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Rhiannon Adam’s photograph captures SpaceX rocket test damage in Texas
Photographer Rhiannon Adam was selected in 2021 to join seven other civilians on dearMoon, a planned SpaceX flight around the Moon funded by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Watching a SpaceX test rocket break apart in 2023 made the risks of space travel feel immediate, and the project’s eventual cancellation in 2024 brought an abrupt end to an ambition that had become central to her life and career.
Adam’s photograph shows a dust cloud rising from the launchpad after the rocket’s engines damaged the concrete and tower during liftoff from Boca Chica, Texas. Debris reached nearby homes, and the launch site closed for four months for clean-up and reconstruction. The image now features in Adam’s exhibition project, which uses her experience to reflect on power, identity and who gets to go to space.
In short
- Adam was chosen for a planned civilian flight around the Moon.
- A 2023 test rocket broke apart four minutes after launch.
- The dearMoon project was cancelled in 2024.
Explained simply
SpaceX is a US company that builds and launches rockets, including from a site at Boca Chica in Texas. Rocket engines produce intense heat and force, which can damage launch structures and send debris into the surrounding area.
Rhiannon Adam is a photographer who was chosen to join dearMoon, a planned flight around the Moon for civilians. The project was funded by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who invited seven other people to take part with her.
The planned flight drew attention to who might travel to space and who has the resources to make such journeys possible. Adam’s work uses her experience of the project to explore questions of power and identity.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “The space rocket I could have been aboard explodes: Rhiannon Adam’s best photograph”.