Space exploration is undergoing exciting disruptive change, both through the advent of new business models and through the development of innovative technologies. As a consequence of this accelerated activity, innovative design and manufacturing techniques dedicated entirely to space exploration and exploitation are slowly emerging. These go beyond the simplistic approach of considering space as a harsh environment and rather offer solutions adequately developed for alien environments such as interplanetary space or planetary bodies. As demonstrated in this paper, the art community is particularly relevant to support of these efforts. The authors present a conceptual artwork designed from the interplay of materials and local astrophysical conditions. This evolving sculptural installation uses the extreme lunar surface conditions as enablers rather than constraints.

ABSTRACT Robocygne is an artistic project that revolves around the development of a custom-built robotic bird, dancing to a remix of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake . The artists created the choreography through a process in which movements were danced into the robot by the choreographer’s manipulation of the bird’s limbs, by hand, to the music. To enable this multitracking procedure, the artists, in collaboration with the engineers, developed novel software that allowed overlying recording of motions in synchronization with an audio track. From an artistic perspective, the authors discuss the search for choreographic and musical qualities and emphasize how material aspects of body and technology interrelate with emotional expression in Robocygne .

ABSTRACT Black (W)hole is an immersive art installation created collaboratively by artists and scientists utilizing data visualization of an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) and the sonification of its emitted gravitational waves in an experiential work of “artscience” and science education. The sensory-rich environment of the installation engages mind and body, expanding and enriching the participant’s capacity to imagine and wonder about the beauty and meaning of this highly abstract astronomical object, the black hole. The work investigates both historical and current gravitational wave astronomy, illustrating our 21st-century understanding of the cosmos.