This lecture offers an interdisciplinary and critical prospect on current sustainability discussions through the presentation of the research project entitled ‘Down to Earth’, representing Luxembourg at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Led by curators and researchers Francelle Cane and Marija Maric, ‘Down to Earth’ unfolds the project of space mining through the question of resources. It starts by asking: “How does this new iteration of the space race, wrapped in the false promises of endlessly available resources, departs from the existing extractivist logic of capitalism and its destructive environmental and social effects on the ground? How will the ongoing privatization of space, characterized by a sharp turn towards private companies as main actors in the exploitation of space resources, affect the current status of extra-terrestrial bodies as a form of commons? What are the materialities of space mining—its logistics, infrastructures, and workers—and their relationship to the existing geopolitical power hierarchies?”—Extract from the curatorial statement.

Through their research, the curators have – in collaboration with international scholars, architects, and artists – developed a series of projects that place the Moon as a site for unpacking the tech industry’s space exploration narratives. By unveiling the ‘backstages’ of the space mining project, ‘Down to Earth’ offers another way of seeing the Moon that goes beyond the current optics of the Anthropocene.