It’s essentially a kind of science-fiction idea that was achievable in the real world. Carl Sagan was actually the astronomer who was really important in pointing this out. In combination, you might get something new that would be like the High Arctic or Siberia a human space that would be habitable without wearing space suits. It is on the outside of the sun’s habitable zone, and because it has water and other frozen volatile gases that we need for life on Earth, it might be possible to heat up Mars and release those gases to essentially recreate an atmosphere, and then introduce Earth’s genetic heritage, life forms and biosphere into the Martian context. What is terraforming in the Mars trilogy as a political project, and what was it telling us about the transformation of Earth itself by the hand of man?Ībout 20 years ago, I began to read in the technical literature of the planetary science community that Mars is unusual. As M cK enzie Wark writes in Molecular Red: A Theory of the Anthropocene, in your version of Mars, “questions of nature and culture, economics and politics, can never be treated in isolation, as all levels have to be organized togethe r. The Mars trilogy explores the idea that any terraforming project would necessarily be not only technical, but also political. It is said that your Mars Trilogy of novels ( Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars, 1992-1996) is perhaps the most successful example in science fiction of the use of the notion of “terraforming” : the idea that man can transform a whole planet to make it habitable and reproduce Earth-like conditions. This interview, conducted by José Luis de Vicente, forms part of the catalogue for the exhibition After the End of the World, in which the writer is participating with an audiovisual prologue. We also explore the role of art and literature when formulating possible futures, the importance of the imagination for finding solutions and the defence of optimism and humour as we deal with the scenario confronting us.

With him we analyse the link between the ecological crisis and the economic one, placing the emphasis on the need for new political economics. His work, set in the near future, brings us face-to-face with concepts such as the Anthropocene, terraforming and post-capitalism. Kim Stanley Robinson is one of the world’s most highly reputed science-fiction authors and one of the key exponents of climate fiction.

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