Description
My practice-led research takes a detailed look at humans’ dominant environmental footprint in space which mirrors our technologically mediated exploration and transformation of environments on Earth. In an inter-disciplinary weaving of contemporary Fine Art practices, with methodologies employed by space, scientific and environmental domains, the work creatively explores the significance of our present actions, as well as the legacy we leave behind.
Significant human environmental impact on outer space has increased as the quest to find ‘second life’ has accelerated. In 2021, Perseverance landed on Mars. The previous year, superpowers China and the US began the lunar gold-rush. NASA has a separate program to hire private companies (SpaceX) to fly science experiments and cargo to the Moon ahead of a human landing. In May 2020, NASA unveiled the Artemis Accords which outline policies that will govern mining celestial bodies, similar to those that currently exist for the world's oceans.
The art installation I am researching and planning to build in the grounds of UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), will address these issues in an original exploration of the potential consequences of broadcasting signals across space. Using two radio-faxes, MSSL’s large ground station antenna and nearby greenhouse, I will receive and present live environmental visual and sonic data broadcast over HAM radio frequencies. This investigation of Earth’s technological emissions raises many questions, such as, to what degree do deliberate and unintentional outer space activities, such as transmitting radio messages across the galaxy, provide benefits or harms to Earth and humanity?
Primary author
Lucy Helton
(Prof. Andrew Coates, Dept of Space & Climate Physics at UCL and MSSL)
