Portraits from Space

A Duke alum describes her gravitational pull to the cosmos

Woman in a space helmet.

This is a summary of a story originally on Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

Duke alumna Cassandra Klos grew up in New Hampshire in what she described as a “Trekkie household.”  Today, as a photo correspondent for The New York Times, she documented the Artemis II Moon Mission. 

Klos’ experiences seemed to culminate toward the mission. Her interests as a child and teen led her to earning an undergraduate degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, where she became fascinated in science fiction, space and storytelling. Her mentor suggested going on to Duke University’s Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts. 

She fell in love with the program. “My studio could be outdoors, giving me the space to continue building bold worlds, plus the connection to the Center for Documentary Studies felt expansive,” said Klos. 

For her MFA thesis, By No Other Name, Klos documented individuals in small, Southern communities. The project fit a theme that echoed throughout her work: Who’s out there? 

That interest in remote landscapes have remained constant for Klos. Before arriving at Duke, Klos explored extreme terrain through analog Mars missions, where simulated expeditions placed crews in Mars-like environments on Earth. From 2015 to 2017, she served as artist-in-residence at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah and later commanded Crew 181, the first all-artist mission.

As for whether she’d entertain a trip to Mars, she’s pragmatic: she says nine months there and nine months back is a long time. 

To learn more about Klos’ journey, read the full story on Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.