July 13, 2025 by Victor Motti
Victor V. Motti is the author of the book: Planetary Foresight and Ethics (2025

Elephant (United States): A wise, aged but slow-moving superpower with immense mass, institutional memory, and military-industrial inertia. Its size makes it powerful but also vulnerable to small distractions.

Rhino (China): Young, bold, increasingly assertive, and charging ahead with unstoppable momentum in economics, technology, and global influence. Not as agile as a tiger, but relentless and tough-skinned.

Fly (Iran): Small and irritating, with limited capacity to hurt directly, but expert in distraction, provocation, and survival. Buzzes around, exploiting chaos and tiredness.

Bird (Israel): Small but surgical, precise, and capable of lethal strikes. It can catch and neutralize some threats but lacks the range to clean the entire sky.

Let us for a moment, forget about the existence of the future. Suspend, too, the assumption that “humanity” is a self-evident reality. Strip away the inherited layers of philosophy, law, religion, and ideology, and ask a more foundational question: Does humanity exist?

Not as a collection of individual humans—but as a singular entity, a cohesive “we,” something worthy of ethical commitment or emotional attachment. Is humanity a real thing, or merely an abstraction, a ghost conjured by imagination, a placeholder that never truly held form?

“To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.” – Stephen Hawking

Space exploration is reaching new heights as we evolve from a multi-continental civilization to a multi-planetary one. This transition presents exciting challenges in Human Space Exploration, requiring advancements in technology, health, agriculture, and international cooperation. By tackling these issues, we pave the way for groundbreaking discoveries and inspire future generations to reach for the stars.

The “Living in Space”-LIS Initiative aims to ignite discussions and build capacity around the future of human habitation beyond Earth. We are dedicated to engaging a global audience through a series of interactive online sessions, workshops, and physical conferences. Additionally, we will utilize various science communication media—including podcasts, videos, and books—to provide valuable insights into the challenges we face in this exciting frontier. Together, we can explore the complexities of living in space and foster a collaborative approach to overcoming them.

Source: Website