Jorge Mañes Rubio: What should humans take to space (and leave behind)? | TED Fellows

[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]

We are at the beginning of a new era for the future exploration

and commercialization of space.

First it will be the Moon and from there, Mars and the rest of the solar system.

I've always been fascinated by space exploration,

but at the same time troubled by its multiple implications.

Historically, human exploration has led

to an aggressive exploitation of people, land and resources.

This ongoing colonization process

has shaped the unfair world we live in today.

So how can we make sure

we stop perpetuating the same old colonial patterns?

When I was appointed artist in residence at the European Space Agency,

I thought it was a unique opportunity to make a bold statement, to rethink:

as human beings, what do we really need to take with us on this space journey?

And perhaps even more importantly,

what should we leave behind?

As a privileged white male individual born and raised in Europe

I grew up in a world where Western arts, science and technology

are presumed superior over every other form of knowledge.

However, visiting many museums

and their vast collections, products of our colonial heritage,

I was introduced to a wide range of cultures

and unique ways to understand the world we live in.

Humanity's greatest achievement was not landing on the Moon,

but our cultural diversity,

the rituals, beliefs and knowledge woven within it.

This rich legacy does not belong in the past

but is very much alive,

sometimes even thriving.

We rarely talk about cultural,

ethical or even spiritual matters

when discussing space exploration,

but I believe it's precisely culture that will give us a purpose in the future.

Through my artistic practice,

learning to appreciate multiple cultural dimensions

without the nostalgia or condescension

that historically has been projected upon these cultures,

their knowledge and their significance.

This is Kim Keum-Hwa,

Korea's most iconic shaman who passed last year.

I met Kim Keum-Hwa at her shrine in Ganghwa Island,

where I witnessed her last ritual,

a celebration to bless her 70th anniversary as a shaman

and to prepare her departure to the spirit world.

Dating back to prehistoric times,

Korean shamanism has remained a resilient form of spiritual practice

and a source of empowerment for many women.

This is Jeong Soon-deok, the shaman of the people,

during a ceremony that lasted several days and nights.

I remember bowing to her,

surrounded by blades and colorful costumes and offerings.

Everyday objects were being elevated,

acquiring a new dimension right in front of my eyes.

I saw her becoming a god,

her body transformed through dance, prayer and ritual.

What's interesting is that despite their position of power,

Korean shamans remain graceful, humble human beings.

Through these women,

I could clearly see the power within ancient forms of knowledge.

The role our cultures play in maintaining a fragile cosmic balance.

This is Don Ramón,

a local healer from the Center for Indigenous Arts in Veracruz, Mexico,

where Totonac culture is being taught to future generations.

The center's director, Humberto García, was proud,

describing an educational model

where disciplines like art, communication or medicine

are not independent but entangled with each other.

Totonac cosmovision revolves around this ever-changing,

interconnected dimension.

There is a natural rhythm that infuses every activity here,

be it cooking or weaving or healing.

Nothing is trivial or decorative.

Every gesture, every action has a meaning.

These traditions, beliefs and rituals, they're far from being immobile.

They're the result of thousands of years of practice

in a painful regenerative process.

These are unique pieces of wisdom

we must definitely bring with us into the future.

And this is what I'm doing to make that happen.

I want to challenge our current model of space colonization,

and I decided to start with a big gesture --

to recognize the Moon

as a universal symbol of rebirth and renewal.

As part of the European Space Agency's plans

to support a permanent human presence on the Moon,

I'm proposing to build the Moon Temple,

a future space for diverse cultural projections,

traditions and scientific research.

The Moon Temple will stand on the rim of the Shackleton crater,

a gigantic impact crater featuring peaks of eternal light and perpetual darkness.

Its design takes advantage of lunar microgravity,

the use of local resources

and the complex celestial mechanics

that operate on the south pole of the moon.

Sheltered in its interior,

we can find traces from an intriguing new material culture,

a series of objects made with moon dust and rare aerospace materials,

symbolizing humanity's ancestral wisdom and all its complexity.

These masks, vessels and other ritual artifacts,

they're powerful objects that imply deep personal transformations,

sometimes even becoming a bridge to distant worlds.

They represent the vast diversity embedded in the human experience.

These objects carry within them thousands of stories yet to be written.

Some provide protection,

while others relate to the harsh conditions

that people will endure outside our planet.

But even if these objects come from a place far away from here,

we can still recognise a familiar human quality within them.

The Moon Temple celebrates the Moon as the measure of all things.

It is a monument to humanity's reason and imagination.

It represents our chance

to bring together once again science, art and ritual.

This may be a personal,

even utopian vision for our interplanetary future,

but perhaps through these utopian exercises

we can break free from many of our prejudices here on Earth,

because we need more diverse personal narratives for our future,

a future where we don't turn our backs to our cultures

and the role they play in shaping who we are today.

A future that does not perpetuate the survival of the most privileged

at the expense of the most vulnerable,

but instead acknowledges our fragile position in this universe

and our responsibilities towards it.