COSMOECOLOGY

In the SPACE axis, Luis Guzmán presents COSMOECOLOGY Project, where he shows the outcomes of the art + science experience that has been part of the Sojourner2020 of the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, curated by Xin Liu. For that occasion, a microgravity payload hosted a total of nine art projects aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Chilean artist sent marine diatoms, which release 30% of the oxygen present in the earth’s atmosphere. The aim of the project was to explore the behaviour of the algae when he subjected them to different kinds of gravity. Luis particularly selected the diatomaceous strain Phaelodactilum Tricurnutum because it is capable of altering its morphology according to environmental conditions related to pH and carbon availability. Given the possibility of materializing a human interplanetary expansion project in the near future, the concept of Cosmoecology is proposed as a field of reflection that addresses the critical aspects of space exploration.