Psyche Mission Orbit D Notebook is the last in the series. The cover is a faux stained glass made of acrylic, and constructed with solder. The pattern represents elemental maps that assign an element a color and map it across the surface to see the element distribution. LED’s light up from behind giving a gemlike effect for the final touch.
Psyche Mission Orbit D Notebook is the last in the series. The cover is a faux stained glass made of acrylic, and constructed with solder. The pattern represents elemental maps that assign an element a color and map it across the surface to see the element distribution. LED’s light up from behind giving a gemlike effect for the final touch.
Psyche Mission Orbit D Notebook is the last in the series. The cover is a faux stained glass made of acrylic, and constructed with solder. The pattern represents elemental maps that assign an element a color and map it across the surface to see the element distribution. LED’s light up from behind giving a gemlike effect for the final touch.

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Psyche Mission Orbit D Notebook

JESSICA GURNEY

April 25th, 2025

Major: Astronomy

Genre/Medium: BookBinding

About the work:

The final book in the series is the Psyche Mission Orbit D Notebook. Orbit D in the mission is to study the elemental composition of the asteroid. Maps of elemental composition typically assign colors to different elements, making the map of the asteroid or planet take on this rainbow look. I wanted to somehow show the different color assignments to elements. In my mind I came up with a stained glass look using acrylic, so it would be like the three different colors of acrylic represent the distribution of three different elements.

I designed the stained glass sections, laser cut the acrylic, and used acrylic paint to color the pieces. Painting acrylic was challenging. LEDs were inset in the cover to light up the map, but when I held the acrylic to the lights the paint brush strokes were easily seen. I ended up doing a few more paint layers with a more natural dabbing motion to get a spotted effect which could then be interpreted as rocks or gems on the surface. The pieces were attached together with copper tape and solder to really bring out the stained glass look. Once I was satisfied I inset the piece in the book with UV resin.

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Psyche Inspired is a program that brings undergraduate students from any discipline or major together to share the excitement, innovation, and scientific and engineering content of NASA’s Psyche mission with the public in new ways through artistic and creative works. This year’s Psyche Inspired cohort is known as the Iridium Class. These works are posted in the gallery and highlighted on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. View the full resolution images in the image gallery. There are many ways to get involved with NASA’s Psyche mission. Learn how you can be a part of the Psyche mission through our “Get Involved” pages at https://psyche.ssl.berkeley.edu/get-involved/ and https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/ways-to-participate/. To learn more about the overall Psyche mission, visit nasa.gov/psyche or jpl.nasa.gov/missions/psyche.

Date Added: 04-25-2025
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Jessica Gurney - Psyche Inspired

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