Buzz Aldrin's Footprint on the Surface of the Moon 1969

This print by NASA shows Buzz Aldrin's footprint on the surface of the moon. Can you imagine the feeling of being an artist-engineer-explorer at that moment? The grey lunar surface is so still, so quiet. It looks like a Japanese Zen garden. The dark grey footprint is sharp against the dusty ground. What does it mean to mark a place? To make your mark? The surface is almost like paint, like it would take a brushstroke. I wonder if the surface of the moon is soft like pigment, waiting to be moved around, waiting for action. There is something about this image that triggers a deep existential feeling about life and the universe. What does it mean to be an artist in the universe, not just on Earth? How will our work resonate across space and time? Art is a testament to the human spirit, as much as the great achievement of NASA.