The Culture of Cosmonautics in a Communist Society: Visual Depictions of American Astronauts and Apollo Flights in Romanian Philately

Article

“The Culture of Cosmonautics in a Communist Society: Visual Depictions of American Astronauts and Apollo Flights in Romanian Philately” by Tudor Mihăescu
Published in Quest Volume: 30 #2 (2023)

Abstract

The culture of cosmonautics represents a set of practices, representations, and material objects that imagine or describe space exploration, covering four principal areas of manifestation: written sources, visual media, material objects, and audio productions. Naturally, the ways in which the visual culture of cosmonautics has manifested around the world has varied from one region to another and is influenced by the cultural, economic, and political background of each country. For example, in Romania, space was more visible in certain fields (i.e., philately) and almost absent in other spheres (such as the design of household objects). This article is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on understanding the culture of space history from an academic perspective. Part II on astrophilately in Romania. Part III on President Richard Nixon’s visit to Romania as part of the worldwide tour of the Apollo 11 astronauts as part of Operation Moonglow.

Citation

Mihăescu, Tudor. “The Culture of Cosmonautics in a Communist Society: Visual Depictions of American Astronauts and Apollo Flights in Romanian Philately.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 30, no. 2 (2023): 3-17.