To infinity and beyond - of space, peace and worlds far from our generations

The view of the earth and the current and future challenges posed by humanity appear peaceful and almost insignificant when viewed from space. This makes the longing to see our world from above all the more evident than ever for many. The dream of traveling and even colonizing space and the associated possibilities has always been the focus of research and development. In some areas, however, research seems to be long past the test phase and the research space is developing at an impressive pace into an economic space. Space is already heavily integrated into our lives in many ways, be it in the form of navigation systems or simply put, we owe the ability to watch television to space, among other things. In the future, there will be far more opportunities to visit space, but also to use it. Because if raw materials and space on earth are finite, space seems to offer unlimited possibilities. We therefore ask ourselves what is the status quo of current space exploration and travel opportunities? What impact does space have on people and to what extent is space already integrated into all our lives? What would not work (anymore) without space? What is or seems like pure utopia and what is really feasible in the near future? How could raw materials be obtained from space and what raw materials are involved? Margit Mischkulnig will be joined by Robert Machtlinger (FACC), Franz Viehböck (astronaut), Werner Gruber (University of Vienna), Daan Roosegaarde (artist), Anika Mehlis (analog astronaut), Hafida Boufraioua (CERN) and Andreas Bierwirth (Magenta) to discuss these issues.

30.06.2022