About (Un)Common Cosmos
(Un)Common Cosmos is a grassroots initiative dedicated to provoking the status quo of space exploration. We exist as a node between the public, industry and academia, highlighting and addressing the disparities between them.
(Un)Common Cosmos is process driven, relational and experimental. We facilitate collaborative approaches that encourage creative and inquisitive explorations of social, cultural and ecological relations with space. Through interdisciplinary practices and modes of questioning, we aim to cultivate greater community engagement and embolden agency in shaping space practices.
Background Context
Upon entering the space industry, we were quickly confronted with the dominating discourses - both subtle and overt - that embody extractive, exploitative and exclusionary practices that harm much of Earth and society. These dominant discourses, which promote a need for continuous expansion, domination and accumulation, are seemingly rooted in Western colonial structures and mindsets reinforced by militaristic and capitalist practices.
Today’s space endeavours are shaped by Western ideologies that are intertwined with imperialist and colonial structures. This has resulted in many harmful space practices that are threatening cultural and ecological connections to space. This includes the militarisation of space, pollution of space and Earth environments, mining the Moon and other extractive activities that prioritise profit over preservation, ‘advancement’ over stewardship.
Much of what is envisioned and carried out within the space sector is not reflective of our own, and many others, connection and visions of space, hence (Un)Common Cosmos was born.
A core aspect of (Un)Common Cosmos is recognising and encouraging imagination in aiding the creation of more ethical and diverse space practices. We believe that a key aspect to creating change within the space industry lies in our ability to imagine alternative space futures that can help us to re-understand our relationship to space.
Who Are We
Founded by Casey Domingo and Harriet Hurley in 2024, (Un)Common Cosmos has emerged from a multi-disciplinary approach merging the worlds of anthropology and astrophysics.
We are both settlers in so-called Australia, however are of mixed cultural heritage. Casey is Filipino with Scottish ancestry and Harriet is of English, Irish, and Māori descent.
As the founders, it is not our intention to be the determiners of what space exploration should entail. Rather, we are focused on recognising the current limitations of the space industry, advocating for greater intercultural discourse and paradigms, and building multidisciplinary collaborative processes that allow for greater community recognition and agency within space practices.
(Un)Common Cosmos is not limited to the founders, and actively seeks to be a living and evolving collaborative project(s), with various human and more-than-human involvement.
What We Do
Facilitate & Gather
Events for the general public and space actors. Including workshops, talks, screenings, artistic showcases and more.
Write & Express
Both academic and creative writing. We research and produce literature on space-related topics outside the current mainstream of space industry discourse.
Collect & Share
Actively compile and communicate resources and information that align with our aims and values.