Are you F!@#ing kidding me, light painting in space now… Mr. Darren Pearson sent me a heads up to this story today and when I saw it I about fell out of my chair. The above image is a Tweet from Koichi Wakata, a JAXA Astronaut light painting on The International Space station! Yes I said LIGHT PAINTING ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION! The even crazier news is that this is not the first, or even second time light paintings have been created in SPACE its actually the third. JAXA, the Japanese version of NASA, has been conducting these light painting experiments since 2009 with the first project of its kind called “Spiral Top” developed by Dr.Takuro Osaka. Spiral Top was classified as an “Art Project” and it’s mission was “to produce light arts using a spinning top that has arms illuminating with LED point light sources” these first space light paintings were created April 30th, 2009. See Image Below.
The second of these light painting projects was called “Auroral Oval Spiral Top” it was performed on May 12, 2011 and its mission was to use long exposure photography and “a spinning top that has arms illuminating with LED linear light sources and point light sources”. The various movements of the spinning top floating in microgravity was used to show “aurora-like light traces”. See Below
All I can say is Japan, JAXA, and Mr. Koichi Wakata your awesome. Thank you for taking light painting out of this world!
john brzoza says
Thanks for sharing these light painting photo’s.