Inspiring the Artemis Generation: Relaunch of the NASA Art Program

Thanks to our talk with the NASA Art Program Director Lauren Katz, we learned what’s next for space-inspired art. Read on to explore the vision behind NASA’s new mural.

To the Moon, and Back

The NASA Art Program relaunch featured the unveiling of two large side-by-side spaced murals in New York’s Hudson Square Business Improvement District. Titled To the Moon, and Back, the murals were painted by a local artist team Geraluz and WERC.

The murals consist of two vibrant geometric panels, inspiring childlike wonder and imagination. The central pieces, layered over radiant shapes, depict a space capsule module on the left side, and a child dressed in an astronaut suit on the right side.

The Artists

Geraluz, or Gera Lozano is a conceptual mixed-media artist born in Peru and based in Brooklyn, New York. In her bio, she describes her passion for beautification of public spaces and community empowerment. Her husband and creative partner, Jari “WERC” Alvarez is the author of many large-scale murals and street art pieces worldwide.

The duo applied to NASA’s open call for artists with immediate inspiration from their 5-year-old son, Amaru. On her Instagram, Geraluz wrote, “Amaru says he wants to be an astronaut; it was the perfect moment to ask him to dress up and help us conceptualize our design.”

The right mural piece reflects this dream from his perspective. Dreaming through a child’s eyes. Dreaming of becoming an astronaut and exploring the universe, the child plays with a space rocket. He stands in a spacesuit, surrounded by cosmic patterns, stars, shapes, and the Moon. Maybe he will visit these places in the future?

Meanwhile, the other part of the mural inspires topics of space exploration by depicting a space capsule model with the NASA logo set. Its shape seems to be a nod to the Orion spacecraft class, crew modules designed for human missions beyond the low Earth orbit. The Orion spacecraft will carry the Artemis astronauts from Earth to lunar orbit, and back. The capsule appears as if on a journey through space and time, headed right on a journey to Mars.

The Artemis Generation

Dressed up in a NASA spacesuit, the child represents the future Artemis Generation. This term refers to the generation to experience and take an active part in the Artemis Lunar Exploration Program. Named after the Greek Moon goddess Artemis, the program’s goals focus on science and community. The aim is to explore the satellite farther than ever before, build a gateway spaceship allowing regular missions, and in the long run, build a sustainable base. All of this will help to research and prepare for future missions to Mars.

The NASA Art Program

It’s not the first time that NASA has turned to art to help express its working mission. In 1962, the space agency established an official Art Program, with a goal to visually and creatively document the current history of American space exploration. Here, the artwork had not only a historical but also an emotional impact, portraying the social significance of the events. Over time, the program led to the creation of many extraordinary pieces and a diverse collection of mixed-media works.

NASA Art Program’s collection currently has over 3000 pieces, divided between their headquarters and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It features masterpieces of American art, notably Mitchell Jamieson’s First Steps, Norman Rockwell‘s Grissom and Young, Andy Warhol‘s Moonwalk #1 or Annie Leibovitz’s Photograph of Astronaut Eileen Collins.

Inspiring the Artemis Generation

Thanks to an interview with Lauren Katz, NASA’s Exhibits, Artifacts, and Art Program Manager, we learned more about the goals for this new era. The vision for the relaunch focuses on creating works of art for the community. By the use of street art and urban galleries, NASA hopes to reach people where they live and invite them to envision their own role and place in the future of space exploration.

Sparking inspiration can happen in many spaces, but one of the best means to reach the public is street art. Murals like To the Moon, and Back should inspire diverse communities, and help portray the new space age mission.

Since our talk, more murals were created, this time through collaboration with the Washington DC Walls Festival. The plan is to expand the program nationally in 2025, starting with projects in Cleveland and Ohio.

What’s next? Imagining Art in Space

While murals are a central focus for the following years, the Art Program stays open to various forms of creative expression. Embracing the many ways art and science can intersect, the space agency hosts numerous exhibitions and projects. A big part of it blends scientific works into art, such as telescope imagery and data visualization models; creating a space for scientists and artists to collaborate on visions for the future.

The NASA Art Program makes a great example of how human creativity can express itself in many ways. With the exciting goals of the agency’s exploration program, one may wonder about the future artistic possibilities. One day, perhaps, we’ll be introduced to a new type of space art: one made on the Moon. And who knows, maybe one day we will get to review a parallel Moon-Earth exhibition, curated just by one of the Artemis dreamers.