NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab collaborates with artists for ‘Blended Worlds’ Exhibition

The exhibition, running from September 21, 2024, to January 4, 2025, will explore the convergence of art and science across over 70 exhibitions in Southern California.

David Bowen working on his piece, tele-present wind, with assistance from JPL data systems architect Rishi Verma, translating real Martian wind data into art. (Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has teamed up with artists for a groundbreaking exhibition, Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination, hosted at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale, California. Running from September 21, 2024, to January 4, 2025, the exhibit is part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, a larger initiative presented by the Getty that explores the convergence of art and science across over 70 exhibitions in Southern California.

According to a media release by NASA, the exhibit presents an innovative fusion of artistic creativity and scientific exploration, transforming the vastness of the universe into tangible experiences. Dr. Laurie Leshin, director of JPL, highlighted the unique impact of this collaboration: “The magic of art is that it enhances our experiences and interactions with the world – and in this case, our universe. We’re honored to work with great artists to bring the wonders of space to our community through this exhibition, which invites us all to be part of a grand journey of exploration and discovery.”

One of the highlights is tele-present wind, an installation by artist David Bowen, which features 126 grass stalks mounted on mechanical devices that move in response to Martian wind data collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover. This work was realized with the support of JPL’s data systems architect Rishi Verma and José Antonio Rodríguez-Manfredi, the principal investigator for the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system on Perseverance.

Moon Ribas 

NASA also credits the collaboration with artist Moon Ribas for Seismic Percussion, an installation that translates seismic data from Earth, the Moon, and Mars into an interplanetary drum score. As noted in NASA’s release, Verma and Nobuaki Fuji from the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, who worked on NASA’s retired InSight lander, contributed data for Mars, while JPL planetary scientist Ceri Nunn assisted with moonquake data.

Additionally, the exhibition features a handwritten version of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s poem, In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa, created for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, which says:

“Still, there are mysteries below our sky:

the whale song, the songbird singing

its call in the bough of a wind-shaken tree.”

As NASA shared, this poem will soon embark on a historic journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, etched onto a metal plate aboard the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

David Delgado, cultural strategist at JPL and project lead for Blended Worlds, emphasized in NASA’s release the importance of sparking imaginative connections between the public and scientific discoveries: “We were looking to create imaginative opportunities for people to connect with each other as they connect with the awe-inspiring science being conducted today. I know this experience has really opened the eyes of everyone collaborating on the project, and we hope it does the same for people who come to see Blended Worlds.”

Artist David Bowen’s installation, tele-present wind, features 126 grass stalks attached to mechanical tilting devices that respond to Martian wind data collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover. (Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA’s involvement in this exhibition is supported by the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission and the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Trust. Public events, including Blended Worlds: An Evening of Art, Theater, and Science on October 5, and Earth Data: The Musical in November, will accompany the exhibition, further enriching the community’s engagement with both art and science.

In addition to these works, the exhibition also features innovative pieces that allow visitors to engage with Earth’s natural wonders and the vast distances between planets through sensory experiences. Some of the exhibits incorporate sound to convey the immense expanses between our planet and others, while others blend heartbeats and terrestrial sounds with sonified data from Europa’s magnetic field. As NASA highlighted in its media release, this exhibition is part of a broader effort to create meaningful connections between people and the groundbreaking research conducted across the solar system. Through these collaborations, Blended Worlds not only showcases the beauty of space but also encourages viewers to contemplate the role of humanity within the cosmos.

In NASA’s words, Blended Worlds is an artistic extension of its longstanding mission of exploration and discovery, offering new ways to experience the mysteries of the universe.