Let's talk about geodesic dome habitats, concert halls in microgravity, space cathedrals, and a real-life Starfleet Academy. Our guest, Ariel Ekblaw, has been thinking about these topics and actively prototyping these ideas for a long time. Ultimately, she leads a number of initiatives focused on preparing humanity to become a thriving space-faring species. 

Bio in brief: Ariel is director of the MIT Space Exploration Initiative (SEI), as well as the cofounder and CEO of the Aurelia Institute. Situated within the MIT Media Lab, SEI supports 40+ research projects and includes a team of 50+ students, staff, and faculty. 

As for the Aurelia Institute, which is Ariel’s quote-unquote “new thing”...well, it’s a nonprofit space architecture R&D lab, education & outreach center, and policy hub. Ariel tells Ryan a bit more about what the institute has cooking for 2023.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Kepler Communications, a new sponsor. Kepler is bringing the internet to space, and developing the infrastructure to support out-of-this-world communications. Find out more at https://kepler.space/

Chapters

00:00 Pathfinder’s new music 

02:13 Welcome, Ariel 

04:58 Media Lab’s mission 

05:59 MIT Space Exploration Initiative 

08:37 Engineers, artists, and scientists working together 

10:39 Parabolic, suborbital, and orbital flights 

11:44 What sci-fi works does Ariel draw inspiration from? 

14:18 Taking an idea from conception to launch 

17:26 The Aurelia Institute’s three main pillars 

20:40 TESSERAE + self-assembling space architecture 

24:27 New technology that pairs nicely with TESSERAE

27:30 Swarm technology 

28:57 Biomimicry 

31:00 How would you use Starship or another next-generation launcher? 

32:24 Anthropomorphic technology for space 

35:56 The AI Age + space 

41:34 Democratization…“Let’s take back the [redacted] word”...and expanding accessibility in space 

44:37 The gateway drug to space exploration 

49:21 Advice for young listeners looking to make a dent in the universe 

Links

Aurelia – https://www.aureliainstitute.org/

Aurelia Part 2 — https://payloadspace.com/a-conversation-with-ariel-ekblaw/

Ariel’s Twitter — https://twitter.com/ariel_ekblaw

Bio — https://www.media.mit.edu/people/aekblaw/overview/

TESSERAE — https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/tesserae-self-assembling-space-architecture/overview/

Ryan's socials — https://twitter.com/Ryandoofy / https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfduffy/

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_uY3GaNf67hP-i6TRWF2n06xMv1kdkZ6 // Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

About us

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. 

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms:

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