Becoming Interplanetary
Our story as an interplanetary species has just begun.
Every choice in space shapes life on Earth.
The future isn’t waiting.
It’s calling you.
About the Film
Becoming Interplanetary is a journey into one of humanity’s oldest impulses: the desire to explore. It reflects on how curiosity, creativity, and the simple question “why?” have carried us from caves to spacecraft and now toward other worlds.
Through stories and reflections from astronauts, artists, scientists, and dreamers, the film weaves together memory and imagination. It explores not only how we reach for the stars, but also why: what it means to bring our whole selves: our art, our music, our questions, our failures, into the vast unknown.
What Sets This Film Apart?
This isn’t just a film about rockets or technology. It’s a reflection on something deeper: what kind of future we want to create, and who we’ll be when we arrive.
Imagination as fuel: In Becoming Interplanetary, storytelling, design, and music aren’t extras on the sidelines; they’re part of the engine, guiding us through both wonder and uncertainty.
A shared journey: The film celebrates collaboration across cultures, disciplines, and perspectives. Space isn’t framed as a race to win, but as a responsibility we carry together.
An open invitation: Whether you see yourself as a poet, an engineer, a dreamer, or simply curious, this film invites you to picture who we might become on new worlds and how the oldest questions we’ve asked on Earth can shape the choices ahead.
Layers of Discovery
Within 30 Minutes
Becoming Interplanetary holds up a mirror, inviting viewers to experience the adventure of risk, resilience, and belonging. Curiosity and the urge to explore take center stage, asking what we gain and sometimes what we leave behind, when we set out for new horizons.
Here, technology isn’t alone; art, music, and big ideas journey right alongside it. Painting, song, and philosophy become our earliest vessels, changing not just our destinations, but how we see the world and ourselves.
Why Does This Story Matter Now?
We’re at a turning point – the first time in history we can truly imagine setting foot on new worlds. But this isn’t just about new possibilities; it’s also about responsibility. The film asks: Will we carry forward old mistakes, or create something better? Can we be humble, not just inventive?
By bringing together voices from science, art, design, policy, and storytelling, Becoming Interplanetary shows a future shaped by vision, honesty, and our deep connections, across time and across worlds.
Layers of Discovery
In 30 minutes, Becoming Interplanetary becomes a mirror. Viewers journey through themes of risk, resilience, and belonging. Motives for exploring: curiosity, restlessness, the longing to cross thresholds are laid bare, asking what we gain, and sometimes lose, when we leave home.
Where technology lives, art and ethics breathe alongside it. Painting, song, and philosophy are shown as the oldest spacecraft: tools that change not just where we go, but how we see, and who we become.
Why Does This Story Matter Now?
We stand in a pivotal dawn, able for the first time to imagine and attempt the leap across worlds. Yet, with this capacity comes responsibility. The film asks: Will we repeat scars of past ages, or steward something finer? Are we capable of humility as well as invention?
By gathering diverse voices: scientists and artist, designers, policy shapers and storytellers, Becoming Interplanetary depicts a future defined not only by technology, but by depth of vision and honesty about our interconnections: past, present, and possible.
Our Experts
The Voices of Becoming Interplanetary
Experimental performance, Digital & transdisciplinary arts, Science communication, Artificial intelligence in the arts
Explore Thought-Provoking Themes with Our Discussion Guide
Explore the themes of Becoming Interplanetary with our discussion guide. This guide includes questions and topics to help you have meaningful conversations after watching the film, making it easier to understand and engage with the content.
Production and Creative Team
Meet the talented individuals who brought Becoming Interplanetary to life.
Elena Rocchi, Director
Chris Hadfield, Director
Merrill Capps, Director, Writer, Editor
Jessica Rousset, Producer, Story Consultant
Rejane Cantone, Associate Producer
David W. Brown, Interviewer
Eduardo Maffeis Morais, Interview recordings
Teri Knoll Binaei, Coordinator
Acknowledgements
We extend our deepest gratitude to Julia Lopez, Kimberly Binsted, Jim Bell, Jose Acain, Guillermo Trotti, Evgenya Shkolnik, and Ben Schoenekase for their generous support, creative insights, strategic guidance, and hands-on contributions that shaped every stage of the film’s development, from interviews and design to structure, storytelling, and vision. Their collaboration enriched the project in countless ways.
Funding Support
Special thanks to ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative for their generous financial support, which played a crucial role in bringing this project to life. We are grateful for the additional financial support provided by AstroForge.
Step Into the Conversation
Whether you envision a screening of Becoming Interplanetary for your community, organization, or classroom or you simply want to share a thought, a hope, or a question, we invite you to reach out. Every message begins a new journey. Fill out the form below, and let’s chart our next steps together.