2004 NEWS RELEASES



NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration



John C. Stennis Space Center

(228) 688-3341 April 8, 2004 Paul Foerman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000 JTE-04-029   

NASA News Chief
(228) 688-3341



RENOWNED MOSAIC MURALIST CREATES ASTRONAUT MEMORIAL AT NASA STENNIS 
SPACE CENTER



HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. &ndash; A luminescent Earth, Moon and Space 
Shuttle begin to take shape against a swirling star field of deep 
blue, as artist Elizabeth Veglia carefully selects the next colored 
tile fragment.



StenniSphere, the visitor center at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) 
near Bay St. Louis, Miss., commissioned Veglia, a renowned mosaic 
tile artist from Hancock County to design and create a memorial mural 
in honor of America's fallen astronauts. When completed, the mural 
will be permanently displayed at StenniSphere.



"I am completely honored to be chosen to memorialize Columbia, Apollo 
1 and Challenger," Veglia said. "It's such a wonderful thing that the 
astronauts put themselves out there, literally, for all the rest of 
us. They've given their lives for exploration."



Although Veglia is no stranger to memorial works (she created a 
Hurricane Camille memorial in Biloxi, Miss.), outer space is a new 
frontier for the artist.



"I've been reading books about space and the Shuttle," she said, "so I 
can have something to work by, and figure out how space works." For 
example, used the tiles' shape and placement to subtly show the 
gravitational relationship between the Earth and the Moon.



Veglia's creation comes at a time when NASA -- and the rest of America 
-- reflects on its space heroes. As Feb. 1, the first anniversary of 
the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy approached, NASA Administrator 
Sean O'Keefe declared Jan. 29 as Remembrance Day for Columbia and the 
crews of Apollo 1 (Jan. 27, 1967) and Challenger (Jan. 28, 1986).



To mark the anniversaries, SSC employees and the public took part in 
the process by placing tiles on the mural under the direction of the 
artist.



"We felt it was important to not only create a permanent memorial to 
America's fallen astronauts, but also to allow our employees, 
visitors and school children to become part of the process as they 
remember Columbia and the other lost crews," said Linda Theobald, 
NASA public affairs officer at SSC, who developed the idea for the 
mosaic.



On Remembrance Day, SSC Director Thomas Q. Donaldson V, RDML USN 
(Ret.) honored the work by laying the first tile.



"I can't think of a better way to personally take part in 
memorializing these American heroes," Donaldson said.



Veglia, who has directed similar large-scale art projects for 25 
years, is known for allowing public participation in her mural 
projects, working with school groups and communities alike to teach 
them the mosaic art form. Some of her most noted works include the 
hurricane memorial in Biloxi, Miss., and a hotel mural in a 
Barcelona, Spain.



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News releases provided by NASA&rsquo;s Stennis Space Center are 
available at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ssc/news/newsreleases/2004. 
For more information, call the NASA Public Affairs Office at Stennis 
at 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana only, or (228) 
688-3341.

	
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