Conversation: Pluriversality on Earth and beyond: Opening the field of critical interplanetary design within the design discipline

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in international initiatives aimed towards interplanetary exploration and space “colonisation”. Within entities addressing design (e.g. universities, museums, companies) projects that approach space topics become increasingly common. However, this area lacks critical discussion within the design discipline itself, which could be leading to the reproduction of certain modern biases and colonial frameworks informing the education of designers as well as the configuration of collective imaginaries about the future on Earth and beyond. Hence, this paper reports on a Conversation session designed to provide a caring and critical environment to reflect upon this matter and its implications for design and design research. The collective experiences, reflections, agreements and outcomes presented here set the foundations for the establishment of the emerging field of Critical Interplanetary Design within the Design Research Society, and the Design discipline at large.