CASSINI-DECLASSIFIED
Cassini—DECLASSIFIED
The Color Out of Space
A collaboration of NASA, the European Space Agency, the Italian Space Agency, and Jeffrey Larson
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Cassini–Huygens was an ambitious space probe launched in 1997. Five years later, it reached Saturn to begin its 13-year exploration of the planet and its surrounding moons. The most inspiring feat of engineering in space exploration at the time.
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For years, this wealth of information was transmitted to Earth; readings on the atmosphere, ionosphere, dust particles, and magnetic fields. The stellar data was analyzed in hundreds of scientific papers and experiments, resulting in new inventions and technological breakthroughs.
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In September 2017, the mission was coming to a close. Controlled destruction was imminent; a course correction was entered, directing the probe to burn up in Saturn’s atmosphere. Scientists worldwide were eager to study the results of this never-before-seen phenomenon.
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And then all went quiet.
No data. No news. No reason. No excuses. As if the probe never existed. The agencies remained silent for years.
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A Freedom of Information Act request was finally honored and helped us glean more of the story.
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In those last 48 hours, NASA initiated the VIMS infrared counterpart, an experimental device created to read the unique spectrography when entering the planet’s atmosphere.
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While we don’t know the “how” or “why,” we now see the aftermath. The six-person team located at the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations was never the same after receiving the VIMS transmissions. They were found in an almost catatonic state, mumbling vague descriptions… of what, we don’t know, but otherwise unable to move or acknowledge the presence of anything else around them. They have yet to recover and are all being currently cared for at the psychiatric ward at Miskatonic University, Essex County, Massachusetts.
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Some have speculated that the cause of these disturbances may have come from the unnaturally blue water plumes of Saturn’s E ring, the oddly geometric hexagon pole storm, or maybe even possible sentient entities from the moon Enceladus. No one knows.
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No one will ever know. The last 48 hours of the Cassini probe are known as “The Grand Finale,” and “final” it is. NASA and other Earth space agencies have agreed to stay away from Saturn’s orbit and let the mystery remain forever.
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ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
These mixed-media collages examine cultural themes in media through colorful abstractions layered with storytelling. Inspiration for the CASSINI-DECLASSIFIED series came from the 1927 H. P. Lovecraft story The Colour Out of Space, about a meteorite that falls in the Massachusetts countryside that eventually kills, poisons, or makes “go mad” every living creature for miles. In an age where scientific discovery is often interpreted through digital data transmitted over millions of miles, how might reading a mysterious spectography of pixels from a far distant planet convey traces of stellar phenomena outside of our human senses? Through quilt-like mosaics comprised of geometric hexagons, the CASSINI-DECLASSIFIED collage series hints at such otherworldly patterns in planetary dust particles, unlocking a preconscious glimpse into colors never before seen—a new channel of communication with ominous outcomes.
The CASSINI-DECLASSIFIED art show was exhibited at Passable, an art gallery and maker space in Seattle Washington, in December of 2021. The panels are displayed above at 90 degrees to help show the transition of color and darkness.
Each panel’s title is a direct excerpt from the original story, meant to represent the “vague mumbled descriptions” uttered by the 6 insane employees. Facts and figures for the story are sourced from Wikipedia and the YouTube video “NASA Cassini’s Final Images of Saturn Stunned Me” by Astrum.
