Helen Schell

As one of the UK’s leading artists and space specialists, investigating human space exploration, I devise diverse projects, collaborating with universities, art organisations and space institutions. The Human Spaceship pioneering project presents artworks addressing issues and resolutions to long-term human space travel and settlement plans (ICE- Isolation & Confinement in Extreme Conditions), using geometric optical illusions to examine visual conditions in altered gravity (including Home Grown on the Moon & Mars). These relate to a research paper, The Human Spaceship – Off Balance, (published by JBIS 2024, & on ResearchGate), which examines many visual considerations during space travel, including SANS, long & short-sighted influences, limited colour environments, lighting conditions with psychological and physiological issues. This has been informed by visits to NASA JSC, LPI, Rice Space Institute (guest artist) and TRISH. From 2022 - 25, I’ve presented posters at NASA HRP Investigators' Workshops (international space conference) and in 2025, I was part of the UK/USA Bilateral Delegation organised by NASA JSC and UK Space Labs with the intention of creating a ‘Space Bridge’ and working partnerships in both arts & sciences.

I am researching this topic using creative investigations into colour perception, geometric formulas and natural patternmaking (flora, fauna & geology). Space is like a giant optical illusion compared with Earth, as there is no right way up, no aerial perspective, and the horizon line rapidly changes. These visual considerations during human space travel, include long-sighted and short-sighted issues, esophoria, heterophoria and accommodative powers (ICE human factors in limited colour environments and lighting conditions). These conditions can promote, hypercapnia, phosphenes, nyctophobia, adaptation/mesopic conditions, insomnia, and visual deceptions (pareidolia) which may cause visual misjudgements.