of velocities and altitudes involved in space travel can be catastrophic.

A world of languages

So, if we can agree that this is an area that provides opportunity to improve safety and efficacy and we are to settle on a shared language, which one should it be? If the decision was made based on current usage globally, Chinese-Mandarin would be the clear winner with an estimated 918 million speakers, equivalent to almost 12% of the world’s population.

However, Mandarin would require students to learn not only a new verbal language but an entirely new set of written characters too. There are 3,500 characters considered necessary to being competently conversant with a further 3,000 less common but still used in literature.

This provides some sense of the challenge involved in mastering Mandarin-Chinese, and compares unfavourably to the mere 26 characters used in the Latin-script alphabet familiar to users of Modern English!

Preparing for space travel involves learning engineering, technical and clinical processes which by their nature utilise some uncommon terms and arcane language so perhaps adding in the additional obstacle of remembering an expansive set of new characters is one step too far for humankind! Even those with the fierce intellect and determination we all recognise in astronauts.

Spanish and English are second and third with just under 6% and 5% of the global population using these as their primary language.

The characters used in these languages may be more familiar and accessible to a wider cohort of potential astronauts but still fails to overcome the fundamental linguistic challenge of mastering a new language.

Iconography and colour as solutions

Are there other solutions? Could we build on existing use of icons, colours or even sounds that can obviate the need for conventional language?

Nature shows us that red is associated with danger – many toxic plants feature red berries to warn animals that they pose a poisonous threat.

Green is widely recognised as a ‘positive’ colour and works effectively at Customs channels where we can intuitively follow the appropriate route even if we can’t interpret the written signs.

These methods of way-finding are utilised commonly in architecture – different flooring surfaces mapping out routes without the need for explicit signage, lighting levels providing naturally welcoming spaces and lower light levels used to subtly discourage visitors from entering proscribed areas – and we can learn from these techniques to help create easily navigable interfaces in spacecraft.

Could switchgear be augmented with icons and symbols that have universal recognisable qualities? Could these switches be produced using different textures so that a rough surface could allow a particular function to be identified, even if the cabin was plunged into darkness? A ridged surface could be detected even through gloves providing a textural orientation alongside the visual ones.

In his 2019 novel The Apollo Murders, astronaut and author Chris Hadfield references the luminous paint applied to buttons in the Lunar Module which allowed astronauts to locate the required switches even in darkness. This solution is effective even more than 60 years on from the Apollo missions. And we need to consider that it will not simply be trained, skilled astronauts who will be in these environments. As space becomes increasingly accessible the ‘space tourist’ will become similarly commonplace and these visitors to space will not have the same experience and training common to astronauts who typically boast military backgrounds with associated proficiencies and experience.

So if your lunar hotel room is unexpectedly plunged into darkness or experiences a temporary change in O₂ levels how do we ensure you can remain safe, calm and apprised of any actions you need to take? Particularly if those instructions are being provided by a member of the staff who speaks a different language than you?

Technological solutions for space tourists?

Do we want to limit space tourism to those clients able to speak a single, designated language or do we want to ensure that space is truly accessible to all, and safe for all?

One exciting technological development which looks certain to play a part in the solution is real-time translation provided by wearable in-ear devices. Incorporated into space clothing these devices could remove the barriers of language once and for all and create a universal communication tool without anyone needing to learn a single word of a new language.

If we can augment this with digital switchgear that can display functions and messaging in different languages, presenting the appropriate language to the user based on RFID signals or smart glasses we stand to make these off-world environments safer, more secure and more fun!

Developments of this nature represent unprecedented opportunities for companies working in this field and provide one of the most compelling applications for this nature of technological solution.

For companies active in this field the direction of travel – both commercially and physically – is clearly upwards and at Spaceium Technologies we are thinking about solutions to this, and countless other challenges we need to overcome and working with like-minded companies to drive the innovation needed to ensure we don’t merely reach space, but we thrive there.

If you would like to talk to us about your ideas, your ambitions and your opportunities to enter this dynamic market please get in touch.