An Episcopal church located near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is paying tribute to Black Americans, women, and people from underrepresented groups who were pioneers in the US space exploration program.
EarthRise, a new public art display outside St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, takes its name from the famous 1968 photo of Earth captured by the Apollo 8 crew as they orbited the moon. The sculpture’s parabolic canopy is intended to resemble the edge of a wing, with about 50 people of color depicted in the structure’s stained-glass mosaic. Below, eight plaques form the sides of a miniature space capsule and feature photos and text honoring the real-life accomplishments of individuals “whose courage, innovation and perseverance helped expand humanity’s reach into space.”
The sculpture, funded largely through a Diocese of Texas fund for racial reconciliation projects, was dedicated in a ceremony August 16 attended by an estimated 400 people, including former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr., a longtime member of St. Thomas.
