OFF PLANET ART
MADE ON EARTH
EXHIBITING OUT THERE
OFF PLANET ART
MADE ON EARTH
EXHIBITING OUT THERE
TIMELINE
FEB 19, 2016
NASA calls for Art Submissions (see also, press release above) to join Lockheed Martin and the University of Arizona in the OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer) Mission.
Thousands of Artists answered!
The Mission itself aims to obtain and return to earth, samples from a carbon-based, multi-billion year old asteroid as tall as the Empire State Building, said to be remnants of our solar system's formation. We call it Bennu.
MAR 20, 2016
NASA prepares the digital chip for space travel with more than seven thousand peices of visual, written, and auditory arts.
From here on, the space ship carries the only copy of the entire collection, as it's later reported by Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
offplanetart.com was only a "wouldn't it be cool?" idea, at the time.
SEPT 8, 2016
OSIRIS-REx launches flawlessly at 7:05 PM EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida on an Atlas V rocket in the 411 configuration.
Thousands of under-celebrated Artists officially have their Artworks exhibiting in space!
Art that will get to do what no other human Art has done, live on a Space Craft sampling an asteroid. Eventually, as OSIRIS-REx and the Art Exhibition will retire orbiting the sun for as long as the space craft remains viable. Millennia!
SEPT 22, 2017
OSIRIS-REx swings by Earth to "borrow" some gravity for a 'sling-shot' toward the asteroid Bennu.
With less than 3 millisecond exposures (the cause of the black streaks at the top), this image of Earth was captured by OSIRIS-REx's onboard MapCam, which was designed to photograph much dimmer celestial object, Bennu.
The spacecraft also captured spectral data, and images of the Moon and the Earth-Moon system during its flyby.
JAN - OCT 2018
After the gravity assist, OSIRIS-REx and Art traveled an average of 64,186 mph ( 103,297 kph ), so by January 2018, our Earth and moon were 39.5 million miles ( 63.6 million km ) away from it, and little more than a bright light in the dark sky.
To approach Bennu, the space-craft actually had to preform a series of breaking maneuvers to slow down enough to align with the asteroid, averaging 63,000 mph ( 101,389 kph! ) around our sun, at near the same orbit as Earth.
Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
Believe it or not, Joe-and-Jane-Normal-Scientists were asked to help the OSIRIS-REx teams [dramatic pause] count rocks. It sounds boring and not very glorious, but we can't have rocks flying around that could damage our space-craft now, can we? Sample site candidates were selected, in part, by the fewest number of potentially hazardous rocks.
In the surveying, Bennu became the first 'Active' Asteroid to be observed up-close, and OSIRIS-REx the first to observe it.
OCT 20-28, 2020
Watch how the scientists designed this space-craft to collect samples from an asteroid over 200 million miles from Earth.
OSIRIS-REx touched down on Benu October 20, collecting samples of surface material, at least 2.1 ounces (59.5 grams) and up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of it. By October 28th, the sample head was verified to be stored safely in the capsule that will be it's ride to Earth!
It's a lot of work to take samples from such a long distance!
MAR - MAY 2021
With samples stowed, OSIRIS-REx's departure window opened in March, and with all variables in order, the craft did one last fly-over for photos on April 7th.
Afterward, the craft departed from Bennu on May 10th, using the most complex thrusting maneuvers since it's arrival, hurtling the craft up to 600 mph (1000 kph) away from the ancient rock. It is a two and a half year journey between Bennu and Earth, where the samples will be returned five years after launch.
Read more here.
MAR 2022
Where is the fan-fair?
Thousands of Artists have digital copies of their art speeding through space with an active mission to get samples of the some of the oldest rock in our solar system, and bring it back to Earth!
lookpastit.com begins the call for all the submitting Artisans to provide more insights into their submissions and themselves, in preparation for a website database curated gallery exhibition of all the artworks, over 7,000 of them!
APR 2022
OSIRIS-REx has a green light to visit ANOTHER asteroid after returning Bennu's samples to Earth in September of 2023.
Apophis, an asteroid with a similar orbit as earth, is the new target. It will get so CLOSE to Earth, people in Europe and Africa will be able to see Apophis with their naked eye in 2029!
offplanetart.com is born
OCT-NOV 2022
lookpastit.com begins the vote for the earth art exhibit domain name.
Requirements:
- easy to remember
- representative of the collection
The winner is... offplanetart.com!
MADE ON EARTH
EXHIBITING OUT THERE
What does this collection say about Earth?
SEPT 22-24, 2023
Off Planet Art drops the first act of our "MADE ON EARTH. EXHIBITING OUT THERE." collection:
ORIGINAL SUBMISSIONS
OSIRIS-REx drops the samples off on Earth, where scientists are waiting to begin analysis, before the rest of the craft deflects from Earth to study the other asteroid, Apophis.
Both the OSIRIS-REx Mission and offplanetart.com prepare for their second act.
SEPT 25 - OCT 11, 2023
In a lab built specifically for the OSIRIS-REx mission, dedicated and determined scientists disassemble the sample capsule while preserving the samples from earthly contamination.
In a live broadcast, the samples will be revealed to the public on nasa.gov/live OCT 11, 2023!
OCT 20, 2023
Three years after touch-down on the Asteroid Bennu, it's been officially confirmed from a custom lab on Earth, OSIRIS-REx was successful in collecting at least 60 grams of ancient dust and rock, with still more to empty from the main sample compartment! This includes confirmation of carbon and water on Bennu! The slow verification process has a lot to do with the environment they must work in to keep the samples pure.
OCT-NOV 2023
OSIRIS-REx continues on it's new mission, OSIRIS-APEX ("Apophis Explorer" where it used to be "Regolith Explorer"), to inspect and study the near-earth orbiting asteroid, Apophis.
The spacecraft and this Art Exhibition will rendezvous with Apophis in 2029. Likewise, Apophis will rendezvous with Earth in a harmless pass on Friday the 13th, April of 2029!
JAN 2024
After shifting the solar arrays to create shade for vital systems, and shutting down non-essentials, the craft approached the sun in the first of many close orbits that assist the trajectory toward Apophis.
The OSIRIS-REx teams did their jobs so well, the re-named OSIRIS-APEX (and therefor this Art Collection) survived passing the sun 25 MILLION miles (38,624,256 km) closer than originally predicted. A BIG Public Thank You!
FEB 2024
It's official: OSIRIS-REx delivered 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) of Bennu when it returned to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023; over twice the mission requirement, this is the largest asteroid sample collected in space so far.
Time and great minds will tell us what some of the oldest rock in our solar system has to say about life as we know it. A big thank you to NASA and teams for holding on to at least 70% of these samples for scientists around the world, and in our future! Request a Sample.
JUNE 2024
In 2020, Japan’s JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission found that samples of the asteroid Ryugu carried a mineral combination (magnesium-sodium phosphate) that could indicate the ancient rock once belonged on an ocean floor.
That same mineral combination was found in the 4.5 billion year old Bennu samples that the NASA-Lockheed Martin-University of Arizona’s OSIRIS-REx mission collected, and the Bennu samples are bigger and clearer!
MADE ON EARTH. EXHIBITING OUT THERE.
When, in human history, has such a vast and diverse art collection been exhibited together? When, in the history of art and science, has such a vast and diverse art collection exhibited along-side an active mission of new frontier exploration and discovery? When, in Earth's history, has such a vast and diverse art collection exhibited as a time capsule of tellurian life, achievements, and dreams? The answer is now. 2016 - PRESENT
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ERAS OF EXPERIENCE
Not all of the artworks submitted to the OSIRIS-REx mission were submitted by the artisans who created them. Indeed, one might be surprised to discover that among artists submitting their own works, and parents who submitted the works of their children, this collection holds submissions from brothers and sisters for their siblings. Too, there are aunts and uncles who submitted for their nieces and nephews, grandparents who submitted for their grandkids, grandkids for their grandparents, kids for their parents, teachers for their students, museums for their archives, fans for their favorites, and people submitting for their pets. This collection even holds submissions for artisans of the ancient past, of raw nature, and of the universe itself. Therefore, when celebrating the age diversity in submitting artisans, let us be clear that we’re talking about the artists who created the submitted artworks, even when they didn’t post the submissions for themselves.
Likewise, as this collection wouldn’t be what it is without everyone who was moved to create and everyone who was moved to post a submission, thank you!
[Artwork by Gonçalo - 3 years old]
The youngest artist of this collection might very well be a newborn, but since we’ve only gathered a fraction of the works, the youngest artist that we are sure about is three (3) years old. At three years old, most of us can hold our own sippy-cup and shovel food into our own mouths, be it by hand or rubber utensil. Some of us are running around like little banshees, while others of us are still figuring out this one foot in front of the other thing. Some of us are speaking in simple but coherent sentences, while others of us are carrying on in a language known only to ourselves, and almost none of us are cleaning up our own messes.
When we’re three, our family is familiar and the world is still so fresh that we’re discovering new experiences every day! We remember the things we learned how to do, usually due to the repetition, but we’re too busy living our lives to even consider making a conscious effort of remembering any of our experiences for later. It’s thrilling to be three, for most of us, in a large part because we have no real concept or concern for our beginning nor our eventual end. We live in the moment, express ourselves with unapologetic authenticity, and leave the planning, remembering, and record keeping to those who are older.
[Artwork by Brandon, age not provided.]
Three more years and we’re six years old, the age many of us are when we learn how to read and write and do basic addition and subtraction. With this foundation of numbers and stories, we finally have a notion of our own beginning, and that we’re getting older all the time! We’re twice as old as we used to be! The world is rapidly expanding beyond our own homes and families. Most of us finally have peers and teachers to confirm and contrast the things we have learned at home. As a result, "Gimmie Gimmie" doesn't work anymore, and we learn to think of others, to be considerate and grateful, to say "please" and "thank you." Some of us even realize that each family is different, and school is where we practice relating with each other while we learn that the world is even bigger than our neighborhoods!
By nine years old many of us are “almost ten,” and for some us, those up-coming double-digits are the most exciting part of our future. Most of us have been asked many times what we want to “be” when we “grow-up,” and some of us have never changed our answer, some of us have never had an answer, while others of us have had a new answer every time. We are multiplying and dividing, expanding our vocabulary and understandings, including social nuances that contradict our earlier learning. For some of us this is the “do as I say and not as I do” answer from the adults in our lives, while others of us experience the confusion of “always be honest” evolving into “sometimes we lie to help someone else feel better and that is a good lie.” We compare what we learn with our friends and, for those of us lucky enough to have them, our siblings. We’re learning that beyond different things happening for us to experience, there are different ways to experience them!
Just when we thought we were getting the hang of “growing-up,” we become tweens, just aware enough of ourselves to really start to feel those growing pains. Our physical bodies are growing, yes, but so are our minds and our sense of self. We’re more aware than ever of our parental restrictions, and how much of our own lives are “controlled” by those older than us. Some of us begin to rebel, and some of us begin again to learn how to live in our ever expanding sense of society. By our pre-teens, some of us have established where we fit in, while others of us are still trying to figure out where we belong, or even IF we belong. We begin to notice our polarizations, that some of us still cling to comforts and others of us risk it all to pioneer new ways of expressing ourselves, while some of us walk a wobbly line between the familiar and new frontiers.
[Artworks by Centennial High School Artists]
As teenagers, we feel like we have “sooo much” experience, in a large part because we’re still young enough to notice how different we are as teenagers, than we were as six-year-olds just learning to socialize outside of the family. Changes in our lives have been both consistently dramatic and repetitiously subtle. Some of us have never been more sure of ourselves. Others of us still struggle to understand the world, society, our families and even ourselves. Indeed, by the time we’re teens, we can believe that no one in the world has ever experienced the things we’re experiencing. Life is vivid, and most of us are counting the days until we’re considered adults and legally recognized as our own decision makers!
[Artwork by Kanoelani, age not provided.]
Some young adults are ready for all the world has to offer, to make a name for ourselves and what we’re passionate about, and some of us enter the “real world” just as bewildered as we’ve been our whole lives, while others of us hit another fork in our proverbial road where we thought we knew our place but now we’re discovering things are different than we thought, and a whole new set of options awaits us. For those of us who are social, smart, or just lucky, we don’t just compare our experiences anymore, we use them to learn from each other and teach each other. Most of us realize that those who are older than us are judging us based on their experiences growing-up, and most of us feel like times are so much different one cannot really be compared to the other. We’re adults, but many of us are still young enough to feel like we have something to prove.
[Artwork by Dodo Newman, age not provided.]
By the time we are regarded by our elders, parents, and peers as adults, we usually have a decisive list of who’s perspective we value, because by now, we know not everyone “grows-up” in the same way, and some of us don’t “grow-up” at all. We recognize the socially accepted “grown-up” behavior and disposition, but only some of us adhere to it. Some of us enjoy the regard and respect we command when we dress with and demonstrate an air of professionalism or authority. Some of us just like to be good at what we’re good at, and believe our appearances and demeanors are irrelevant. As adults, most of us have realized the world is big enough for all of us to live our specific preferences, but some of us never quite learned to think of others and it has worked out for us so far, while others of us believe the world would be a better place if others “would just…”
[Artwork by Tasha Sturm, age not provided, and son, age 8.]
If we’re smart or fortunate enough, we’ve figured ourselves out before we have children of our own. Some of us remember our own experiences and attempt to do better for our kids, and some of us just hope we can be half the parent our parents were. Some of us raise our children alone, some of us have family (blood related or otherwise) to help us give our kids the love and attention they deserve, while others of us even adopt children born to other adults, who find themselves in need of a home at the same time we find ourselves able and willing to provide it. By the time we’re parents, most of us realize that everything in our lives was preparing us to prepare the next generation, and yet nothing could really prepare us to be parents to our kids. For those of us who never give-up, we do the best that we can with what we know, many of us praying it is enough.
[Artwork by Laura, age not provided.]
When we live long enough to be an elder to our communities, we’ve learned that life isn’t a race to learn everything there is to know about the cosmos, although we’re also unashamed of our obsession to do just that. Indeed, by the time we’re elders, most of us understand that there is a time and a place for all things, including all people. While some of us might hold true to the belief of good triumphing over evil, others of us are gently reminding those who seek the truth, that we are all one, and good and evil are fruit of the same tree. Many of us recognize that these contrasting and catalyzing moments help us define ourselves and our decisions all the more clearly, but some of us become more convinced of the evidence of where it all went wrong and kept going wrong. We’re elders and we know what we know, but only some of us know that we still don’t know what we don’t know.
[Artwork by Unknown Arrtist/s, ages not provided.]
By the time we’re ancestors to those who come after us, some say we don’t care what is going on in life because we’ve ceased to exist. Others say we’re one with all and not only do we care, but we’re a part of every thought and decision, without interfering with any individuals ego-driven freewill. Either way, we’ve left behind legacies of understandings, in words, pictures, math, science, and culture. Only some of us become ancestors that trust the generations that follow, and for some of us that trust is in the finishing of what we started, while for others of us that trust is simply in the existing. Some of us understand that infinite options are always available to us, and we only really need one, but that only the willing ever find it. Naturally, by the time most of us become Ancestors, we hope to leave behind a lasting reminder to our descendants…
[Artwork by water and physics, photographed by Raj Patel , age not provided.]
Which brings us to mother earth and the entire known and unknown cosmos, our most common ancestors! This collection of art doesn’t just represent humanities dream of discovering that life beyond earth not only exists, but has an interest in us, it represents our desire to share. We, from different ages and across time, express ourselves and our experiences, sharing them first with each other, and then through the OSIRIS-REx mission, we share with some of the oldest rock in our solar system! Sure, the asteroid doesn’t have a chip-reader, and there probably isn’t some E.T. waiting for the right opportunity to browse the digital catalog of over 7000 submissions. Still, we can understand that so many, and of such diverse ages, answered the call because we’re the newest expression of the cosmos offering to re-connect with itself.
ERAS OF EXPERIENCE
If we really think about it, two things that consistently communicate across space and time are art and science, individual but relatable expression and universal and unapologetic exactness. This collection of art now forever exists as a buoy of our continued exploration into new experiences for ourselves, which lead to new understandings of ourselves and the universe. No matter what our age or how we grew-up, all of us seek to express ourselves freely, and some of us seek to share those expressions with any who are interested.
Special thanks to OSIRIS-REx and teams for the opportunity!
Palettes of Expression
Highlighting the diversity of media in submitted art.
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Our space engineers and scientists are artists of exactitudes, and their palettes are practical, expressing humanity’s questions about the cosmos in missions, and our discoveries of reality in reports. World wide, artisans have been expressing experiences and ideas in every medium imaginable. Thanks to NASA’s call, this exhibit is a chance to see how fortunate we are to live in a universe that offers near limitless options for one’s palettes of expression.
To be perfectly clear, when using the words palette and media or medium, we’re talking about what is used to create an expression of something. Traditionally speaking, diverse media is what makes up the palette, the building blocks and physical material that becomes the art. As example, in painting, types of paint and their colors usually make up a palette, but this is the 21st century and now paintings aren’t always even paint, and our palettes expand to include all that we use to make art.
Paper is the most common media used in the shown exhibit, from the obvious drawing paper, lined paper, construction paper, and computer/print paper, to the less obvious pixels made to look like paper, cardboard, and sheet music. More surprisingly, this collections holds art created with paper targets, paper match books, and even napkins! The use of paper hasn’t been limited to the canvas either, there are strips of paper, shapes of paper, pulped paper, and paper models too.
Traditional mediums exist in this collection as well. Paintings were painted with oil, acrylic, water, tempra, and pixels. Writers used words. Drawings became of chalk, crayons, markers, pastels, ink, pencils, colored pencils and pixels too. Photography was created with varying techniques using long and short exposures, light, infrared, microscopes, negatives, and filters. Music was made with voices, solo instruments, orchestras, digital instruments, filters, and even recordings from space.
Somewhat surprising pallets of string and yarn can be seen in this collection’s embroidered and knitted art. Too, there is art made of food, and art made of plastic. Even sand and fallen leaves were used by submitting artisans to express their minds and hearts. Jewelers used precious metals, crystals, glass and stones, while crafters used fire, water, shells, ceramics, wood, rocks, resin, glitter, magazine cut-outs, playdoh, and even aluminum foil to make their creations.
The media that may come as a delightful shock to the senses includes legos, animations, old electronics, robotics, pets, people, bacteria, history, and love. Through this collection of diverse Earth art, we have a reminder that the whole of the universe is our palette, and anything we have named and defined (as well as some we haven’t) can be used to express an experience or idea. Everyone is an artisan, the question is: what is your palette of expression? What do you find exciting to work with?
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An awesome way to get perspective!
NASA's EYES
NASA has provided the public an interactive educational resource for gaining perspective about our solar system and all the "objects" in it. This digital orrery is, according to the website, "a mobile friendly and lite version of NASA's EYES, reporting in realtime, the position of all the objects we're tracking in our galactic neighborhood."
So, while we compile more of the 7,000+ Artworks and their Artists into our curated gallery, please, indulge in this planetary resource of perspective, see where the Art is now, and experience what it feels like to KNOW life is about more than what is happening on our wonderful planet.
Learn More
Did you know we have 5 dwarf planets in our solar system?
Did you know the Hale-Bopp comet, "the Great Comet of 1997," won't be seen again by the naked eyes of the people of Earth for over 2,500 years?