Joanna and the Moon team brainstormed on ideas for bringing out collages and use of projections for our audience who were half the Std5 kids of Aditi school.

The furniture room at Srishti was chosen and darkened and an over head projector projected the google moon on a large circle resembling the moon on which kids created spectacular art.

The outcome was an interesting discussion veering towards if moon could accomodate life and transport us there what is it that we need .Most of the kids wouldnot leave behind their swimming pool and flat screen T.V

There was inquiry when kids were briefed about what the project was ..wanting to findout details of what the climate up there was,,is it very cold/ how long does it take to reach moon and if only the rich could go because it is very expensive.

ISRO, Indian Space Research Organisation, is planning to send a robot for its mission to moon. It is probably going to be made by students and profs of IIT-Kanpur (the Indian equivalent of MIT). The two-legged robot, fitted with sophisticated sensors and high-resolution cameras, is capable of recording information and images using laser beams. It can also detect the distance of a hindrance, enter a small crater, bring surface samples and return high resolution images to the lunar vehicle. It balances cost and sophistication; basic functionality for only $50,000.

The Man in the Moon

THERE was a blacksmith once who complained: "I am not well, and my work is too warm. I want to be a stone on the mountain. There it must be cool, for the wind blows and the trees give a shade." A wise man who had power over all things replied: "Go you, be a stone." And he was a stone, high up on the mountain-side. It happened that a stone-cutter came that way for a stone, and when he saw the one that had been the blacksmith, he knew that it was what he sought, and he began to cut it. The stone cried out: "This hurts! I no longer want to be a stone. A stone-cutter I want to be. That would be pleasant." The wise man, humoring him, said, "Be a cutter." Thus he became a stone-cutter, and as he went seeking suitable stone, he grew tired, and his feet were sore. He whimpered, " I no longer want to cut stone. I would be the sun; that would be pleasant." The wise man commanded, " Be the sun." And he was the sun. But the sun was warmer than the blacksmith, than a stone, than a stone-cutter, and he complained, "I do not like this. I would be the moon. It looks cool." The wise man spake yet again, "Be the moon." And he was the moon. "This is warmer than being the sun," murmured he, "for the light from the sun shines on me ever. I do not want to be the moon. I would be a smith again. That, verily, is the best life." But the wise man replied, " I am weary of your changing. You wanted to be the moon; the moon you are, and it you will remain."

And in yon high heaven lives he to this day.

Holi is a harvest celebration marking the end of spring. It is celebrated each year on the day after the full moon in early March all over India. This is one of the most colorful Indian festivals.

THE ASTRONOMER
I ONLY said, "When in the evening the round full moon gets entangled among the branches of that Kadam tree, couldn't somebody catch it?"

But dâdâ [elder brother] laughed at me and said, "Baby, you are the silliest child I have ever known. The moon is ever so far from us, how could anybody catch it?"

I said, "Dâdâ how foolish you are! When mother looks out of her window and smiles down at us playing, would you call her far away?"

Still said, "You are a stupid child! But, baby, where could you find a net big enough to catch the moon with?"

I said, "Surely you could catch it with your hands."

But dâdâ laughed and said, "You are the silliest child I have known. If it came nearer, you would see how big the moon is."

I said, "Dâdâ, what nonsense they teach at your school! When mother bends her face down to kiss us does her face look very big?"

But still dâdâ says, "You are a stupid child."

The Jataka Tales

Look up at the moon and what do you see? Chandras, god of the moon, carrying a hare. In Sanskrit the moon is known as Sasanka which translates “having the marks of a hare,” and Hindus tell a tale of their god Sakkria who took the hare in his arms to the moon. The Grimms offered a slightly different version of the tale, derived from Ceylon via a tale teller from France; in their version a hare guides Buddha through the wilderness. The mythological Chinese moon, Jutho, is a beautiful young woman with a double sphere behind her head and a rabbit at her feet, while the Mongolians see a hare in the moon’s shadows. During the Han dynasty in China, scholars asserted that a hare lived on the surface of the moon, and a later Taoist fable told the tale of this creature, calling it a gemmeous, creator of the elixir of life. The original, most scholars say, was Indian. Another tale tells of a cassia tree that grows in the moon, the sal tree, and this tree was one of the sacred Buddhist trees, especially visible in mid-autumn, like the tree on the moon.

notes with *g or *j are comments by gabe and joanna, respectively- unles otherwise indicated

==govind==
interactive film
captures process of chandraan
points in the narrative
users visualize themselves in space shuttle
we have to learn to do it
users have to learn how to control the mission
performs functions of the mission
game as a model
like flight simulator*g
could you decode language*j
person imagines themselves as satellite*j
banal image*j
could be same as person commanding satellite on ground*j
saying you get on spacecraft
use interactive installation
three different surfaces (inside shuttle, outside, mission command)
use bionic implants
like cave*g
problem is that it's stationary
what are the interactions?*g
user interface vs interactions*g
film=clicks to go to different parts of narrative
installation=body movements
how do they communicate with the satellite?*j
use sounds that are associated with the communications*j
he starts off as astronaut to bypass the learning that has to happen to get there
time-delays and visualizations and operation*j
talking to experts might elucidate relationships and technical mediation and operation and allow users to see interfaces they use*j
fascinating and badly designed interfaces*j

==sumona==
painting your future on the moon
if you knew what was there how could you build things
image of boy casting shadow on moon
glove on hand
information comes on it
hand as trigger for info
you go and find corresponding locations on moon
connecting locations on earth with locations on moon
e.g. highest point in school = highest point on moon
treasure hunt
booklet w/map, has info about moon, maybe come up with own interpretation
what would I like to take back from this space to the moon?
paint on surface or manipulate and add to moon
must get materials from moon
schools do in groups
location on earth could be park, city, school
would someone else on other part of the country be able to see
what happens if someone else gets there first?
moldable bean balls
people are given quantities
corresponds to material availability on moon
announce treasure hunt
find locations in neighborhood
zoom into your neighborhood
tourist locations could happen
take picture, describe commonality
get package called 'moon land' and information about land
danger pixels, critically connected
the way you tile google earth become tiles on moon
doing the work on earth as a way of imagining how it happens on the moon*j
becoming familiar with the terrain*j
you can join groups, share pixels, share objects, not share pixels
what you make people can rate and value so economy is formed
you can buy other things to add value
maybe we shouldn't think high-end*govind
something simple-magic 8-ball*govind
keeping in mind the past; space archeologist in aust*j
moon features and photographs of wrecks*j

==nandini==
related to sumona's
interactivity w/children
orb with 2 sides w/curtain separating
speech bubbles on orb
team collaborate to build colony
choose info to take
e.g. crater w/gravitational pull=build bungee jump
also based on ethics, aesthetics, etc
projection shows...
chandranyan updates info
element of surprise
trying to find a landing place...the next mission*j
make easy for children to access
what info would be useful*j
water, also based on creativity...if child goes to poles, finds frozen water, "let's make ice rink"
drawing collages on the orb
can people overlay images?*j
can remove and re-project
could be 3-d or 2-d with projection*j
can make collages or build things to 'stick there'
3-d glasses allow others to see previous images
like touch table*g
like the idea of allowing people to see prior interactions*j
good to see how people are thinking about how they are interacting with the moon*j

==aajwanthi=
telescope
allows people to look and things light up
able to look at something far in a much closer way
telescope w/info*j
telescope that connects what you are looking at with what's on the ground
so, public observatory*j
but you don;t need anyone to man, you can just pick from map and view

Interactive film :

A film that captures the entire process of the Chandrayaan, from the launching, detachment, breaking out of the atmosphere to the orbit around the moon.
Except that the user has to take decisions every time, assuming that the user is on the space ship. Each decision steers the narrative in a different way. Hence the user through his actions discovers the consequences and drawbacks when procedures are not met correctly. through the process he/she learns about the construction and working of the sattelite.
When one has mastered the process, timing and appropriate controls he goes into the next level of orbitting the moon in search of mineral deposits and conducting topographical mapping. in this stage the user learns about the moon, its terrain, composition etc.
Perhaps a game would be the better model to accomodate these kind of features but if it is accomplished through a film medium, the affect would be more satisfying and would enable more flexibility. of course the demerit of this model would be the enormous task of shooting many possibilities or directions the user will have to take.

Interactive installation :

The idea of using film can be employed to put the user in a space like environment in an interactive installation. Bionic implants can be used to get information of the users' movements. Here, as in the film, when one breaks out of the earth's atmosphere, one should be able to experience the biological changes that happen in a fraction of a second, zero gravity and the other physical changes. On experiencing the power of observing the moon and the earth from space, from an outsider's view, questions of ethics can be touched upon.
Of course such a setup will be very difficult to transport to different spaces and work on its own. The merit of this model is that the language will be the same for all classes and all people since only body movements are used for input and there is no specific narrative.

Q & A :

The functional characteristics of this proposal is that it is educational (construction & working of sattelites in an experiential learning model) and hopefully fun to use.
The social or postional takeaway for the user is the intellectual pleasure he/she will enjoy after an eye opening session, which otherwise would have been impossible or expensive to experience
Lunar positions, its effect on human behaviours, mystical significance of the moon in the indian context all lend to the inspirational and spiritual characteristics of the idea.
It will be solely for mental simulation and novelty why users would want to acquire new things according to this idea.
In both ideas the scripting should be crafted in such a way that although it does configure the user to choose between options he/she has the autonomy to explore and discover. each action in turn takes the user to a different place. even if the 'operation' fails the learning does not stop. that is the major merit of this scripting model.

The problem of applying appropriation and normalization in this context arises simply due to the subject we are dealing with. However the 'Little prince' reminds us that the impact can be achieved in a very subtle way. walkthroughs of lunar positions, its effect on behavioural patterns can be used to give a personal takeaway for the user.

check out this video of a moon walker, which I think was based on Theo Jansen's automated sculptures.

http://dharmangbugs.blogspot.com/2008/03/moon-walker-walking-stop-motion...