Becoming an Astronaut Artist!

I became an artist in the summer of 2020 and that won me the prosperity seat on Inspiration4. As a result, I was able to paint in space! Becoming an artist wasn’t easy. I spent my entire career as a geoscience teacher and, as a result of covid, needed a creative outlet so I became a postcard Afrofuturism artist. That’s correct – Postcards! I started a Patreon page where people could support me as an artist for $10 per month and, in return, I send them a postcard every month. I hope you will consider becoming a Postcard Patron!

Winning the Prosperity Seat as an Entrepreneur

I won my seat by creating an original poem called Space2inspire that I shared on Twitter. I also had to show my entrepreneurial spirit by opening up a Shift4 Payment shop. My shop is called Space2inspire and it is where you can find all kinds of art, clothing, and other merchandise created by me.

ASU XRts Immersive Media Fellow

I am currently at my alma mater Arizona State University where I have an XRts Immersive Media Fellowship with Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. During my fellowship, I am working at the ASU Mix Center creating immersive virtual reality, augmented reality, and physical art pieces.

EarthLight VR Experience

Many astronauts experience a transformative shift in awareness and identity that changes them forever: “The Overview Effect.” They return to Earth as humanitarians and conservationists, reporting an “elevated empathy” and a responsibility to care for our planet and share their perspectives with the rest of the world. They have often stated that we should send artists and poets to space to help translate this ineffable, transformative experience.

On September 15, 2021, we sent an artist and poet. Launching as the mission pilot for Inspiration4: the first all-civilian mission to space, I became the first woman commercial astronaut, and the only African-American female to pilot a spaceship. I am the first astronaut who won a seat to space as an artist and poet. While in space, I experienced the beauty, magic, and awe of EarthLight. Now, my mission is to bring the unique “EarthLight” perspective down to planet Earth through immersive art and poetry.

JEDI Space Station

The EarthLight VR Experience transforms you to the year 2142 when the JEDI Space Station (Just, Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Space) is orbiting in low Earth orbit. It is a museum dedicated to sharing the history of art and humanities in human spaceflight and how sending poets and artists to space to experience EarthLight changed the collective consciousness of the world.