Think your memes, videos and drawings are out of this world? Now you have the chance to make it literally so, with NASA preparing to send artistic expressions to the asteroid Bennu aboard the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
Scheduled to launch in September, the space agency’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will journey to Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid, in hopes of collecting about 60 grams (2.1 ounces) in samples.
Scientists are expecting the samples to include “clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of the water and organic molecules that may have made their way to Earth,” according to a press release.
An art capsule for the galaxy
As this will be the first mission of its kind for NASA, the agency is hoping to include the public by asking those interested for a piece of art that expresses “how the mission’s spirit of exploration is reflected in their own lives.”
The artwork can be a “sketch, photograph, graphic, poem, song, short video or other creative or artistic expression.” You can submit your creation through Twitter or Instagram by March 20, and NASA has compiled a full set of guidelines.
Agencies/Canadajournal