Photographer picked to be Britain's first Moon tourist is an anti-fracker and ... trends now
A British photographer who is being flown to the Moon on a rocket launch booster that burns at two million times the rate of an average car, is an anti-fracker and fossil fuel critic.
Rhiannon Adam, 37, originally from Ireland and based in Hackney, was one of eight artists selected by Japanese billionaire Yasaku Maezawa to join an ambitious civilian flyby around the moon on a SpaceX Starship next year.
The photographer, who has fiercely criticised the overuse of fossil fuels in the past justified her trip to out of space claiming the 'positives outweigh the negatives'.
In 2018, Adam fiercely told The British Journal of Photography that societies 'should be moving away from a reliance on fossil fuels investing in (fracking) that will potentially cause more environmental damage'.
Photographer Rhiannon Adam (pictured), 37, from Ireland and based in Hackney, is one of eight being flown around the moon by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. The photographer is an anti-fracker and previously criticised overreliance on fossil fuels
She said: 'Right now I am sitting in London during one of the hottest summers on record: if there has ever been a time when climate change seems more apparent, it is now.'
Adam will be the only woman in the team of eight artists travelling around the moon on SpaceX next year and will become the first female member of the LGBTQ community to go to space.
When questioned why she had chosen to go on the trip, particularly when it came to the impact on the environment, she said it would help her 'reflect on some of these issues in a deeper way'.
The booster launching the rocket can burn fuel a rate two million time faster than the average family car.
She told The Telegraph: 'Naturally, I’ve thought about these things, but I think we also have to remember that space has a long legacy of actually founding research with climate change.
Adam justified her trip to out of space claiming the 'positives outweigh the negatives', adding that the exhibition will create a 'very powerful perspective'
'It is this completely out-of-this-world experience, no pun intended, and actually being able to create work in space allows us to reflect on some of these issues in a deeper way, by being able to gaze back at the Earth and see it in its entirety.'
Adams went on to say the trip would help 'amplify voices' by creating a 'a very powerful perspective'.
She added: 'So, of course, I’ve thought about it, but I actually think the positives outweigh the negatives on this.'
The civilian crew for the 'dearMoon' tourist flight is set to take off next year, where they will stay aboard SpaceX for seven days, without landing, before returning to Earth.
Adam will be joined by South Korean K-Pop star T.O.P., US Grammy nominated music producer Steve Aoki and Indian TV actor Dev Joshi.
SpaceX is planning to carry humans using a two-stage spacecraft composed of Starship (the passenger-carrying section) and the Super Heavy rocket booster
In case any of the eight have to drop out, US Olympic snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu have also been chosen as backups.
Speaking following her selection this week, the photographer said: 'Every day I pinch myself – it seems like an impossible dream coming true. I aim to create work that does justice to this transformative experience.
