Deep Data Prototype _ 3 uses data from Exoplanet search platforms such as Kepler, KELT and CoRoT. Part of the installation mines data from these devices, looking for Earth analogs (rocky planets up to twice the size of Earth) and calculates their relative gravity. These gravity values are passed to the second stage which houses 3 computer controlled centrifuges. Within these centrifuges are cultures of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, one of the most important and versatile model organisms used in space based bio-research. C elegans flying into space for a microgravity experiment were the only living organisms to survive the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia mission STS-107 in 2003. The connection between C elegans, space and extremes of gravity is compelling.
The work presents a terrestrial astrobiological experiment, the nematode worms experiencing by proxy the parameters of gravitational reality on unexplored and possible future worlds. Our observation remains with the experiment, not the data of the experiment. While we can observe from time to time the behaviour of the organisms within the system, our attention is kept focussed on the narratives and concepts described by the scientific processes that the work frames. On the one hand we are reminded of the pressures and impacts that these microscopic organisms can withstand, and what that tells us about ourselves. On the other hand we are reminded how isolated we are on the Earth. That despite the increasing rate of discoveries of other planets, we only have the painful realisation that we may never know if other sentient creatures are there or not.
