FSU student creates space-inspired artwork as NASA intern

A Florida State University student is one of 16 talented undergraduate artists from across the nation selected for NASA’s Psyche Inspired program.  

Julia Stephens, a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art and a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing, has produced a series of artworks relating to a current NASA mission as part of this prestigious internship.

Established in 2017, Psyche Inspired is a program that brings undergraduate students from any discipline or major together to share the excitement and innovation of NASA’s mission to visit, map and collect data on Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid roughly the same size as the state of Florida. Stephens and her fellow interns use their artistic skills to showcase scientific and engineering content with the public in creative new ways.

According to the agency’s mission overview, exploring the asteroid could help provide valuable information about the history of our solar system and even Earth’s own core. A van-sized probe launched as part of the mission in 2023 is currently en route to enter Psyche’s orbit in August 2029.

Stephens brings a lifelong interest in space and passion for science to her work as an artist and writer. As a Psyche Inspired intern, she is helping NASA tell the mission’s story and communicate complex ideas to the public.

 “I think connecting this research into artistic practices is very important, and it’s something that I want to keep doing within my personal art practice,” she said. “Being a part of something greater than myself — making art with other people that contributes to a greater whole — is one of the best parts of Psyche.”