The next era of humanity is opening the door to the stars, but what does that mean for our home planet, and for what it means to be human?

In this anthropology of technology episode, we reflect on the lessons emerging from recent space missions to ask a deeper question of “how do we extend our gratitude to Earth as we begin to look beyond it?”

Four astronauts travelled a quarter of a million miles from Earth and returned not speaking first about the science, but about the feeling of being human out there. What does it reflect that one of the most significant spaceflights of the 21st century began with gratitude, not data?

Using Artemis II as a lens, we explore why humans have always gone to the edge, and what lessons they bring back with them. From Polynesian wayfinding to Earthrise, and to Artemis II’s “joy train,” patterns  ...