Mockup of Node 2 or Harmony in the Erasmus high bay, ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk (The Netherlands)

In 2012, Edgar Martins was granted unparalleled access to The European Space Agency (ESA) and its partners’ programs, including the human spaceflight, lunar and Mars exploration programs. 

Over the past two years, he has travelled to 20 locations across the UK, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Kazakhstan and French Guiana to shoot in classified facilities such as test centres, robotics departments, space simulators, laboratories, launch sites and platforms, astronaut training centres and satellite assembly rooms.

The photographs were shot using long exposures (up to one hour) and a 10×8”, large format camera. Their clean composition and hyper-real sharpness contrast greatly with the veil of secrecy and enigma that usually shrouds space-related activity. Although rarely seen by the public, the technology and facilities in The Rehearsal of Space look strangely familiar, underlining popular culture’s influence in shaping our understanding of space exploration.