Project Distant Light
A photographic mission in development. A small spacecraft, a lunar flyby and a different view of home.
The idea.
Design the mission around the photograph.
Most spacecraft carry cameras to serve science or engineering. Project Distant Light reverses that. The photographs come first, and they shape the rest of the mission.
The plan is a small autonomous spacecraft that travels towards the Moon as a rideshare payload on a commercial launch. After separation it photographs Earth as it recedes. Then it turns to the Moon, flies close past it and keeps going.
It's a privately led British mission. It brings together spacecraft engineering, carefully bounded onboard AI and a filmmaker's eye.
The mission.
Four stages, as currently planned.
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Leaving Earth
Photograph Earth at increasing distances after separation. Send back thumbnails first, then selected full-resolution images.
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Turning to the Moon
Reorient without waiting for instructions from the ground. Find the Moon and track it on approach.
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The flyby
Capture a programmed sequence of wide-angle and close lunar images. Attempt one deliberately designed photograph of Earth above the edge of the Moon.
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Beyond the Moon
Keep photographing Earth and the Moon for as long as power and communications allow. The spacecraft could also carry a small plaque, a human message that stays aboard after the mission ends.
The photograph first.
Mission design as cinematography.
The defining image of the first mission would be Earth close to or above the edge of the Moon. It is treated as a design requirement rather than a lucky shot.
The composition is made digitally first. The framing sets the viewing geometry. The geometry sets the trajectory. The trajectory sets where the spacecraft must point and when.
Where it stands.
At the beginning.
Project Distant Light is at the concept stage. I'm shaping the mission, testing what is possible and looking for the people who can help make it real.
The immediate goal is a credible mission package. It needs to be coherent enough for engineers and launch providers to evaluate. Partners need to be able to see what they would be part of.
My role is founder. I'm defining the mission and its story, and building the team of engineers and specialists it needs.
Be part of the journey.
Or simply follow along.
I'd like to hear from engineers and researchers. Image-makers and potential partners too. The mission site has a contact form that comes straight to me.