Last June, a striking image of a pride flag made up of NASA imagery became the most-liked post on the new social media network Bluesky, a post it held for 2 months. I spoke with its creator Rachel Lense about how it was made, and what it’s reception means for inclusion in science.
This image was the most-shared on Bluesky from June to August 2024. Source
What is your role with NASA?
“My official title is Communications Lead for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. One of the aspects I love about my job is that I don’t have a “typical” day. Some days, I’m in meetings, listening to mission updates and scientists’ seminars, or collaborating with other comms folks on upcoming campaigns. Other days, I’m reading scientific papers, interviewing scientists about their work, and crafting articles or graphics. On some very special days, I’m fortunate enough to be out in the world, photographing rocket launches, helping with broadcasts, or engaging in public outreach.”
Tell me about the image you created and shared.
“The image I made and shared on social media include images from across NASA’s science divisions (Earth, Astrophysics, Planetary, and Heliophysics) to create a special space-themed version of the Progress Pride Flag designed by Daniel Quasar. My motivations were simply that: 1.) I love rainbows (colors make me ridiculously happy), 2.) I love space (and science in general), 3.) I love showing my own pride as part of the queer community as well as the pride I have working at a place where diversity of all kinds is not only embraced but celebrated. And I knew I wanted to include images from multiple science divisions at NASA to draw attention to the variety of work that’s done, too.”
How did you and your team make this image? Where did the source images come from?
“Open access to space research is one of the core foundations of NASA, and public engagement has been present and highly valued by the agency since its inception in 1958. (The cultural climate in which NASA was created is fascinating. Learn a little about the history here.) Imagery is a powerful tool we’ve successfully used over the decades to inspire generations to look beyond our everyday existence and learn more about our collective home in the universe.
As a NASA-inspired space-lover with a background in graphics, I’ve become familiar with a lot of our imagery over the years. I wanted to include some specific images in this Pride flag collage like Hubble’s staggering view into some of the earliest galaxies or the shot of Neptune Voyager 2 snagged as it flew past in 1989. But I found the rest of the images by searching for colors, learning about the different images from these searches, and deciding which ones would work well together and successfully communicate the breadth of science I wanted to display in the flag.
From there, I brought the selected images into Photoshop, created masks in the shapes of the Pride flag’s color bands, shifted them around a bit, and voila! — NASA Space Pride!
If folks want to learn more about each image used (and download a high-resolution version of the flag!), they can check out the Scientific Visualization Studio page here:”
The image quickly became the most-shared image in the history of BlueSky, so clearly it resonates with people. How did you expect it to be received on social media? How did it feel to have it be the most-shared image in the history of a whole social media platform?
“The main reason I shared the image on Bluesky was because I knew the community enjoys cool science and is queer affirming. And since NASA doesn’t have an official presence there, I decided to post it from my personal account on my own time. But I was certainly not prepared for the kind of attention it garnered.
As I mentioned to you when it was happening, David, I had to turn off notifications from all my social media apps because my phone was buzzing nonstop. I went through a period of intense anxiety (some people sent me threatening messages in different apps), but on the whole, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive.
One person shared photos of their home office with the space Pride flag printed on canvas right next to all their Hubble and James Webb prints. Another person used the image on a banner for their autistic inclusion group in the London Pride Parade. Someone from Brisbane said the city council is using it in dome shows and other public presentations. Daniel Quasar, the Progress Pride flag designer, even contacted me to tell me how much they loved it!
I think the message people all over the world are resonating with is this: Even the universe, in its terrible power and expansive beauty, is a spectrum of existence. We belong here. Everyone belongs here. After all, we’re made of star stuff, aren’t we?”
How can other people view/search NASA images?
“Gosh, I don’t think anyone knows how many images we have. NASA has flown hundreds of missions during its 65+ years of existence. Hubble alone has made over 1.6 million observations since it launched in April 1990. And there are other telescopes we work with that gather terabytes of information on a regular basis.
I will say, though, that the intersection of space data and data transport is fascinating. (It’s one of the big development focuses for AI and machine learning right now.) Recently, NASA tested some new technology using lasers to transfer pet photos and videos to spacecraft. (An ultra-high-definition video of Taters the cat was the first to be beamed across the solar system via laser last December. This made many internet denizens quite happy.)
But if you’re looking for casual NASA image perusing, I would recommend the following sites:
Main media library: https://images.nasa.gov/
Scientific Visualization Studio: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Earth Observatory: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Astronomy Picture of the Day*: https://apod.nasa.gov/
Planetary Photojournal: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/
Faces of NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/faces-of-nasa/
International Space Station Photography: https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/
Hubble Space Telescope: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/hubble-images/
James Webb Space Telescope: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/
There are also many NASA FLICKR accounts.
Also, it is important to note that while most NASA imagery is in the public domain, we partner with many organizations, institutions, and individuals. IT IS UP TO YOU, THE VIEWER, TO UNDERSTAND THE COPYRIGHT INFORMATION AND/OR IMAGE USE GUIDELINES SURROUNDING AN IMAGE FOR FURTHER USE. Learn more about NASA’s media usage guidelines (and a more complete list of media resources) here.”
Is there anything else you’d like to say about this?
“Mostly, I want to say thank you.
Never in my life did I imagine something I created would touch literally millions of lives. It’s been heartening to see people respond to this image with such warmth, enthusiasm, and generosity. And even though it’s just a small thing — a colorful space image — I’m grateful it’s brought joy to so many.”