NeurAstra arose from the passion of a handful of enthusiasts fascinated by Life in all its diverse, unexpected, and complex forms. Driven by the necessity of unravelling the rationales of our existence shaped in a universe characterised by slow evolution, sophisticated adaptations, and extreme environments, we gathered, and, together, went our own way.

Because our vast and dynamic universe has long kept the secrecy of its nature, we were prepared for the fact that one lifetime was surely not enough to disentangle this intricate network of nebulous mechanisms and stellar phenomena. Nevertheless, we decided to try, and we started our research journey by embracing the “From... to...” formula. Neither a protocol nor a method, we elaborated it as a stylistic exercise, a stance, to explore the world at different scales.

From crossopterygians to Homo sapiens, retracing the evolution of the pathways and ramifications of life on Earth gives us a glimpse at the enduring continuity and constant back-and-forth that link hypotheses and evidence.
From a single electrical impulse at a synapse to the innervation of an entire cortex, zooming in and out between the two reminds us that our consciousness relies on the structural interconnection of isolated units to form a whole functioning system.
From a sole pale blue dot to distant galaxy clusters, observing the fragility of our existence from a new viewpoint helps us adjust our interactions with our surroundings and reconsider the place we occupy in them.

It is consequently by navigating in this interplay between theoretical and empirical, micro and macro, proximity and infinity—from the microscope to the telescope—that we launched our reflections beyond the layers of Earth’s atmosphere.

And here we are—sitting above the Kármán line, surrounded by giant dust clouds made of ethyl formate, the brain wandering among the stars—harmonising our observations and reimagining paradigms with a new set of rules and guidelines.

We, the new Cosmiques of this era, are ready to embrace this timeless challenge. Are you as well?