Artemis II Wisdom

I was quite moved by NASA's recent Artemis II mission. Here are some great quotes from the crew of the lunar fly-by:

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover show a photo of Earth taken just moments
after the Orion spacecraft ignited its thrusters for a final burn for 8 seconds, producing a change
in velocity of 4.2 feet-per-second and pushing Artemis II toward Earth. | Photo: NASA

"Houston, if you could give me about 20 new superlatives in the mission summary for tomorrow that will help out my vocabulary a little bit, that would be great. Thank you."

“If you’ve ever seen the top of the spotlight of the top of the Luxor at night in Vegas, this looks like what it wants to be when it grows up.”

"To all of you on Earth, and around the Earth ... we love you, from the moon."

"You can see the surface of the Moon ... we just went sci fi."

"It is so great to see Earth again. To Asia, Africa, and Oceania: we are looking back at you. We hear you can look up and see the moon right now. We see you too."

"We will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other."

“It’s a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.”

"I said that we do not leave Earth, but we choose it. And that is true."

"Christina has been sleeping head down in the middle of the vehicle, kind of like a bat"

"It's really fun to be floatin' around, it just makes me feel like a little kid."

"Trust us, you look amazing, you look beautiful."

"'Homo Sapiens' is all of us, no matter where you're from or what you look like. We're all one people."

"I'm proud to call myself the Space Plumber."

"I know I haven’t learned everything that this journey has yet to teach me but there’s one new thing I know, and that is planet Earth: You are a crew."

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Cold Moon

Hunter's Moon

Harvest Moon

Singing Moon

Blue Moon

Herb Moon

Moon of Horses

Flower Moon

Seed Moon

Egg Moon

Snow Moon

Coming Tonight: The Pink Moon!

Tonight marks a very special full moon. The Pink Moon is the first full moon in the month of April, so called not because it turns pink but because it appears during the early springtime blooms of a certain wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata—commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox—which also went by the name “moss pink.” This full Moon--which is also a supermoon, as well as the first full Moon of spring, and the Paschal Full Moon (the full Moon that determines the date of Easter)--will be visible after sunset and reach peak illumination at 10:35 P.M. EDT. It will take on a golden hue near the horizon and fade to bright white (so see it early)...and it will be the biggest and brightest moon of the year!

To celebrate, let's listen to Nick Drake's lovely, wistful "Pink Moon"...

http://www.brytermusic.com/

The Apollo 11 Table by Harow

French design studio Harow created a gorgeous table that is a piece of art to commemorate one of our species' crowning achievements.

"Apollo 11 was the famous mission for the American Apollo space programme during which, on 20 July 1969 and for the first time in history, man set foot on the Moon. It was the third manned mission to the Moon, after Apollo 8 and Apollo 10, and was the fifth manned mission of the Apollo programme. With this feat, NASA, the American space agency, fulfilled the objective originally set for it by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Apollo 11 was the culmination of a project that mustered considerable human and financial resources, allowing the space agency to catch up to the Soviet astronautic programme, and finally to overtake it. The first steps ever taken on the Moon, which were filmed with a video camera and broadcast live, were an event followed by hundreds of millions of people all over the planet.

Digital files from the NASA archives were needed in order to recreate the topology of real surfaces of the Moon, which constitute an artistic and poetic landscape. The craters are sculpted on a fibreglass slab and covered with a layer of resin, the transparency of which allows shadows to play over the lunar surface. The physico-chemical, dynamic, and thermal properties of this resin require a regular delay between each layer for perfect polymerisation, and the creation of the slab demands a confined and sterile environment. The feet, a contemporary representation of those of the LEM module, require precision manufacturing. Each piece is sculpted to the micro-millimetre, delicately and directly from the block, which is composed of a brass and aluminium alloy."

http://www.harow.fr/apollo11.html

BEAUTY: Ceramics--Niharika Hukku

Just look at these gorgeous ceramic pieces by Australian artist and ceramicist Niharika Hukku. She works in watercolor and translates that medium to glazed pieces portraying clouds, the moon, landscapes, and birds, fish, and natural objects...

http://www.niharikahukku.com/

BEAUTY: Sculpture-Installation--Luke Jerram

English multi-media artist Luke Jerram has created a jaw-dropping sculpture that is currently on tour:

"Museum of the Moon is a new touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram.

Measuring seven metres in diameter, the moon features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface*.

Over its lifetime, the Museum of the Moon will be presented in a number of different ways both indoors and outdoors, so altering the experience and interpretation of the artwork. As it travels from place to place, it will gather new musical compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies, as well as highlighting the latest moon science.

The installation is a fusion of lunar imagery, moonlight and surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award winning composer Dan Jones. Each venue also programmes their own series lunar inspired events beneath the moon.

From the beginning of human history, the moon has acted as a ‘cultural mirror’ to our beliefs, understanding and ways of seeing. Over the centuries, the moon has been interpreted as a god and as a planet. It has been used as a timekeeper, calendar and to aid nighttime navigation. Throughout history the moon has inspired artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians the world over. The ethereal blue light cast by a full moon, the delicate crescent following the setting sun, or the mysterious dark side of the moon has evoked passion and exploration. Different cultures around the world have their own historical, cultural, scientific and religious relationships to the moon.

Over the coming years Museum of the Moon will be presented in art exhibitions, science, music and light festivals around the world. As the artwork tours, new audio compositions will be created and performed by a range of established composers and musicians, so adding to the Museum of the Moon collection.

Museum of the Moon will next be presented at:

Norfolk & Norwich Festival, UK. 12 – 21 May 2017
Oerol Festival, Netherlands. 9 – 18 June 2017
Greenwich+Docklands Festival, UK. 23 – 25 June 2017
Festival Les Tombées de la Nuit, Rennes, France. June – July 2017
Thinktank, Birmingham, UK. July – August 2017
GOGBOT Festival, Enschede, Netherlands. 7 – 10 September 2017"

Here is Museum of the Moon in its latest installation at the University of Bristol in The Great Hall...

...and then magically suspended over a side street in Rotterdam.

https://www.lukejerram.com/
https://my-moon.org/

The Luna Light

Taiwanese company Acorn Studio makes The Luna Light, a lovely replica of the full moon made from fiberglass and non-toxic latex that lights up dark corners or can act as a soothing night light.

The light is available in seven different sizes. Pop over to the website for more information

http://www.luna-the-moon.com/

If you'd like to buy one, visit the Indigogo page to get in on the first run in March of 2016.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/luna-bring-the-moon-along-with-you#/