opendemocracy | Fundamental to this process is the
recognition that space is a potential destination for everyone. Contemporary
Afro-futurist Denenge
Akpem has attempted to spark this discussion
through, “The MARS Project – Teaching Afro-futurism as Methodology of Liberation.” Akpem, a performance artist and sculptor who has
taught at both the School
of the Art Institute Chicago and Columbia College Chicago, invites her students to imagine the first mission
to, and settlement of Mars through the lens of Afro-futurism and diversity.
In contrast, Mars
One, a private Dutch initiative to settle
Mars by 2026, has raised eyebrows for seeming to select
its astronauts using a format akin to reality TV. And while National Geographic’s upcoming docu-drama miniseries MARS
features an internationally, racially and gender diverse crew in 2033 aboard
the Daedalus, it’s noticeable that
they are led by an all-American white male mission commander who will “be
the first to walk on Mars”.
In addition, if we are to colonize Mars or any other
planet or space station for that matter, then genetics and population dynamics
call for the largest and broadest sample of who we are to be included among the settlers. As
Sun Ra highlights, the worlds of art, music, philosophy, science and literature
are created by all of us. In space as on Earth, there is a deep value to
embracing and maintaining the plurality of our existence: it celebrates our
empathy and love for one another.
As Ra presaged, Space
Is The Place for us to take this love—the best of Earth’s legacy—to Mars
and beyond.
