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Launch

Launch Date:

19 February 2022

Launch Mission:

NG-17 Cygnus resupply mission

Launch Operator:

Northrop Grumman

Rocket:

Antares 230+

Launch Vehicle:

Cygnus SS Piers Sellers

Launch Location:

Wallops Island, VA, USA

2022-015B

COSPAR id:

In Space

Host:

International Space Station

Type:

Space Station

Operator:

Multinational

Location:

Low Earth Orbit, Non-Polar Inclined

COSPAR id:

1998-067A

Return

Return Date:

11 January 2023

Return Mission:

CRS-26

Return Vehicle:

Cargo Dragon

Landing Location:

Gulf of Mexico

COSPAR id:

2022-159A

Updated:

8/7/24

status:

Returned

Mission Profile

Partners:

Jorick de Quaasteniet

Artist, Environmentalist

Artist(s)

Collection

This artwork is part of a collection:

Moon Gallery

2022

What happens when we only take from the Moon and don’t give back? Will we disturb the equilibrium that has kept our moon in orbit around the planet that we inhabit?

What happens when we only take from the Moon and don’t give back? Will we disturb the equilibrium that has kept our moon in orbit around the planet that we inhabit? If so, what could be the consequences? To avoid this, I propose to somewhat restore the balance by returning a small amount of aluminum, one of the most common metals in both the Earth’s and the Moon’s surface, back to the Moon. With lunar mining rapidly becoming a thing of the near future instead of the distant future, we ought to think about what might be potential outcomes. We only have to look at our past to see how quickly the human species becomes expert at something that’s profitable. At the beginning of the industrial age, people weren’t worried about the relatively small amounts of pollutants they pumped in the air. The open air was seen as something limitless. 200 years later we are dealing with the consequences. Could lunar mining have a similar fate?
Dimensions:

1 x 1 x 1 cm

Medium:

plexiglass, aluminum

Genre:

Restoring the Geophysical Dynamics of the Earth < > Moon Relationship

Jorick de Quaasteniet

Netherlands

2022

Restoring the Geophysical Dynamics of the Earth < > Moon Relationship

2022

Returned
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