Week 9 Space and Art

The space race between the U.S. and Russia has started the era of space exploration, and the ongoing discovery and exploration of celestial structures in outer space continue to fascinate human beings into exploring what is out there. Between the 1940s and 1970s, space exploration successfully brought out an interesting genre of science imagination of alien encounters, especially after the Apollo missions launched men onto the moon in 1969 (Meier).

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Space is indeed a place where only a few in billions have gone, and most of us will never ever see; with the technology advancement, scientists continue to find ways that can make space travels for everyone. Virgin Galactic, found by Sir Richard Branson, aims to develop a commercial ship that can bring space travels for normal people, by that the ones who are rich enough to afford it. Although Virgin Galactic has not successfully put out a space ship that proves its safety, there are still more than 800 people have paid or put down deposits for a two-hour trip (Virgin Galactic). The space travel tickets were first priced at $200,000 and it was raised to $250,000 two years ago. Despite the expensive price, the list of passengers includes many famous celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Russell Brand, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and Ashton Kutcher (Williams).

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However, not only space travel is expensive, it is also deadly. Last year when the SpaceShip Two suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashed in the Mojave Desert, California during a test flight, causing one dead and one seriously injured. This catastrophic crash shows that Virgin Galactic was not near ready to roll out commercial space travel, but only less than 3% of the ticket holders have asked for a refund. Branson ensured that his company will do his best to ensure the spacecraft’s safety and he will be the first to board to space when the spaceship is finished (Green).

Even death still could not persuade humans from backing down the dreams of exploring the outer space. The ongoing lists of movies and television shows about the mysterious outer space are what fuel our imaginations, but the interesting thing is, just like robotic genre, the space genres are almost fill with danger and emptiness. Consider the Academy awards winning movie Gravity, Sandra Bullock was lost in space all alone facing without any help; Tom Hanks’ Apollo 13, Interstellar, Armageddon, Moon, and even Alien, all have an underlying theme that depicts the danger space exploration is (Wickman). Maybe these artists are expressing concerns about the unknown, but as an ordinary citizen on Earth, I still long to gaze at the stars and see the miracles of the galaxy one day, one day.

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Works Cited

Green, Dennis. "Celebrities Aren't Bailing On Virgin Galactic After Crash." Business Insider, Inc, 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 May 2015.

Meier, Allison. "How the Space Race Altered Art in the Americas." Hyperallergic RSS. 28 May 2015. Web. 29 May 2015.

Virgin Galactic. Documentary Domicile, 2014. Film.

Wickman, Kase. "7 Movies That Make Me Really, Really Reluctant To Go To Space." News. 26 May 2015. Web. 29 May 2015.

Williams, Martin. "Branson's Ambitious Space-travel Project Plagued by Problems and Delays." The Guardian, 31 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 May 2015.