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\u201cAfter Euclid\u2019s lifetime, it will just be floating in space. What if future beings found Euclid? How would they know anything about the humanity of the people?\u201d \u2013 Tom Kitching, lead scientist of Euclid\u2019s VIS instrument<\/a>.<\/p>\n The team behind ESA\u2019s Euclid<\/a> mission has come together to create something special \u2013 a personal and collective galaxy-shaped fingerprint painting that has been attached to the spacecraft ready to launch into space. The collaborative nature of the artwork reflects the collaborative nature of the Euclid project overall; in both cases, people have come together to build something unique.<\/p>\n The Fingertip Galaxy was created by visual artist Lisa Pettibone and Euclid instrument scientist Tom Kitching. Since the very first fingerprint was pressed down in 2019, over 250 scientists and engineers have contributed to the piece of art.<\/p>\n So why a galaxy? Euclid is a galaxy-imaging machine that will observe billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years to make a 3D map of the Universe. The mission\u2019s ultimate aim is to explore dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough Euclid has always been beautiful in concept and materials, it didn\u2019t really say anything about the people involved and humanity as a whole. We asked ourselves whether we could do something artistic that would speak to people,\u201d says Lisa.<\/p>\n Scientists and engineers involved in Euclid were invited to dip their fingertips in paint and make their mark on a large piece of paper.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted something authentic, not perfect, and not shaped too much,\u201d continues Lisa. \u201cThe result is a piece of art with a wonderful energy to it that captures all the energy of the people involved.\u201d<\/p>\n The artwork was photographed and engraved onto a plaque using lasers at Mullard Space Science Laboratory \u2013 the same lasers that are used to etch parts for satellites. The plaque was fixed to Euclid and revealed at a \u2018Goodbye Euclid\u2019 event on 1 July 2022, when Euclid left Thales Alenia Space in Turin to head to Cannes for final testing as a complete system.<\/p>\n Euclid\u2019s project scientist Ren\u00e9 Laureijs suggested adding text to the plaque to explain the thoughts behind it. Continuing the artistic nature of the project, poet Simon Barraclough wrote a dedicated poem<\/a>, from which a short extract was chosen to be etched on to the plaque in a typewriter font that swirls around the galaxy of fingerprints. This video ends with Simon reading part of Since his poem.<\/p>\n Lisa summarises the Fingertip Galaxy: \u201cIt is adding an element of humanity to a dark, vast space, where as far as we can see there is no other intelligent life.\u201d<\/p>\n Credit:<\/b><\/p>\n Filmmaker\/composer: Sam Charlesworth<\/a><\/p>\n Fingertip Galaxy creators: Tom Kitching and Lisa Pettibone<\/a><\/p>\n