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Abiogenetic Triptych

status:

2020

inorganic salts, copper sulfate, potassium ferricyanide

1 x 1.2 cm

Andrea S. Ling

A work-in-progress reflecting on the divergent possibilities that protocells could have taken without the rule of gravity governing evolution.

Abiogenetic Triptych is a work-in-progress reflection on the divergent possibilities that protocells, thought to be the chemical proto-origins of life, could have taken without the rule of gravity governing bio-chemical evolution. At each gravity level of Sojouner 2020 different ratios of inorganic salts – copper sulfate and potassium ferricyanide – are mixed together after launch to form protocell compounds. The resulting precipitate membranes, formed under conditions of differing osmotic pressures and differing gravities, will give a glimpse of how the first inklings of life may have formed under these interstellar conditions. Upon return to earth, the precipitate morphology and material characteristics will be used as prompts for synthetic cell designs and imaginary creatures. Sojourner 2020 (a 1.5U size unit, 100mm x 100mm x 152.4mm ) will be launched into low Earth orbit for about 30 days. It features a three-layer telescoping structure which creates three different “gravities”: zero gravity, lunar gravity, and Martian gravity. Each layer of the structure rotates independently. The top layer remains still in weightlessness, while the middle and bottom layers spin at different speeds to produce centripetal accelerations that mimic lunar gravity and Martian gravity, respectively. Each layer carries 6 pockets that can hold projects.

Full Record Details

Title

Date

Medium

Dimensions

Genre

Style

Artist

Collection

Abiogenetic Triptych

2020

inorganic salts, copper sulfate, potassium ferricyanide

1 x 1.2 cm

Sculpture

Andrea S. Ling

Sojourner 2020

Launch

Date

Mission

Operator

Location

State

COSPAR id

7 Mar 2020

SpaceX CRS-20 (Dragon), Flacon 9

SpaceX

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

USA

2020-016A

Space

Location

Platform

Operator

COSPAR id

LEO

International Space Station

NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA, CSA

1998-067A

Return

Date

Vehicle

Operator

Landing

COSPAR id

Status

Location

6 April 2020

Dragon CRS-20

SpaceX

Pacific Ocean

2020-016A

Returned

Artist

Andrea S. Ling

Andrea S. Ling

USA, Canada

Collection

Sojourner 2020

MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative

Sojourner 2020

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