How Science Fiction Tests Out Different Futures in Space
Aug 05, 2025
Science fiction not only imagines different futures in space, it's a place where debates play out about what the future of space should entail.
Some of your favorite sci-fi stories explore questions like: What should government in space look like? Who (or what) should do the work in space? What would it take to thrive in space?
The questions science fiction stories explore, and the answers they propose, often reflect what is happening in reality on Earth (and in space) at the time they’re created. Take a closer look.
How Will Space Be Governed?
If entire communities of people lived on other worlds, how would they be governed?
Popular culture depicts a variety of governments. Some resemble those on Earth, others are entirely new. How to govern in space may depend on a community’s goals and values. Is the intent to conquer, expand, or explore?
In the Star Trek TV series and movies, one centralized organization called “Starfleet” oversees all of Earth’s space programs. What are those programs? Exploration and peacekeeping. Overall, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision was one of peace. Roddenberry envisioned the bridge crew for the starship Enterprise with men and women of different races all working together—in a time when humans in the real world were fighting for equality during the Civil Rights Era.
In the TV series The Expanse (2015-2022) and the novels it's based on, the United Nations takes on a new role—protecting Earth’s interests as tensions rise between people who live on Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt.
The character Roberta “Bobbie” W. Draper, a Martian marine in the fictional Martian Congressional Republic Navy, wears this helmet in the television series The Expanse. Draper was portrayed by actress Frankie Adams.
In the Dune novels and films, an emperor rules the galaxy and powerful noble families compete to control valuable planets and those planets’ resources.
Let’s complicate the question further: What if there were spaceports on moons and other planets? That might make it easier for people to fly more easily from place to place in space. But if we live on more than one planet, what kinds of societies would exist? What would borders and nations look like?
In the 1997 movie, The Fifth Element, the character Leeloo (portrayed by Milla Jovovich) uses a forged “multipass” (a travel document similar to a passport) at a checkpoint to board a spaceship.
Although set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the popular Star Wars franchise also imagines different galactic government structures. For instance, in the original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983), the film’s heroes in the Rebel Alliance fight against the dictatorial Empire.
In the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005), viewers see an alternate model of intergalactic government. Padmé Amidala (portrayed by Natalie Portman), and pictured on this U.S. postal stamp, is first the elected queen of Naboo, then later a member of the Galactic Senate. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum).
What Will Living (or Vacationing) in Space Look Like?
Science fiction depictions of life in space have changed over time, often reflecting changes in our knowledge of the space environment or debates here on Earth about uses for space.
For instance, this 1957 Topps space trading card depicts an entire city on the Moon. Protected by a dome, residents move throughout the lunar city without wearing spacesuits.
Sixty years later, our depictions had changed. In the 2015 movie The Martian, based on Andy Weir’s book of the same title, astronauts brought a modular home and workspace from Earth to Mars. NASA habitat prototypes inspired the set designs.
The idea of vacationing in space is in no way new. The Hilton Hotels Corporation even designed a promotional card for a fictional “Lunar Hilton” in 1967. However, in 2001, space tourism became a reality when the first tourist went to the International Space Station for a reported $20 million fee. Recent science fiction has delved into the social and economic questions surrounding space tourism.
For example, in a 2007 Dr. Who episode, a ticket on a luxury liner travelling through space (and unironically named the Titanic) costs 20 times the annual salary of an average worker. (Spoiler alert: It crashes.)
In the TV comedy Avenue 5 (2020-2022), a capable but underpaid crew works unseen below deck to keep a luxury spaceliner running.
What Role Will Robots Play in Space? Are These the Droids We’re Looking For?
Science fiction has long depicted “mechanical servants” doing work for humans in space. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that these machines were called robots. The term comes from the Slavic word robota, which means “forced labor.” Today, we use the term robot more broadly.
Czech writer Karel Čapek introduced the word “robot” in his 1920 play R.U.R. to describe manufactured humans built to perform hard and thankless industrial work.
In the 1960s TV show The Jetsons, a futuristic robotic live-in maid named Rosey literally illustrates qualities associated with low-paid domestic workers in the 1960s.
In the movie WALL-E (2008), a solitary robot compacts mountains of trash left by humans who polluted and then abandoned Earth.
WALL-E explores questions of environmentalism and humanity. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum.)
Science fiction often portrays robots that work alongside people as having human characteristics. These mechanical “beings” can look, move, and interact just like people do—some even have emotions. Think of the range of emotions expressed by Star Wars’ human-shaped quipping droid C-3PO … or even the emotion communicated by R2-D2’s whistles and beeps.
But is building robots that mimic humans and do our dirty work always desirable? Humanoid robot workers rise against their human creators in the 1978 Battlestar Galactica TV series. In the 2003-2009 reboot, these “Cylons” continue to wage war.
Two Cylon soldiers appear on this trading card from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica TV show.
Although not a robot, HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey reflects similar concerns about technology. HAL is an artificial intelligence (AI) that runs the ship. When astronaut Dave Bowman ironically demands, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL,” the AI refuses. Following his programming to protect the mission at all costs, HAL has started killing off the crew who it interprets as threats. HAL's reply, "I can't do that, Dave," reflects human concerns that we may lose control of our technologies, and that robots may not obey our orders.
Think about your favorite science fiction TV show, movie, or game. Can you spot how it tests out an answer to one of the big questions of futures in space?
This story was adapted from the Futures in Space exhibition.
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Support the Museum
We rely on the generous support of donors, sponsors, members, and other benefactors to share the history and impact of aviation and spaceflight, educate the public, and inspire future generations. With your help, we can continue to preserve and safeguard the world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts representing the great achievements of flight and space exploration.