What happens to religion when humans leave Earth? This question sits at the heart of an interview with Jenia Gorbanenko, a PhD researcher and member of the Ethno-ISS project, whose work explores the deeply material relationship between Russian Orthodox Christianity and the International Space Station (ISS). Far from leaving belief behind, Gorbanenko shows that space has become an active site of religious practice, meaning, and imagination.
Gorbanenko’s research focuses on a distributed religious community that exists both on Earth and in low Earth orbit. Russian Orthodox cosmonauts routinely carry icons, relics, and other religious objects to the ISS. These items are later returned to Earth, where some of them can be put on display in temples . At first glance, this might seem unexpected—after all, Soviet spaceflight was famously tied to atheism and scientific triumph. Yet Gorbanenko’s work shows that faith and space have long been intertwined in Russia, even during officially atheist times.
Watch the full video interview here (courtesy of University of the Underground)
Russian Orthodoxy and the Legacy of Spaceflight
Russian Orthodoxy provides a particularly rich case study. After decades of suppression during the Soviet era, the Church experienced a major revival following the collapse of the USSR. Today, it plays an increasingly visible role in public life—including in the space sector.
Historically, Russian space exploration did not emerge from nowhere.
Gorbanenko points to the Russian Cosmists, a group of late-19th and early-20th-century thinkers who combined Orthodox Christianity with futuristic ideas about technology, resurrection, and space colonization. Figures like Nikolai Fedorov and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky imagined space exploration as part of a moral and spiritual project aimed at overcoming death itself. These ideas left a lasting imprint on Russian space culture, even when official ideology later rejected religion.
Sacred Objects in Orbit
Today, Russian Orthodox religiosity in space takes very concrete forms. Rockets are blessed before launch. Cosmonauts take communion before missions. Personal icons travel with crews to the ISS, just as they would on any important journey. Larger icons and relics—sometimes including fragments associated with saints—are also sent into orbit.
Gorbanenko describes this as an extension of traditional Orthodox practices such as processions and pilgrimages. The ISS, orbiting Earth multiple times a day, allows the Orthodox to pray that icons in orbit may bless the entire planet. Their movement through space amplifies their spiritual reach.
The “Second Sky” and Protection in Orbit
Orthodox cosmology also offers a striking way of understanding space itself. In some theological interpretations, Earth’s sky is divided into layers. The “second sky”, where the ISS is located, is seen as a dangerous realm inhabited by demonic forces. From this perspective, religious rituals are not symbolic extras but necessary forms of protection. Blessings, icons, and relics help safeguard cosmonauts as they travel through a spiritually risky environment.
Politics, Memory, and National Space Identity
Religion in space is not only about belief; it is also about history and politics. Gorbanenko shows how the Russian Orthodox actively works to reinterpret the legacy of Soviet spaceflight. By emphasizing hidden religious continuities—such as cosmonauts who believed privately during Soviet times—the Church integrates space exploration into a longer Orthodox narrative.
A striking example is the decision to send an icon of Tsar Nicholas II into orbit. This act symbolically reconnects modern spaceflight with pre-revolutionary Russia and reframes space exploration as part of a RussianOrthodox heritage, rather than a purely atheist Soviet achievement.
Why This Matters
Gorbanenko’s work challenges the idea that space is a purely secular frontier. Instead, it shows that space is deeply entangled with human questions about meaning, morality, and transcendence. The ISS is not only a scientific laboratory; it is also a site where religion, history, and identity continue to evolve.
For the Ethno-ISS project, this research highlights a central insight: as humans expand beyond Earth, they do not leave their cultures behind. They carry them into orbit—sometimes quite literally—wrapped in icons, relics, and stories that connect the heavens above with life on the ground.
Further Reading and Scholarly Context
This research is part of a wider and growing scholarly conversation about religion, material culture, and spaceflight. Earlier work by Wendy Salmond, Justin Walsh, and Alice Gorman, especially their article “Eternity in Low Earth Orbit: Icons on the International Space Station”, has examined Russian Orthodox icons on board the ISS as part of the station’s material and visual culture. Gorbanenko’s work builds on and contributes to this broader field, adding an ethnographic perspective on the people, practices, and religious meanings that connect Earth, orbit, and the Russian Orthodox tradition.
About the author:
Read more about Jenia Gorbanenko on her portfolio website and her section on the team page of this website.