CONCLUSION

Mankind has dreamed of floating since its earliest days. In turning these fantasies into reality through our space projects, we have managed to plunge into a state that belongs to the illusions produced by our power of imagination. This immersion has a fundamental corresponding social equivalent: our compulsive need to surround ourselves with visual images. Our simulation-obsessed culture in recent times has produced powerful echoes of reality in which the framework of reference disappears and we find ourselves part of a theatrical performance. The degree of similarity between the world of theater and the state of weightlessness is surprising.

Both are the result of a desire to escape from reality. Both resort to technology to do so. Both cause similar physical reactions in the individual: vertigo, exultation, and a sense of leaving the body behind. In both cases the horizon of earthly reality disappears representing a distancing from our fundamental reference points. The figure of the astronaut serves as the ideal metaphor for the modern theatergoer. An astronaut’s weightless state suggests the existence of parallel realities and, in this sense, captures the existentialist parenthesis between reality and fiction which visual images immerse us in.

fig. 4.21 El 1 de febrero de 2003 el transbordador espacial Discovery se convirtió en una bola de fuego al entrar en la atmósfera terrestre. Los restos de la nave se desperdigaron sobre Tejas. Este casco perteneciente a uno de los inmolados astronautas nos recuerda los peligros inherentes al viaje espacial

At present we are witnessing a compulsive search for weightless experiences, a search that is symptomatic of a deep desire to escape from our bodies. The growing number of cases of anorexia, bulimia, and other food disorders, together with the acceptance of cosmetic surgery, points up the problem-plagued relationship with have with our bodies in the West. This rejection is firmly rooted in our Judeo-Christian culture. We come from a tradition that sees the body as a dark cavern-like receptacle for the soul. Our spirit emerges luminously from the cage of our bodies at the moment of death. This concept of mystical ascent is present in the exploration of space. Astronauts have taken the place of the angels painted on the vaulted ceilings of cathedrals and churches. Frescos have been replaced by film and TV screens, windows that allow us to imagine other possible worlds. Science is the new religion that shapes these new collective fantasies of escape.

Nevertheless, throughout this process man still depends on his earthly existence to survive. We dream of becoming weightless gods, but all creatures of flight need a place to rest, and we are slowly but surely destroying our landing runways. The denial of the body and the ecological destruction of the planet mean the loss of our most fundamental homes. We are setting off on a one-way journey regardless of the fact that our space adventure cannot guarantee, at this point in time, that we will be able to build a permanent home in the cosmic desert.

As with every trip, our journey into space has changes us forever. It is time we stopped along the way and reflected on the path we have chosen. How is space redefining mankind? What are we leaving behind in following this risk-filled path? Perhaps the answers to these questions will give us certain norms of behavior with respect to an undertaking we are dedicating so much energy and so many resources to, and which we barely think about. Recognizing what the ideological origins of the race into space are and understanding how this undertaking is so closely connected to our society of shows and performances might be a starting point to begin to take the reins of this aimless journey. These types of reflections will allow us to, rather than escape from the Earth, venture out from our earthly home with the confidence and composure needed to face what will most likely be the greatest adventure mankind ever lives.