| Summary/Abstract |
The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) provides a revealing analogy to American spaceflight owing to its common historical origin, similar base in Cold War national security and diplomacy, and reciprocal influence of scientific research and technology development associated with Antarctica and outer space. In addition, the USAP and America’s space program have been high-profile federal endeavors, promoted by varying constituents through unifying narratives intended to elicit “public understanding” or, more pointedly, public support for these strategic national initiatives. Beginning in the late 1950s, initial narratives similarly depicted both programs as confirmation that the United States was a benevolent world power which deployed its preeminent science and technology to positively transform distant realms and make their bounty serve humankind. As domestic priorities and international affairs dramatically shifted at the end of the 1960s, public discourse about the U.S. Antarctic and space programs changed and diverged. The USAP came to embody a national commitment to protecting the global environment while American spaceflight evinces more mixed national aspirations. A comparative account of this initial convergence and ultimate divergence exposes the cultural politics of these federal initiatives and helps reveal the process by which boosters and commentators cultivated public understanding and support for these strategic national endeavors.
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