Looking for the Ultimate Vacation?

Dreaming of a getaway that’s out of this world? Dive into the nightlife of PSO J318.5−22, a planet where the party never stops! Or perhaps you desire the serene warmth of Kepler-16b, where you can bask under not one, but two suns. Your cosmic vacation awaits!

NASA’s Groundbreaking Campaign

In a dazzling move in 2015, NASA launched a captivating outreach campaign that brought exoplanets into the mainstream. With retro posters, virtual tours, and even coloring books, the initiative quickly gained viral fame. But what made a nascent scientific field resonate so profoundly with the public?

Ceridwen Dovey, a seasoned science communicator, just shared insights in the Journal of Science Communication (JCOM) about the Exoplanet Travel Bureau’s eye-catching campaign. Dovey reveals the powerful collaborations between artists and scientists that led to this innovative outreach, showing how art can spark scientific curiosity.

The Challenge of Imagery

Leading the charge, visual strategist Joby Harris faced two primary hurdles. The first? The lack of visually stunning imagery typical of most astronomical research. While the Hubble telescope delivers breathtaking images, exoplanets often remain elusive, their existence deduced from data rather than direct observation. Even when captured, these planets often look like mere grainy dots.

Rethinking Touristic Appeal

The second challenge? Most known exoplanets are pretty inhospitable! To encourage public imagination, the team had to find a way to envision these alien worlds as desirable destinations—a daunting task given their often harsh and unwelcoming environments.

Drawing inspiration from 1930s travel posters that lured visitors to America’s national parks, the Exoplanet Travel Bureau crafted a delightful series of visuals that reimagined these distant worlds as vacation spots just waiting to be explored. They wanted the public to think of these planets as the next must-visit locale.

Creative Collaboration: Artists and Scientists Unite

However, discussions among artists and scientists sparked a realization: many of these so-called vacation spots would be dreadful for human visitors! Dovey emphasizes that this collaboration fostered rich conversations, allowing both parties to envision these planets more vividly, which in turn enhanced the creative process.

An Imaginative Leap

One fascinating takeaway from Dovey’s findings is that scientists, too, engage in a form of imagination. They need to convert abstract data into tangible representations of planets, contributing to a deeper understanding of their research. This kind of creative practice not only aids public engagement but also paves the way for new scientific inquiries.

A Call for Collaboration

Dovey argues that involving artists is essential throughout the research process, not just at the final stage. Artists can challenge preconceived notions and enhance mission planning, highlighting the power of collaboration across disciplines to enrich scientific endeavor.

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