Phil Smith

I have a tendency to see nature through an artistic lens. I assign meaning to things and see beauty in the great and small. I also suffer from the relentless desire to create order where there is none. I’m fascinated by the workings of the universe and use traditional and digital media to represent what I feel are its most magnificent aspects. Though I think of myself as an artist, I make my living as a space industry analyst. This liberates me financially to pursue my art yet also informs my creative work.

I’ve worked in the space industry for nearly 25 years (now at BryceTech), building on a technical foundation of graduate-level education and military experience. I also leverage my artistic skills wherever and whenever possible. My background includes space industry analysis and market forecasting, astroculture, astrofuturism, aerospace history, nuclear weapons technology, industrial hygiene, clinical laboratory studies, and policy analysis. In addition to conducting research, analyzing the results, and drafting written materials, I translate this work into high-quality documents, briefings, wall charts, and infographics using various publishing tools, bringing a mix of analytical skills and artistic talent to provide customers with a diversity of approaches in problem solving, from conceptualization to final delivery. I’ve also been a tour guide for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum since 2003.

What does “Astrazoic” mean?

It’s a made up word I conjured about 20 years ago. Astrazoic (combining astra, Latin for “star” and zoic, Greek for “life” or “animal”) reflects two things: 1) my interest in the history of the universe, the Earth, and all things paleontological, and 2) my interest in space and spaceflight. Some time ago, it occurred to me that the permanent presence of terrestrial life in space is as profound a development in the history of our planet as the emergence of life itself. For over 3.5 billion years, life has gone about its business in the seas, upon the land, and through the skies of Earth. Then, one day in February, 1947, fruit flies became the first living things to leave the planet. A decade later, we launched the first satellite into orbit, followed four years later by the first person to enter space. Since then, more and more journeys into space have taken place so that since November 2000, at least one human being has always been off world. Such an event does not merely inaugurate an epoch or an era. It inaugurates a new eon in the history of Earth—the permanent presence of terrestrial life in space: The Astrazoic Eon. To me and many others, it’s that big a deal.