Alice Gorman

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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.

She is an Associate Professor at Flinders University 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 Senior Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and an expert member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for Aerospace Heritage. In 2024, she was selected as one of the Explorer’s Club 50: ‘50 people changing the world that the world needs to know about’. She is a regular contributor to national and international space policy, particularly focusing on issues of equity, social justice and rights of nature.

She is a former mentor in the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs Space4Women programme. She was part of a collective that drafted the first Declaration of the Rights of the Moon and 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.

Experience

  • 2005–present
    Lecturer in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Management, Flinders University
  • 2010–present
    Faculty, International Space University Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program
  • 2011–present
    Adjunct Fellow, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University
  • 2013–present
    Senior Cultural Heritage Advisor, Ecology and Heritage Parners

Education

  • 2001 
    University of New England, PhD
  • 1986 
    University of Melbourne, B.A. (Hons)

Publications

  • 2010
    The sky is falling: how Skylab became an Australian icon, Journal of Australian Studies
  • 2009
    The archaeology of space exploration, In David Bell and Martin Parker (eds) Space Travel and Culture,
  • 2009
    Heritage of Earth orbit: orbital debris – its mitigation and heritage, In Darrin and O’Leary (eds) The Handbook of Space Engineering, Archaeology and Heritage,
  • 2005
    The cultural landscape of interplanetary space, Journal of Social Archaeology
  • 2005
    The archaeology of orbital space, Australian Space Science Conference, RMIT

Research Areas

  • Historical Archaeology (Incl. Industrial Archaeology) (210108)
  • Astronomical And Space Sciences (0201)
  • Astronomical And Space Sciences Not Elsewhere Classified (020199)

Honours

Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities

Contact Alice for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision