This is going to be a short post about the connection between two of my great loves: flight (space flight, that is) and art, and about a discovery we are exposed to in Houston, where my mates and I are training for the launch: Houston is proud of NASA, the world’s largest manned space flight center, and the inspiration they derive from this gains its expression in gigantic murals.

Let me first say that plastic art occupies a significant part of the Rakia mission. You can read about it in the post here on the website - “...The Art Mission - Rakia seeks to create new, groundbreaking forms, actions and thoughts on the substance of humanity and this era...” The complete post

And therefore, as someone that is a member of the space community, it’s fun to encounter Houston’s pride in NASA, splashed on the city’s walls. We learn this day after day as we tour, walk around town or go shopping. It’s simply everywhere. Houston is a fascinating city of street art with the space-themed works heading the bill, big-time.

Lately someone said he counted 90 giant walls emblazoned with magnificent murals, not including isolated installations, as you’ll see in the pictures we’ve collected - for example, astronaut portraits on utility boxes. Browsing through the pictures we’ve selected, you’ll be able to sense the forcefulness of it all. You can feel it when you’re standing opposite a building whose every wall documents, in giant images, seminal events which have taken place in the city, and space is first and foremost among them. And you can sense it when you pop out for a quick hamburger at a nearby restaurant, wrapped in a masterpiece, a breathtaking wall dedicated to NASA’s work and its astronauts, who venture past the world’s very own boundaries.

Houston's murals are so ubiquitous and appreciated that a guided tour among them is ranked one of the ten things you must experience when you come to Houston. Topping the list, of course, is the recommendation to visit NASA itself.

The official Houston has undergone a process in which the murals, originally the exclusive domain of anarchist artists, were inducted into the realm of true art - expressing the cultural versatility, expressing the dazzling diversity of its population. The municipality appointed one of the greatest muralists, known as Gonzo 247, to curate the Open Space Museum, which is the entire city of Houston has become.

This is the inspiration I am taking with me to the International Space Station. Through it I plan to stimulate art creation, the kind that will connect between Earth and the infinity of space. The two are inseparable. What motivates the artists is the same stuff that drives the spacecraft developers and everything else involved in living in space: boundless imagination, audacity and capability.

I hope you'll enjoy our little exhibition here,

Yours, Eytan