If you’re an artist with a keen interest in outer space, this will excite you. NASA is calling all artists to submit paintings, songs and poems to send to asteroid Bennu through their new spacecraft: Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx for short.
NASA has started a #WeTheExplorers campaign which, invites the public to take part in the mission by expressing how the mission’s spirit of exploration is reflected in their personal lives.
The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched in September 2016 and will travel to ‘Bennu’ to collect samples of the asteroid and bring it back to Earth.
On 15 February 2013, Bennu, formerly known as Asteroid 2012 DA14, passed within 22,000 miles of Earth. NASA says, for an asteroid, it was too close to Earth.
Bennu has a 492-metre diameter and passes by Earth every six years.
Scientists believe that there is a high probability that Bennu could actually hit Earth in 2182. This is why there is a mission to Bennu.
Why Should I Send My Artwork?
Yes, there is a possibility of this asteroid crashing into our planet, but NASA, in its press release shares their rationale,
The development of the spacecraft and instruments has been a hugely creative process, where ultimately the canvas is the machined metal and composites preparing for launch in September. It is fitting that this endeavour can inspire the public to express their creativity to be carried by OSIRIS-REx into space.Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx Project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
Join The Campaign
There are already 442,000 names submitted through the ‘Messages to Bennu’ campaign. Here’s what the NASA invitation says you can send: A submission may take the form of a sketch, photograph, graphic, poem, song, short video or other creative or artistic expression that reflects what it means to be an explorer.
Submitted works of art will be saved on a chip on the spacecraft.
All submissions must be made by 20 March 2016.
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