Kate Genevieve took Of the Spheres to ‘Starship Hack Circus’, a one-way mission to planet KOI-3284.01. Tasked with briefing the crew on tips for communicating with alien intelligences she joined an esteemed team of space farers, including rocket scientist Dr David McKeown, the Head of UK’s SETI Research team, Dr Alan Penny, and astrobiologist Dr Lewis Dartnell. Music was provided from LJRich and innovative radio technology was provided by artist Sinead McDonald and Jeffrey Roe, and messages from a mysterious civilisation, interpreted by Chris Farnell.

Explanatory words from space commander Leila Johnstone:

“Researchers detected a signal from the direction of the exoplanet in the summer of this year. Since then, our project has progressed rapidly to completion despite widely publicised naysaying. We are delighted to silence those who doubted whether a couple of months would be enough time to plan a long-haul space mission with no funding or expertise. 

There are a number of excellent reasons we decided to respond immediately with an airborne arts centre rather than waiting to get trained astronauts and a conventional craft.

It is widely acknowledged that culture is our planet’s greatest export. It is what makes us unique as a species; it turns thoughts into feelings and back again. It connects communities like nothing else. It answers our great questions, and suggests new ones to ask. Also, the arts currently have no safety protocols for space travel so it all worked out really cheap.”

// Documentation here