In 2021, Irish photographic artist Rhiannon Adam was selected to join the dearMoon mission, an ambitious space art residency organized by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. The project planned to send eight artists on a week-long trip aboard a SpaceX Starship to orbit the Moon, marking a historic journey that would have made Adam the first openly queer woman to travel beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.
After years of preparation, Adam was informed in 2024 that she would no longer be part of the mission, a development that profoundly affected her. Rather than experiencing the physical challenges of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, Adam faced a personal “re-entry”—the emotional and psychological struggle of returning to everyday life following the loss of an extraordinary opportunity.
This experience became the foundation of her new multidisciplinary project titled *Rhi-Entry*, currently exhibited at Dublin’s International Centre for the Image. The work pays homage to a famous NASA image of Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, who captured a photograph of Earth upon returning from lunar orbit. Notably, Anders once mused whether the space agency “should have sent poets” on the mission instead of solely scientists and engineers.
Adam’s recreation of this iconic image replaces the American flag with Irish and Pride flags, emphasizing both her national identity and queer representation in the realm of space exploration. The diptych format of the project highlights the stark contrast between the envisioned journey and the reality that unfolded, serving as a poignant reflection on missed opportunities and the intersection of art, identity, and space.
The dearMoon mission has garnered widespread attention for its blend of private spaceflight and artistic ambition, aiming to broaden public engagement with space through the perspectives of creative professionals. While the lineup initially inspired hope for expanded diversity and inclusion beyond Earth’s atmosphere, changes to the roster have underscored the challenges involved in such pioneering ventures.
Through *Rhi-Entry*, Adam invites viewers to contemplate the cultural significance of space travel and the voices that contribute to its narrative—not only astronauts but also artists who interpret human experience through new and imaginative lenses.