Jorge Mañes Rubio Designs 3D-Printed Lunar Temple for ESA

Jorge Mañes Rubio, a Madrid-born artist (b. 1984) with a degree from the Royal College of Art, is in residence at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, Netherlands. His project, 'Peak of Eternal Light,' focuses on the Shackleton Crater—21 km wide and 4.2 km deep—at the Moon's south pole, a candidate site for future colonization due to potential water ice in its permanently shadowed areas. Rubio has designed a multifunctional 3D-printed temple that would serve as an agora, observatory with a powerful telescope, meditation space, and social hub for future colonists. The structure draws inspiration from El Caracol, the Mayan astronomical observatory at Chichén Itzá. The project is developed in partnership with Ars Electronica, which began collaborating with ESA in 2016. The work will be available as an app in a few months.