Space Smurfs: S02E07
Space Smurfs
Smurfing our way to build space friendships across Asia-Pacific Oceania! ??
Space Art and 3D Printing
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about space?
Is it the complex physics behind magnificent celestial bodies, or perhaps, the chemistry and biology that somehow led us to exist? Do you think about the complete randomness of stuff in space or the probability behind life?
What about art? At first glance, space might have everything to do with science and technology, but it has also inspired many art pieces. In fact, mankind’s fascination with space has given us gorgeous cave paintings and unique 3D-printed art! Intrigued yet? Let’s see how 3D printing, art, and space complement each other.
Lascaux cave paintings – literally show paintings of constellations
We as a species have gone from creating paintings of the vast starry space to putting artworks in space!?
Who is sending art to space?
Moon Gallery is an organization based in the Netherlands, that aims to send miniature collaborative artwork to the Moon. It is also their goal to set up the first permanent lunar museum that is almost the size of a petri dish, a 10 x 10 x 1 cm plate on the exterior paneling of a lunar lander.
They plan to have 100 artefacts in this small space, that represent a collective culture of humanity.?
Currently, the Moon Gallery comprises 64 artifacts. And some of them are being launched into space to orbit the Earth aboard the ISS (International Space Station) as a test flight. It is planned to place the complete collection on the Moon by 2025.
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What are these artworks?
These artworks range from tiny complex geometries to engraved metal cubes to even a fingernail loop book! They all showcase a message to the human species and the diversity that they represent.
Recently, in March, two new artifacts joined the gallery onboard ISS and will orbit the Earth for 10 months after which they will return back. Both are metal cubes measuring 0.98 cm on all sides with an intricate geometry that has been 3D printed. They have been designed by Lakshmi Mohanbabu, a Singaporean artist, architect, and fashion designer in partnership with scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
The artworks are a union between technology and the visual interpretation of the concepts of unity, diversity, and complexity in humankind.
The two artworks – The left cube titled ‘Structure & Reflectance’ has 4 different faces that have been made by changing the crystal orientation of stainless steel during the process of 3D printing using a process created by NTU professor Matteo Seita. The right one named ‘The Cube of Interaction’ is made of aluminum and in collaboration with another NTU professor Daniel New.
How is 3D printing involved?
3D printing is a fairly recent additive manufacturing technique that uses layer-by-layer deposition of material to create a finished product. A computer-aided design (CAD) model is first created and fed into the printer which then starts the building process.
While designing engineering components, a rigorous FEA (Finite Element Analysis) process must be carried out in order to find out the various loads and stresses acting on the structure and refine it iteratively in order to prevent failure.
However, when it comes to art pieces, such a rigorous FEA is not needed since the structure is not going to experience a lot of loads or wear and tear. The method is slightly different as material considerations must be taken into account while microgravity conditions act. More nuanced surface finishing is also needed since the art piece must look aesthetic.
3D printing just doesn’t stop there! It leads us to an exciting future, where we can print buildings themselves out of regolith! I am very eager, are you?!
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