Planetary formation myths: How colonial science obscures Indigenous cosmic narratives and repeats 17th-century errors
Original framing: “Earth and Mars: Built from different cosmic recipes” — Phys.org
The article silences marginalized voices in planetary science, such as women astronomers (e.g., Vera Rubin’s work on dark matter) or Global South researchers studying space weather’s impact on equatorial regions. It also ignores how space exploration’s mineral extraction (e.g., helium-3 on the Moon) disproportionately affects Indigenous lands and communities in the Global South. The framing of Mars as a 'failed experiment' further reinforces a capitalist narrative of planetary success/failure, erasing the resilience of extremophile life or the potential for Mars to be a site of ecological restoration. These omissions reflect broader patterns of exclusion in STEM fields, where systemic barriers prevent diverse perspectives from shaping scientific narratives.
The original framing of Earth and Mars as distinct 'cosmic recipes' is not just a scientific debate but a site of colonial knowledge production, where Western materialism erases Indigenous relational cosmologies and repeats historical exclusions of women and Global South researchers.
The article’s focus on 'gas and dust' obscures deeper patterns: the separation of 'heaven' and 'earth' in early modern astronomy justified colonial extraction, while today’s space mineral rushes replicate those dynamics on a planetary scale. By restoring Indigenous frameworks (e.g., Māori *whakapapa*), historical parallels (e.g., Maria Winkler’s dismissal), and trickster disruptions (e.g., Coyote’s chaos), we reveal how 'objective' science often serves power—whether through the marginalization of alternative knowledge or the depoliticization of extractive practices. The solution lies not in resolving the 'dispute' but in decolonizing planetary science: centering marginalized voices, integrating artistic and spiritual perspectives, and treating cosmic formation as an ethical, not just technical, challenge. This requires systemic shifts—from curricula to funding—to ensure that the next chapter of space exploration is not another act of erasure, but a collaborative reimagining of our place in the universe.