Week 9 | Space + Art
 | |||
| Comparison of Spitzer Telescope (Left) Imaging and the Webb Telescope Imaging (Right) |
Space exploration and the arts have changed a lot throughout the past century, but one of the things I wanted to highlight within the blog was the idea of living beings existing outside Earth. In the lecture, it was mentioned that the first living being to go into space and orbit the Earth was Laika, a stray mutt (Vesna).
 | |
| Memorial Statue of Laika, the First Living Being to Orbit Earth from Space |
Laika was one of a group of canines tested and trained to adapt into the space journey. However, what really resonated with me was the fact that it was stated Laika was predicted to not return. Several articles stated that there was a lack of technology to help Laika safely return to Earth, and that there was a limited supply to keep Laika alive for a long period of time (George). Personally, I was relieved to hear that she was still honored, but it struck me how arts and science can be conflicting with this concept (OVRS Staff).
One of the final things I wanted to bring forth is the future of space and art. With the lecture mentioning how competitions were done to design new space technology such as Prize X and new scientific approaches on using space material as fuel, I couldn't help but remember being told years ago that we'll eventually occupy Mars ("Serious ... Mars"). Whether this is still a central focus on space, it'd still be interesting to see the future potentials of art and science coming together, even if that's on another planet (Walls).
Word Count: 315
Sources:
[1] “First Image of a Black Hole.” NASA Solar System Exploration, https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2319/first-image-of-a-black-hole.
[2] George, Alice. “The Sad, Sad Story of Laika, the Space Dog, and Her One-Way Trip into Orbit.” Smithsonian Magazine, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sad-story-laika-space-dog-and-her-one-way-trip-orbit-1-180968728/.
[3] NASA. Comparison of Spitzer Telescope (Left) Imaging and the Webb Telescope Imaging (Right). https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/05/10/USAT/c834115c-309a-4379-ab64-4d643a50ee2d-AP22129571759277.jpg?width=1320&height=1008&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp.
[4] OVRS Staff. “Laika the Great Space Dog: The True Story of a Hero Pup.” Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, 25 July 2017, https://www.ovrs.com/blog/space-dog/.
[5] “Serious People Are Giving Serious Thought to Colonizing Mars.” Bloomberg.Com. www.bloomberg.com, https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-life-on-mars/.
[6] The Tesla Space. What Life In Elon Musk’s Mars Colony Will Be Like. 2021. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ1cyRCUBP4.
[7] Vesna, Victoria. "Space Exploration and Art, part 3". DESMA9. 22 May 2022, University of California, Los Angeles. Lecture.
[8] Walls, Andrew James. “How Space Art Will Get Us to Mars.” Mission.Org, 13 June 2017, https://medium.com/the-mission/how-space-art-will-get-us-to-mars-5b788395297d.
Hi Michelle! As a fan of dogs and an aspiring dog dad, I'm glad Laika was the first living thing to go to space albeit a sad journey given that she would never return. Still, I'm glad that artists were able to capture this monumental event with a statue. In fact, it reminds me of the Hachiko dog statue that portrayed the loyalty and friendship between a dog and his owner in an also sad story (a very interesting story, I might add - definitely check it out). Going back to the topic of space, I'm glad you mentioned Elon Musk. Musk happens to be one of those people I idolize for being a unorthodox visionary who also hails from Africa like myself. If and when we end up on Mars, I'm certain that art in the form of design will be a key component of both the journey and the destination. I suspect that meticulous engineering is necessary to sustain living conditions on another planet, but this does raise a question: What will happen to contemporary art, such as paintings, music etc, if we go to space? Will literal space-art become a thing and would it be valued even more so than that from earth? Whatever the case, these are some big questions I believe must be answered in anticipation of space travel. Nonetheless, thank you for your commentary and as this is our last official blog post, I hope you've enjoyed the course too!
ReplyDeleteA common theme that I noticed when watching this week's lectures is the question of whether certain practices are ethical. I also was saddened by the fact that Laika was sent into space without a clear plan for her survival. I agree with you that it is cool that she got to be the first living being to go to space, but this seems like it was more special for us humans than it was for her. Reading your post made me reflect on animal testing in science. It is a similar situation. Humans use animals to test products and treatments before presenting them to other humans, but these animals did not sign up for this, nor do they reap any benefits. I often ponder the ethics of these practices. On another note, I also agree with your final comment about art and science in space. It would be interesting to see how that plays out and how these fields may interact on another planet. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle. I really enjoyed reading your post. First of all, I think it is really interesting that the first living thing in space was a mutt. I never knew this, but it makes sense that scientists decided to take this step. I think there are definitely some ethical concerns, however, with this practice. Animals obviously cannot chose whether or not they take part in this experiential science, and there are a lot of risks involved with this. Additionally, I also really enjoyed the video you included. Elon Musk's conception of life on Mars seems unreal, but it is in fact something that can happen in the near future. I always wondered if there was life on other planets, so this is really interesting to me.
ReplyDelete