FORWARD

How far are we from the Moon?

Instead of hearing that it is 238,900 miles away, one might soon hear a voice say, “We will be landing on the Moon shortly.” With today’s technology and ambition, it seems only a matter of time before that becomes a reality. Soon, humanity is returning to the Moon. This time, both men and women will walk on its surface. After that, we are headed to the red planet—Mars.

For those of us born after the Apollo program ended, we live in an exciting and pivotal moment in the history of space exploration. And I believe this moment demands that we ask ourselves, both intellectually and morally: Why are we exploring space? What are we doing it for? And for whom?

I’m curious—are we going to space for the sake of humanity, or for political display? We may not have clear answers, but we should be asking the questions.

• Do we need a passport to land on another planet?

• What law—or whose law—will govern our lives in space?

• Would a space company refuse to fly people of certain nationalities?

• Will space reflect the divisions we already know—between rich and poor, between races and ethnicities?

• Will there be fingerprint checkpoints? Time zones? A common language? A common currency?

• Will love follow us into space — love between woman and man, between man and man, between woman and woman, between all people, in all their identities — just as it has always lived on Earth?

• Will we love each other? Or remain indifferent, and keep fighting?

• Will we smile or cry?

Becoming a multi-planetary species will likely not change who we are—at least not any time soon. We are imperfect beings, and perhaps there is no such thing as perfect. This is precisely why I believe we must participate not only in space exploration, but in thinking about it.

Because if we do not think about the future, someone else will decide it for us.

And for me, this is also about something deeply personal: I have the need to wake up each morning with something to dream of.

On March 7, 2020, nine artists launched an art payload called Sojourner 2020, which was loaded with 18 artworks, aboard SpaceX CRS-20 to the International Space Station (ISS) in Low-Earth Orbit. The payload completed approximately 13 million miles (21 million km) journey in 31 days, 14 hours, minus 31 seconds, and returned to Earth on April 7.

The projects on board Sojourner 2020 were selected through MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative, and the launch opportunity was provided by the initiative. My three projects, Nothing, Something, Everything, are dedicated to Sei Ono, my nephew who was born on Christmas Eve of 2019, and to all the current and future generations of children.


September 6, 2020

Masahito Ono

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 next >