Nahum is a visionary artist and performer who uses outer space technologies, illusionism, music and hypnosis to guide audiences into otherworldly journeys that spark critical dialogue about the politics of existence. He has worked on various space missions for artistic purposes with the major space agencies (think: NASA, ESA, Roscosmos and SpaceX). A sought-after keynote speaker, Nahum served as the Chair for the Committee for the Cultural Utilization of Space (ITACCUS), at the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) in Paris for ten years, and is the founder of KOSMICA, a global institute that develops initiatives that bridge art and humanities, the space sector and wider society. He recently sat down with the Journal to talk about our quest to conquer the unknown, on earth and in space.

What is space like?

We are already in space. We come from a tradition where we separate and segregate things, like separating ourselves from the natural world. We used to think that our bodies were independent, that we were here, and nature was over there. We know now that’s not true. The same kind of thinking happens with space: this is earth, space is out there. There are natural barriers — just like there are oceans between continents, the atmosphere is between the earth and more extreme environments. But essentially we are all already in space.

What launched you into space?

My dad introduced me to the Cosmos TV series as a kid. I was fascinated by Carl Sagan’s narration and the scripts. They were very poetic. Then in my early twenties, I bought the series for myself and watched an episode every Friday night.

Later I moved to London and was working with an underground theater. One day a couple of people from the Space Federation came up to me after the show, very excited, saying “This is what space should be like!” Of course, I agreed. Two weeks later I was on my way to Paris where the International Astronautical Federation was setting up a committee for arts and culture in outer space. I ended up chairing that committee for ten years.

If space is truly the last frontier, how might we avoid another “tragedy of the commons” situation like we’ve created here?

We are slowly realizing that we all belong to extremely complex natural and social systems, and this way of understanding the place we inhabit has to be extended to outer space as well.

How ever a society approaches envisioning the future in outer space is a mere reflection of how it sees and perceives itself. Right now we seem to want to import what we’ve already been doing, including ideologies and economic systems, beyond the atmosphere. And if we’re going to do that, we’re going to have the same problems we have here on earth.

So it’s a learning opportunity, how to do civilization right?

Yes, what is important and exciting about space exploration is it can help us rethink everything we’re doing on our planet. How will we inhabit the moon in the next 20 or 30 years, when it’s a mix of nations, a mix of companies? What framework will we use? Will we export the way it is on earth, and give each group one part of the moon, or can we come up with new paradigms for coexisting that are ethical, sustainable, and take into account the limitations of that environment? Earth has its limitations, and moon will have its own as well.

Where it gets interesting is, now imagine you come up with some new models. Let’s bounce them back down to earth and see how we can manage our home in a different way. Facing a problem in outer space can free us from the inertia and complexity we’re created here on this planet, and give us a different perspective. That’s where the opportunities are. We can write from scratch how we want to manage ourselves and our environment. We can use space as a “black canvas.” We are in space already and we have to explore it more. I want to see that exploration being more conscious, and wiser.

What are some of your concerns about that exploration?

If you do an analysis of the discourse about explorations of Mars, the word “colonize” comes up over and over again: “Let’s colonize Mars.” I’m from Mexico. It’s a colonized country. We’re still going through therapy. It’s very traumatic to be subjected to the kinds of impositions colonizing countries bring. There are mental structures still held in the histories of those who have been doing the colonizing, the same countries who are now exploring space, like the U.S., Russia, and Europe.

So in the best case, it’s just an unfortunate use of the word. In the worst, it says we can just go to another place and do whatever we want. There are people who are proposing making planetary parks, like national parks here — in other words, just keeping one section of a planet the way it was before we arrived, and doing what we want everywhere else. It’s like we haven’t learned a single thing.

How do you change that, or counter the argument that there are no people on Mars so it doesn’t matter?

We have to be more humble, because when it comes to Mars, we don’t have all the answers. No one ventures to speculate about life, but no one can confirm that there’s no life. I am sometimes accused of being too earth-centric, and I do love this place. It’s very comfortable for humans. But I can also get very excited about space exploration. I trust engineers and scientists to make great rockets and technology improvements, but space exploration is a cultural quest as well. People in the arts and humanities know how to ask the right questions, and trigger the discussions we need. As much as I have criticisms, I know humans are also very creative, and not finding new approaches is just a failure of creativity. We need to think and create together, in a more democratic way.

What kinds of projects do you organize to help evoke new ways of thinking about space?

The KOSMICA Institute, which I’ve run for the past 11 years, has public events and educational programs all about applying a creative and critical approach to space activities. We have public programs where we organize festivals, and a new research division. Currently we are working on a book about space feminism. We also do a program called KOSMICA Journeys for kids, refugees, and migrants. When I first moved to Berlin it was the peak of the refugee crisis. I’m a kind of privileged migrant. I know how to deal with paperwork, and borders. But I wondered how I could help. How can space be relevant to people in these emergencies?

We ran a pilot program for kids in a refugee center at Tempelhof, an old airport, which has since been replicated many times. We ran a series of workshops with lots of different activities that included art making, stories, playing. One was designing a speculative space mission. Astronauts always bring flags. What flag might represent earth? We talked about migrations of animals, and movements of life, showed them quotes from many astronauts so they could realize that earth is one thing, there are no borders. We were trying to put countries in the background, and help them think more globally.

The idea was to give the message that no matter where you are, you are at home. You might not realize it — you may have been displaced, and inserted into a culture that is not yours — but in fact, migrating is part of the history of our species, and the earth, the earth is our home.