Orbital Ecocentrism: Harvey's Manifesto for Planetary Consciousness

Samantha Harvey’s 2024 Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital serves as a profound ecocentric manifesto cultivating planetary consciousness in the Anthropocene. Set over sixteen orbits on the International Space Station, six multinational astronauts observe Earth’s revolutions from low orbit. This paper posits Harvey’s “space pastoral” as employing the orbital gaze to dismantle anthropocentric boundaries and affirm Earth’s intrinsic value as a biotic community. Rooted in Aldo Leopold’s land ethic and Arne Naess’s deep ecology, the analysis shows how the novel’s cyclical structure mirrors ecological rhythms, challenging linear temporality. Close readings of typhoons, auroras, and evaporating seas critique human degradation while fusing personal grief with planetary loss. The ecocentric sublime blends awe and sorrow, converting impotence into ethical demand for kinship. Using qualitative ecocritical methods—including close reading and intertextual analysis—the study explores interconnectedness, microgravity frailty, and manifesto implications for policy and education. Orbital calls for a shift from conquest to stewardship. This research advances spatial ecocriticism, highlighting the novel’s pivotal role in Anthropocene literature and providing a blueprint for transformative, regenerative narratives.