{"id":11109,"date":"2021-07-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artthescience.com\/magazine\/?p=11109"},"modified":"2022-07-18T21:30:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T01:30:13","slug":"features-illustrating-outer-space-with-sofie-shen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artthescience.com\/magazine\/2021\/07\/21\/features-illustrating-outer-space-with-sofie-shen\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURES \u2013 Illustrating Outer Space with Sofie Shen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Can\u2019t Picture the Future? Sofie Shen Can Help.<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s something you might not think to do with your spare time: give NASA a hand by teaching a computer how to find Swiss cheese on Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Sofie Shen<\/a>, a visual development artist from Pasadena, California, this and other space-related pursuits come naturally. Shen is on a mission to bridge the gap between science and art. Her illustrations and designs transform space exploration from something abstract and elite to an enterprise that is beautiful, clear, and within everyone\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Study of an image of the Geminids meteor shower over Xinglong Observatory (2021) by Sophie Shen, Procreate (iPad).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
The JUNO spacecraft taking images of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede on a flyby (2021) by Sophie Shen, Procreate (iPad), Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shen defines visual development as creating the aesthetic or style for something, whether it\u2019s an animated show or a habitat on Mars\u2014essentially, setting the tone through research, illustration, and design. Shen attended ArtCenter College of Design, where she studied entertainment arts, or \u201cdesigning stuff for cartoons,\u201d as she phrases it. After graduating, she designed posters for an animation studio and toys but did not find the work particularly meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I always liked science,\u201d Shen tells me. \u201cAnd I always liked nature and biology. But I wasn’t that good at math\u2026. And space stuff, when I was younger, gave me an existential crisis to think about!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u201cspace stuff\u201d was close by, five minutes away from Shen\u2019s alma mater to be exact. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) piqued her interest, but, having toured it in the past, Shen\u2019s thinking was, \u201cOh, this is interesting. But like, I don’t know what it has to do with me. They’re just over there doing their thing, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/a>
Illustration for The Orbital Mechanics Podcast of two astronauts performing maintenance outside the International Space Station (2019) by Sophie Shen, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That changed when a friend from Poland came to visit Shen in California, and they embarked on a tour of JPL. Discussions about the Deep Space Network, an international network of spacecraft communication facilities, renewed Shen\u2019s curiosity. And prompted her to wonder if anyone had made art about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause it seems really important. And\u2026I’ve never seen any art related to that,\u201d Shen explains. She threw herself into research, attending lectures at the California Institute of Technology and engaging with astronauts and engineers on social media, to create detailed illustrations and design concepts of current and future space exploration endeavours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create her work, Shen uses her iPad, working with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Procreate. But step one is always heaps of research. \u201cI guess I go through the information hoarding phase of research, where I’ll just look up everything that I can,\u201d she tells me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Illustration of the three satellite dishes that compose the Deep Space Network (2019) by Sophie Shen, Adobe Illustrator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
Illustration of the Ingenuity Helicopter’s flight on Mars with the Perseverance rover watching from the ground (2021) by Sophie Shen, Procreate (iPad), Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Three<\/a>
Study from an image that the Curiosity rover took of its wheels (2019) by Sophie Shen, Procreate and Adobe Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Which is where we find ourselves back at the Swiss cheese. Shen joined a brigade of community scientists taking part in projects<\/a> that NASA extends to the public. As part of Capturing Onboard Summarization to Monitor Image Change (or COSMIC, for those short of breath), a project of JPL\u2019s Machine Learning and Autonomy Group, Shen studied photos of Mars and outlined landscape features, so a computer could learn to recognize them. One of these features was the Swiss Cheese Terrain, pit-like structures on the planet\u2019s southern pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shen also processes images of Jupiter using raw data from JunoCam, the camera aboard the NASA spacecraft orbiting the planet. She explains that when the raw images come in, they are low contrast segments, so she uses Photoshop to adjust the colours and render the details visible. (Community scientists can upload their images onto JunoCam\u2019s gallery<\/a>, so the public can see Jupiter in all its swirly glory.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though this image processing is not for scientific purposes, Shen emphasizes that engaging with NASA\u2019s output actively involves the public in something, quite literally, out of this world. \u201cAlmost all of NASA\u2019s stuff are online somewhere,\u201d she tells me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Shen has taken an interest in NASA, NASA has taken an interest in her. In February 2020, Shen was selected as one of 30 creators to attend a NASA social, which involved a talk about current projects and an in-depth tour of JPL. \u201cApparently you get the clearance of a senator, which is interesting,\u201d Shen says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Illustration of the Perseverance Rover being lowered to the surface of Mars by the Skycrane (2021) by Sophie Shen, Procreate (iPad), Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NASA continues to inspire Shen as she creates illustrations for her own portfolio as well as commissioned pieces. For her illustration of the Perseverance rover landing on Mars, Shen used 3D models and slow-motion animations of the craft to get its details correct. She also consults NASA\u2019s Eyes<\/a>, digital visualization applications that display planets and spacecrafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another illustration was for Ben Greaves, an engineer on a simulated Mars exploration mission in Hawaii. He was conducting research on growing plants for food in outer space and asked Shen to provide a visual for the research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend of Shen\u2019s, an engineer at the Deep Space Network, asked Shen to imagine the future of the organization, where they have a lunar base. Shen illustrated this projected extraterrestrial workspace, which she envisions on the dark side of the moon, where there is less interference for satellite dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/a>
Illustration for scientist Ben Greaves for his presentation about growing plants for food in space (2021) by Sophie Shen, Procreate (iPad), Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Five<\/a>
Illustration for Deep Space Network Engineer Sirina Nabhan depicting a possible future of a Deep Space Network on the dark side of the moon (2020) by Sophie Shen, Procreate (iPad), Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shen\u2019s work also played a role at the Analog Astronaut Training Center in Krakow, Poland. Crew members taking part in mission simulations wore patches that Shen designed. Some of Shen\u2019s patches were also attached to a balloon that the crew launched into the stratosphere. She hopes that one day her designs will make it all the way into interplanetary space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also hopes to continue to communicate exciting and perhaps overlooked aspects of space exploration. We discuss how, especially of late, space exploration has been touted as the rich man\u2019s lark rather than a complex scientific discipline. Shen stresses that space exploration goes beyond the \u201ccool\u201d factor of human spaceflight. \u201cThis isn’t just sending something out just because we think it’s fun,\u201d she tells me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
The crew at the Analog Astronaut Training Center in Krakow, Poland wears mission patches for the Lunar and Mars BRIGHT (Bromatology and Light) missions (2020). Photo courtesy of the Analog Astronaut Training Center. Patches designed by Sophie Shen using Adobe Illustrator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
Mission patch for the STRATOS stratospheric balloon missions at the Analog Astronaut Training Center in Krakow, Poland (2020). Photo taken by the balloon during its trip to the stratosphere. Photo courtesy of the Analog Astronaut Training Center. Patch designed by Sophie Shen using Adobe Illustrator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Shen, space exploration offers us the chance to answer questions about the origins of the universe and, consequently, ourselves. She wants to celebrate these feats of science and engineering and use her art to \u201chelp make that information more accessible and less like only scientists can understand it or only\u2026space nerd people can understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, importantly, Shen wants to tell the stories of the humans hard at work behind all of it. \u201cI guess I thought, the work that they’re doing is meaningful. And I also want to make meaningful work,\u201d Shen tells me. \u201cSo, I thought it would be cool to reflect that and also honour the people that are doing that really important science by making this art and being like, you’re awesome! I know people aren’t really thinking about you, but I’m thinking about you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about Sofie Shen on her website<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*
All images courtesy of the artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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