The only piece of artwork on the moon is a three-inch tall aluminum figure representing an astronaut. This work was created by Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck as a dedication to the astronauts and cosmonauts who died from the space exploration field. The sculpture was placed on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 15 in 1971.
It’s nice how the aluminum figure is laying down. It certainly calls to mind the title of the work, “Fallen Astronaut.” It’s also fitting that the figure is positioned in a pile of the moon that looks like has been altered by man.
But why does the figure have no arms? The poor alien who comes across this artwork will think, “These astronauts are a being with head, body, and two legs… no arms. They shall be easy to conquer.”
Looming over this sculpture is a plaque with the names of the fallen space explorers. The plaque essentially functions as a caption for the artwork, because it explains what the artwork is about. It’s odd that the caption is so much larger than the sculpture. But of course NASA had Van Hoeydonck make it so big, because they know how aliens have a hard time reading small type.
What an alien will think of this artwork:
Because the plaque is designed in an invitiation style, an alien will have several interpretations of this artwork.
1) Marriage invite:
The names on the list are 14 people who are all getting married to each other. Silver is the theme color of the wedding as evidenced by the silver figure next to the invitation card.
2) Menu:
This is a list of 14 courses in a meal of humans that was provided at some point on the moon. The arms are the tastiest part of the meal, as demonstrated by the missing arms on the sculpture.
3) Pool party invite:
These 14 people are throwing a pool party on the dark side of the moon. Since the figure is wearing no clothes, this will be a nude pool party.
What else would an alien think upon encountering this artwork?
It looks as though the figure is laying face-down; I would assume that it is laying on top of it’s arms.
oh that’s an interesting observation, Kelly! It does look like it’s laying down, I can kinda see some feet on the figure that looks like they are pointing downward. That makes me kinda sad that this figure is permanently laying down on its face. It can never look up at the sky. (Well, of course the object can’t see, nor is there a sky on the moon).
maybe the aliens don’t know that the words on the sign are human names. Maybe they think it’s a treasure map of some sort and the human figure is a key that will unlock the ultimate treasure that every alien seeks. Why else would the aliens be traveling through the universe? They are seeking treasures beyond their wildest alien dreams. and this white form is the key that will unlock those dreams.
What’s strange is that the piece had arms and was standing when it was installed in ’71 Also, the figure was dressed in a spacesuit and was holding an American flag, too. Obviously somebody up there has been messing with it! (I suspect my little brother; he used to do similar things to my Barbie dolls.)
There is a replica of the “Fallen Astronaut” at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. Sorry, it never had arms and it was never standing! Hello, “Fallen Astronaut”