Parkhurst, Aaron; Jeevendrampillai, David; (2025) The Restaurant at the End of the World. In: Praet, Istvan and Pitrou, Perig, (eds.) Otherwhere Ethnography: An Introduction to Outer Space Studies. (pp. 130-148). Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.

Text isbn-9780197790885-book-part-8.pdf - Published Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 July 2026. Download (3MB)

Abstract

Astronauts have been successful in cultivating a range of edible plants aboard the International Space Station. The narratives that accompany these experiments are marked by optimism for the “future of humanity”; the hope and hype of expanding human civilization off-world; psychological well-being; and, increasingly, sustainable sources of nutrients for the Artemis missions to the moon and beyond to Mars. This chapter explores such narratives and the meaning that people derive from these plants as representative forms of life and utopia. It challenges these narratives, exploring a more subtle, yet equally powerful sentiment of ruin and eschatology. Borrowing from anthropological frameworks on utopia, science, and the Anthropocene, the chapter extends beyond outer space to ask: As the Earth heats and ecological catastrophe abounds, what are the emergent forms of plant–human relations in the end of times, and what is being consumed at the restaurant at the end of the world?

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