Persevere Through Adversity
Alyssa Armstrong
Major: Mechanical Engineering (Minor: Studio Art)
Genre/Medium: Laser Cutting and Digital Art
About the work: The myth of Psyche, the history of the asteroid formation, and the stories of those behind the mission are intertwined into the piece “Persevere Through Adversity.” The art was digitally drawn in Procreate, separated into vector layers in Adobe Illustrator and then laser cut on MDF. The piece is inspired by Art Noveau artist Alphonse Mucha and stained glass art in cathedrals.
Each of the 16 panels tells a chapter in the overarching story of perseverance:
Panels 1-3 represent the connection between Psyche and Earth. The Psyche spacecraft will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket (Panel 1) and will orbit around 16-Psyche to gather data (Panel 3). Panel 2 features the Psyche logo at the apex of this artwork to represent the goals of this mission. We hope to discover not only information about Psyche but our own planet’s core. Psyche could hold the secrets we cannot unearth here but discovery can be achieved through perseverance and teamwork.
Panels 4-6 mirror the myth of Psyche with the asteroid’s creation.
In panel 4, 16-Psyche’s original form is violently impacted by another body. In a way, 16-Psyche was created through destruction. Psyche, not yet a goddess, holds the innermost core as the outer layers fly off into space. This represents Psyche at her lowest point in the myth when she loses her love, home, and freedom. Yet despite it all, she holds onto her core.
Panel 6 depicts matter reforming around the gravity of the innermost core. It is speculated that the core of 16-Psyche was still molten at impact and eventually reformed around a center of gravity. Here, Psyche stays focused on rebuilding herself and the asteroid, despite the trials she faces in the myth.
In Panel 5, Psyche holds up the result of perseverance through adversity. The asteroid and Psyche rebuild anew like a butterfly going through metamorphosis. At the core, Psyche is still Psyche, but she has transformed into a goddess after struggling through failure until eventual success.
Panels 7-16 are arranged in the shape of the Psyche spacecraft at the base of the piece
because the people depicted here are the foundation of the mission. The left-wing
shows engineers and scientists hard at work and the right-wing depicts the results that
these people work so hard to obtain. Thank you for your continual efforts in pushing the
limits of discovery. I can only imagine how many cups of coffee you all go through.
Panel 7: The Solar Electric Propulsion team
Panel 8: SEP powering the spacecraft deep into space
Panel 9: The Magnetometer team
Panel 10: Psyche possibly having a magnetic field, indicating it could be a planet core
Panel 11: Dr. Lindy Ekins-Tanton proposing the mission and leading it through tough
times
Panel 12: Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton’s achievements
Panel 13: The Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer Team
Panel 14: Information on Psyche’s elemental composition
Panel 15: The Multispectral Imager Team
Panel 16: Topographical map of Psyche based on geological data
Download Images (34 MB)
