March marked a milestone in non-public area exploration as Texas-based Firefly Aerospace efficiently landed its first robotic spacecraft, the Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander, on the moon. This technological feat was additionally a defining second for artwork, as the lander carried the LunARC mission, a set of 30,000 digital artworks, to the lunar floor.
Diverse voices
Brahmaputra by Sunrise by Priyanka Das Rajkakati
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Special Arrangement
These artworks, gathered from 40 international locations, together with India, have been a part of the Lunar Mission 1 – Community Art Gallery undertaking. They represented numerous voices — marginalised communities, refugees, individuals with disabilities, and even laypersons who by no means imagined their work could be a part of a lunar mission.
Importance of inclusivity
LunARC, a US-based non-profit initiative based in 2022 by Lakshmi Karan and Topher Wilkins, has partnered with non-profit organisations worldwide. A good portion of the artworks from India was collected via a marketing campaign led by NGO Pratham.
Lakshmi Karan
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Special Arrangement
“It was thrilling! We made history together,” says Lakshmi Karan, co-founder of LunARC. Over an e mail from Portugal, she explains that the mission is a part of Phase 1 of their Lunar University purpose, aimed toward inspiring international communities to interact with area exploration. “The objective is to emphasise inclusivity—that space is not just for those with significant resources but for everyone,” she says.
Launched in the summer season of 2023, the undertaking additionally invited famend artists to contribute. Among them was aerospace engineer and artist Priyanka Das Rajkakati, who submitted her art work Brahmaputra by Sunrise. Notably, her earlier piece, Bhédadīpikā – An Illustration of Duality, was additionally a part of the Moon Gallery undertaking despatched into area.
Nanofiche with LunArc gallery
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Special Arrangement
The artistic train inspired spontaneous expression, with contributors — conscious of the mission — submitting artworks that impressed them. Among the numerous themes, the majority centred round the moon and area exploration, reflecting a shared fascination with the cosmos.
Space exploration
The artwork undertaking confronted no technological hurdles, as the collected digital photos have been despatched immediately to LifeShip, which built-in them into Nanofiche—a sophisticated archival storage know-how with an exceptionally excessive capability. These have been then positioned into the LifeShip Pyramid payload.
Priyanka explains, “This highlights the scale and complexity of space projects, where ‘space’ itself is a constraint due to high mission costs, fuel optimisation, and the challenge of executing a soft landing on the Moon. Innovations like Nanofiche at least offer a platform for broader participation in space exploration.”
A milestone
Priyanka Das Rajkakati
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Special Arrangement
Based in Toulouse, France, Priyanka’s work bridges artwork, know-how, and enterprise intelligence, focusing on constructing flood warning programs and hydro-intelligence. A bodily model of her art work, Brahmaputra by Sunrise, is displayed at the workplace of vorteX-io, the place she leads particular tasks. This piece additionally marks a private milestone for her, having exhibited throughout seven continents over the previous 11 and a half years.
Priyanka takes delight in her fusion of artwork and know-how, culminating in a chunk that now sits on the Moon alongside many others. “It’s fascinating that this collection has a strong Indian presence, with many Indian-origin women leading the project. The Moon, a place largely devoid of water, may serve as a reminder to cherish this vital resource. And let’s not forget—it was ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 that first detected water on the Moon. The future is indeed ours.”
Published – March 14, 2025 02:24 pm IST
