Rockets, Astronauts, and Shrines: Representations of Spaceflight in Sacred Visual Art and Architecture

ISSN： 1477-7622

Source： Astropolitics, Vol.11, Iss.1-2, 2013-01, pp. : 79-99

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Abstract

This article examines the relationship between space exploration and sacred visual art, demonstrating that religious iconography and church architecture evolved by assimilating humankind's entry into the physical heavens as a living parable. This is proven by the presence of space exploration imagery within places of worship-from a church building inspired by a payload fairing to inclusion of space exploration milestones as historical landmarks, from astronauts being chosen as depictions of Christian virtues to lunar material being included in church windows, and from a space shuttle being painted on a Christian Orthodox church wall to a space hotel being represented on a Buddhist temple. The incidences of space themes in religious visual arts, as well as the fervor of reception, vary nonetheless among denominations.