Ay, no argument with the aspiration.
However, Te Tiriti scholarship & Aotearoa case studies can usefully inform “space for the benefit of all” w. some hard-won, real-world learning
eg. lessons from how Treaty is upheld (or not!) & NZ legal personhood law (Te Awa Tupua 2017, Taranaki Maunga, 2025)
Read "Nuclear Settler Colonialism at Sea" by Jessica Hurley, from the Dec 2022 issue of American Quarterly
Available at @projectmuse.bsky.social
muse.jhu.edu/article/871662
Stark warning in critical nuclear scholarship on how this all plays out.
Jessica Hurley’s "Nuclear Settler Colonialism at Sea" traces how US nuclear programmes used settler-colonial legal doctrines of property and appropriation to previously “unclaimed” ocean spaces: muse.jhu.edu/article/871662
From the nuclear colonisation of the Pacific to the Moon.
14.12.2025 04:29 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Ngā mihi nui.
Ref:
Perspectives on the Rights of the Moon from Oceania, Whaanga-Schollum et al., 2024 iac2024-iaf.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx...
AELA Declaration, 2021 www.earthlaws.org.au/moon-declara...
The Past Before Us, Wilson-Hokowhitu (Ed.), 2019 uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-pa...
12/12
Planetarium projection showing a glowing blue sphere. A silhouetted shark swims in the ocean with a female rider, set against a dark starry background.
A star-filled planetarium screen displaying the credits for SentientPlace over a galaxy-like background. Text reads: "SentientPlace" Animation Artist: Desna Whaanga-Schollum Choreography: Terri Ripeka Crawford Dancer: Taane Mete Audio: Israel Tangaroa-Birch Director of Photography: Pikihuia Haenga Location: Te Māhia-Mai-Tāwhiti, Aotearoa, New Zealand Mauri (Life-Essence) Mauri is the elemental bonding energy, an essential life force connecting people and spirit to all within the natural physical world. Taonga and mātauranga, treasured artforms, artefacts and knowledge systems carry the mauri of the maker and of place. Produced with thanks to: www.kaitiakitanga.maori.nz
COSMOGRAPHIES: A large red-and-black sphere, an abstract depiction of Mars, at the centre of a black background patterned with small white star symbols. Credits listed: DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY JUAN FRANCISCO SALAZAR WRITTEN BY JUAN FRANCISCO SALAZAR AND VICTORIA HUNT PERFORMANCE BY VICTORIA HUNT CO-PRODUCED BY ALEJANDRA CANALES EDITED BY ROWENA CROWE MUSIC BY JAMES PETER BROWN
Kate Genevieve's visual poem Seachange in projection. A close-up telescopic view of the Moon, showing craters and textured surface detail. White text reads: “Together with the old smile of wrinkled mountains"
We're grateful the work began in such generous company, & with a special film screening of Vā Hina by Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu et al., Desna Whaanga-Schollum’s SentientPlace; an extract from Cosmographies by Juan Francisco Salazar & Victoria Hunt, and Seachange, a visual poem by Kate Genevieve. 11/12
14.12.2025 03:25 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Space Place at Carter Observatory with a white planetarium dome under a blue sky, and a purple Tūwhenera flag in the foreground that reads "Tuwhera" (Open).
In November, the group joined Desna Whaanga-Schollum in Māhia, Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu, Kate Genevieve & Tim Corballis at Space Place, and a community online.
Te Wānanga o Hina is conceived as a larger hybrid wānanga, planned for June 2026, a special time in Aotearoa between Puanga & Matariki.10/12
Photo of koru - a fern frond - unfurling, framed by green fern leaves with forest in the background.
A crescent moon at dusk above low clouds and distant hills in Te Whanganui a Tara.
These precedents in NZ and in relation to the deep ecological and cultural knowledge across the Pacific, point to potential legal frameworks and protocols for the moon that may evolve and offer models for power-sharing and ecological care.
9/12
The wānanga centres Te Tiriti o Waitangi(Treaty) & He Whakaputanga, & precedents that recognise Taranaki Maunga & watershed Te Awa Tupua as living entities, restoring Te Mana o te Whenua & reinstating kaitiakitanga by tangata whenua.
For context see CJWinter www.researchgate.net/publication/... 8/12
Te Wānanga o Hina supports a network of learning and creativity guided by understandings from Moana-nui-a-Kiwa / Moananuiākea and their application to lunar futures through the ethic of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and mālama (protection and care) for Mahina, the Moon.
hinawananga.nz
7/12
Interior of the planetarium before the screening. A deep blue projection by Space Place shows the moon and the text of a karakia: Whakataka te hau ki te uru Cease the winds from the west Whakataka te hau ki te tonga Cease the winds from the south Kia mākinakina ki uta Let the breeze blow over the land Kia mātaratara ki tai Let the breeze blow over the ocean E hi ake ana te atākura Let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened air He tio, he huka, he hau hūnga A touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day Tihei mauri ora! The sneeze of life!
Activism and campaigns for lunar rights & protections are gaining momentum as it becomes essential to represent perspectives for the moon, beyond viewing Earth’s natural satellite as a domain only for Industry, or as a stepping stone for further exploration.
6/12
The idea of space "for the benefit of all peoples" masks power asymmetries. Lunar access concentrates among states & private actors: China’s Chang’e missions return lunar samples from the far-side, private companies mount lunar missions, & ArtemisII launches 2026 - plus.nasa.gov/video/moonbo... 5/12
14.12.2025 03:25 — 👍 8 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 0
Rocket Lab's aerospace activities are expanding in Aotearoa’s Māhia Peninsula, as lunar missions accelerate in earnest worldwide. & though Outer space may still be framed as a global commons under the Outer Space Treaty (1967), how long will such agreements stand?
www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourw...
4/12
poster for “SentientPlace” - dancer Taane Mete stands on the ground with arms crossed over chest against a layered blue landscape. text reads: Desna Whaanga-Schollum, Taane Mete, Terri Crawford with Māhia wānanga collaborators: Piki Huia, Mike Bridgeman, Jade Whaanga, Rhonda Tibble, Laughton Kora; Mana Moana; + Tangaroa Birch. Website: kaitiakitanga.maori.nz
Illustrated poster for “Vā Hina.” A painted full moon in pinks and purples fills the frame with a silhouetted woman reaching toward it. Text reads: Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu, Mike Bridgman, Tayla Hartemink, Laughton Kora.
Thanks to @mishmal.bsky.social & @drspacejunk.bsky.social (Australia), co-authors on the AELA's Declaration for the Rights of the Moon 2021 www.earthlaws.org.au/moon-declara... for joining Dr Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu (Kanaka ʻŌiwi) & Desna Whaanga-Schollum (Rongomaiwahine, Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu). 3/12
14.12.2025 03:25 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
A photograph of November’s full moon from Space Place
Can understandings from Oceania - Moana-nui-a-Kiwa / Moananuiākea - guide planetary and lunar futures?
Can we root lunar kaupapa in tikanga Māori and Pacific protocols, constitutional transformation and Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal recognition that natural entities already hold legal mana?
2/12
Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) coastal landscape at dusk with full moon. The moon rises above the mountains across the harbour.
Exterior of Te Ara Whānui ki te Rangi / Space Place at Carter Observatory. The white domed planetarium with a deep blue banner reading “Space Place at Carter Observatory, Travel the southern skies.
The in-person group for Te Wānanga o Hina at Space Place, sitting on the grass outside Space Place on a sunny day.
Inside the planetarium, the Te Wānanga o Hina group smiling and waving on the seats beneath the dome, lit by blue light.
On Nov 8, we met at Space Place and online to plant seeds for Te Wānanga o Hina, a gathering for lunar futures across Aotearoa, Australia, Vanuatu, Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. An event in collaboration with Taipōrutu (Māhia), AELA, Te Herenga Waka–VUW & @astroecologies.bsky.social.
hinawananga.nz
1/12
We can't see dark matter directly, so studying it pushes the boundaries of our creativity as scientists. How exciting, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
08.12.2025 08:05 — 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
3/4. En esta imagen se muestra el mismo campo estelar del Cometa C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) sin limpiar.
En solo 15 minutos de adquisición, contamos 1659 trazas de satélites (unos 400 individuales).
Sobran las palabras para describir la contaminación del espacio cercano.
Four books: 'Eros' by Zoe Terakes; 'Rainbow Universes', a zine by Andrew Goodman; 'What is Queer Food?' by John Birdsall, and 'You Weren't meant to be Human' by Andrew Joseph White
Close-up of an artwork in an exhibition. Bubble text reads 'Rainbow Universes' in large, dark letters. Below it in a similar font are the words 'Adventures in the Mycelliaverse. Around the text are pictures of worlds connected by lines, and people showing various types of family and reproduction, such as a person splitting in half to form a new person, and a child hatching from an egg.
We had a lovely time last week visiting the Vic Pride Centre - picked up a bunch of queer books (possible future podcast episodes?) and also saw an exhibition by the artist Andrew Goodman, exploring worlds with different modes of gender, sexuality and reproduction, and inspired by Ursula K Le Guin!
28.11.2025 06:11 — 👍 11 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
The moon rises
beyond boundaries
and lifts my heart
ascending
Hawaiian Skies: Makaliʻi 2025
by Leilehua Yuen @leilehuayuen.bsky.social, Hawaiʻi Culture and Language Resident at the International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab
www.maunakeaobservatories.org/stories/hawa... #Maunakea 🧪🔭
Up on the Sunshine Coast tomorrow there's a great example of creative approaches to whale communication. A deep listening journey with Kabi Kabi artist Lyndon Davis, live streaming Humpback Whale song from underwater hydrophones for ANAT SPECTRA::Reciprocity at UniSC: www.anat.org.au/reciprocity-...
02.10.2025 23:31 — 👍 3 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Our members @drpriaero.bsky.social and @catherineq.bsky.social quoted in @thespinoff.bsky.social on NZ's MethaneSat involvement:
thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin...
To replace the self-fulfilling prophecy that space is “congested, contested and competitive”, we need a new mantra, one that offers solutions: “Communication, cooperation and collaboration”. Check out my Substack this week and say the mantra with me. open.substack.com/pub/spacecit...
30.08.2025 00:54 — 👍 11 🔁 6 💬 2 📌 0
For folk interested in international perspectives on SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence): a presentation from @gabriela-radulescu.bsky.social on Armenia & the former Czechoslovakia combining science, politics & ancient cultural–astronomical traditions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=059T...
The Perseverance rover on Mars has observed unusual minerals associated with organic matter — raising questions about the geochemistry of ancient Mars.
go.nature.com/469V1nr
Screenshot of the full text of the May 2025 Editorial in Nature Ecology & Evolution entitled "The many flavours of ecology". The article standfirst reads "Ecologists investigate a vast range of questions, scales and organisms, which makes their methods correspondingly varied. Each approach has value, and we should celebrate the variety of this scientific field."
Our May Editorial celebrates the many ways in which ecologists study the natural world 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
14.05.2025 13:25 — 👍 27 🔁 10 💬 0 📌 0
Can I offer you some interesting results about the Uranian satellites in this trying time? My colleagues at JPL, APL, Purdue, and I have been leveraging knowledge about the dwarf planet Ceres to understand these distant moons - and their cryovolcanic potential: www.universetoday.com/articles/ura...
31.03.2025 16:03 — 👍 46 🔁 9 💬 2 📌 0
From Skylar Grayson: Today’s paper explores how JWST was able to observe 44 individual stars in a galaxy eight and a half billion light years away! 🔭✨☄️
astrobites.org/2025/03/19/d...
Excited to launch the next Cosmoimaginaries season with a talk from Gabriela Radulescu:
📡 Earthly and extraterrestrial connections: CETI / SETI in Armenia & Czechoslovakia (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence)
Fri 21st March 9am NZDT
All welcome.
Register: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
