{"id":29596,"date":"2017-03-02T17:57:37","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T22:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=29596"},"modified":"2017-08-10T17:35:04","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T21:35:04","slug":"nasas-time-travel-machine-art-inspired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/nasas-time-travel-machine-art-inspired","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Time Travel Machine and the Art It Inspired"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

“Exploration” by Ashley Zelinskie<\/p><\/div>\n

Nowhere does the line between art and science blur more readily than when we look to the stars. NASA has long been known to recognize the artistic power of space exploration, famously releasing a series of Space Tourism Posters<\/a> to eager space- and art-lovers last year. Now, the agency has tapped into the imaginations of a range of multimedia artists to celebrate the James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>, the observatory that will let\u00a0us glimpse the ancient origins\u00a0of our universe.<\/p>\n

Twenty-five artists were selected to preview the telescope (which launches in 2018), and create works inspired by it. With its sail-like, 21-foot, gold-plated mirror \u2013 and mission to peer back in time\u00a0\u2013 inspiration came easily (see the full collection of works here<\/a>). One of the chosen artists, Shapeways community member Ashley Zelinskie<\/a>, conceived of a work, “Exploration,” that represents the symbolic and literal achievements of the telescope.<\/p>\n

To create the piece, which was 3D printed with Shapeways, the artist 3D scanned the arms of John Cromwell Mather, astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate and\u00a0Amber\u00a0Straughn, astrophysicist and Deputy Project Scientist for JWST Science Communications.\u00a0Then, Zelinskie added a scan of her own arm. She combined the three limbs with a representation of the telescope\u2019s mirror, with its 18 golden, hexagonal segments.<\/p>\n

The arms stretch from the surface of the mirror, reaching into the unknown in a symbolic representation of the search for knowledge. \u201cArt asks people every day to think about abstract ideas and opens a doorway for creative thinking,\u201d the artist explained. \u201cMy hope is to apply this open-mindedness to science and, in this way, be better equipped to take in the universe in all its vastness and mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surfaces of Mather, Straughn, and Zeleskie\u2019s outstretched arms are made up of a lace-like lattice of symbols. They represent the Friedmann-Lema\u00eetre-Robertson-Walker metric \u2013 the solution to Einstein\u2019s field equations of general relativity. This metric, which describes the universe, is joined by the formula that describes a parabolic mirror. Dr. Mather summed up the symbolism of the pairing with, \u201cOne might say we build one (the telescope primary mirror) to test the other (Einstein\u2019s equations).\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Amber\u00a0Straughn framed “Exploration”\u00a0in appropriately poetic terms: \u201cAstronomy by its very nature drives us toward the unknown\u2026there\u2019s something uniquely human about wanting to find out about our surroundings, to explore our world, to discover new things. That\u2019s what astronomy is all about.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Exploration” and the other works inspired by the JWST will be on display at the Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, MD, from March 3 to April 16, 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nowhere does the line between art and science blur more readily than when we look to the stars. NASA has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":29599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510],"tags":[1654,1653,480,832,825,1622],"class_list":["post-29596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3d-printing-industry","tag-3d-printed-art","tag-3d-printed-metal","tag-4-art","tag-nasa","tag-space","tag-space-travel"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Exploration-by-Ashley-Zelinskie-625x415.jpg","yoast_head":"\nNASA's Time Travel Machine and the Art It Inspired - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nowhere does the line between art and science blur more readily than when we look to the stars. 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