Proxima Kósmos creates a life beyond imagination

Between science and storytelling, Berggruen Institute’s Proximus Kósmos is a fictional planetary system beyond imagination ready to determine life beyond Earth.

At the intersection of art and science lies a liminal space where imagination blooms. Science becomes storytelling. Art seems like a fact. It feels beyond Earth that the two will meet.

But Claire Webb, Future Humans Program Director at the Berggruen Institute, created exactly that.

Proxima Kósmos launched at the Getty’s PST Art Open House on March 1. Developed at the Berggruen Institute, the project entailed a large-scale cinematic production of nine planetary experiments and immersed viewers into an in-depth flythrough of the imaginary solar system.

The evolving website features a collection of interactive scientific modeling, in-depth narrative essays and speculative design. Only two planets have been released, but they provide an extensive glimpse of what’s to come and reshape our understanding of extraterrestrial life.

“Humans remix reality all the time,” Webb wrote in her essay “Simulating Alien Life.” According to Webb, “Proxima Kósmos” is an orange dwarf star; cooler, and converts hydrogen into helium at a slower rate than our sun.

The project brought together science and storytelling by collaborating designers of all kinds. NASA and MIT scientists paired with science-fiction writers and narrative architects to create a new philosophy where we are forced to ask: “Are we alone in the universe?”

Webb explained that Ken Liu, a Nebula and World Fantasy Award Winner, helped shape the narrative framework of Proxima Kósmos. Liu, known for his work in posthumanism and mythic storytelling, helped connect the world-building of scientists and artists to compelling, visionary fiction.

“What’s really powerful about science fiction is that it not only centers alien life forms but also conceptualizes the planets as different characters and allows imagination to unfold over time scales incomprehensible to humans,” Webb said.

“Phaínōterra,” one of the early released planets and nicknamed “Phosphine Earth,” was developed by Sara Seager and Iaroslav Iakubivskyi of MIT, echoing their research on Venus’s atmospheric chemistry. Both scientists collaborated with Wendi Yan, a filmmaker and artist, to direct the documentary on “Phaínōterra” for the project.

The team plans to release the remaining planets over the course of this and next year. In the meantime, viewers can dive deep and explore the first two planets on their website.

As well as collaborators, the experiment used AI-assisted creative design and modeling to push the boundaries of imagination even further. Webb shared her sentiments towards AI as a tool and its surrounding ethics.

“We need to ensure a future where humans can experience the abundance and beauty of what life is, not just in an extraterrestrial context, but also in an earthly one,” Webb said. “It should be about the expansion of scientists with knowledge rather than the expansion of territory through manifest destiny.”

The project reflects something larger. Scientific discoveries and artistic vision can force a metaphysical metamorphosis of self. There is beauty in breakthrough, and the art of storytelling vivifies eternal speculation.

Proxima Kósmos has provided a renewed sense of excitement, particularly for Webb, of what life could mean beyond Earth.

“Think about what it means to be alive and contribute to this great project of knowledge in the world that’s beyond yourself,” Webb said.