Art & Space: Eva Petrič's Art Project for Space and in Space

Space can inspire art, and art can inspire space missions. Many artists are inspired by space as a topic to create art, but what would happen if we involved these artists to be part of a space mission? To investigate the potential of involving artists with scientists to perform a space mission, a mission simulation was performed at ESTEC technical centre of the European Space Agency in the ExoLab module on 29 April 2015 as part of a program of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) (1, 2, 3). The artist Eva Petric was invited to take part in the mission simulation in the position of the crew's Health and Safety officer. During the simulation, Eva experienced a strong feeling of isolation. The simulation inspired the artist to propose two art projects aimed at offering emotional support to a potential space crew: the Earthling's mark, a series of tattoos, and DBE xx xy, a unisex fragrance o keep the astronauts in tune with the Earthling in them. The projects were accepted for the poster presentation at the EPSC 2015 conference, which also involved artists for the first time. This paper presents the work of Eva Petric as a form of communication inspired by space and as a form of communication created in space. In conclusion, art is considered a form of communication that can be related to the artist's perception of personal emotion. Performing art related to space and in space could inspire new forms of communication and lead to socio-cultural evolution.