— The future of lunar exploration never looked more colorful ... or so square.

"The Next Giant Leap," a pair of mostly moon-themed fabric quilts, debuted this week at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. "A Tapestry of Collaboration" is a collection of cloth blocks from crafters in the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, while "New Horizon" was sewn together from 62 student submissions.

Former NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, who was the first person to quilt while in space in 2013, launched the Lunar Quilt Block Challenge that led to both blankets' creation. She also added original works of her own to each.

"I'm really excited this came together," said Nyberg in a call with collectSPACE.

The two lunar quilts are presented side by side in the Hall of States as part of the Kennedy Center's "Earth to Space: Arts Breaking the Sky" festival. Now underway, the exhibition is included in a full slate of talks, dance and music performances that examine how "the arts can stimulate fresh thinking" about space exploration and the challenges that confront us on Earth.

"Both quilts came out so beautiful," said Alicia Adams, co-curator of the Earth to Space festival and vice president for international programming at the Kennedy Center. "We are so glad they were included."

Among the individual squares that form the quilts are depictions of bootprints in the lunar soil; silhouettes of the Greek goddess Artemis, the sister of Apollo and namesake of NASA's current program to return astronauts to the moon; and representations of Earth, as where we come from, and Mars, as where we are ultimately headed.

"I wanted to make a rocket launching off Earth because when I saw the Artemis I launch, it was really beautiful," wrote Annalise Grasmuck of California, one of the students who contributed to "The Next Giant Leap" quilt, in the description submitted with her square. "My grandma helped me make my quilt block. Which makes it more special because she watched Michael Culling [sic; Collins], Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong make the first successful moon landing when she was my age. I am excited to watch new astronauts land on the moon again."

Dana Altman, whose contribution represents Indiana in the "Collaboration" quilt, was inspired by her daughter's cat, which she depicts wearing a bubble helmet.

"Ghost, our fearless and beloved cat, symbolizes the spirit of exploration. Cats are natural adventurers, inquisitive and independent, just like the astronauts who will venture into space to explore the lunar surface and beyond," wrote Altman about her submission. "Ghost's ability to fearlessly explore his environment mirrors the human spirit of discovery. His quiet yet powerful presence reminds us that exploration isn't just about bold steps but also the quiet curiosity and determination that drive us forward."

Nyberg's instructions to all who entered the challenge was to create a design that represented what space exploration and returning to the moon meant to them. Once all of the submissions were received, the judges (including Nyberg; Bonnie Schrock, executive director of the National Quilt Museum in Kentucky; and Donna Shafer, associate director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston) assigned scores to each to determine which squares would make it into he final quilts.

"Everybody had their own little take on it and so it was really hard to pick the winners," said Nyberg. "There were in total some 400 submissions, including 70 or so from students or school teams."

For her own part, Nyberg contributed an appliqué art of the moon and Earth, which forms the lower right corner of the students' quilt and then, in a similar style to her moon pattern, created the border surrounding "A Tapestry of Collaboration."

"I tried to design both of my submissions so they match each other," Nyberg said.

Her border for the second quilt included inspirational phrases related to the pursuit of exploration, such as "Dare mighty things," "From imagination to reality" and "Together, we achieve greatness." That last one in particular echoes the Kennedy Center's goal to bring people together through the presentation of art.

"A quilt is made up of a lot of small pieces," said Nyberg. "You can look close up to see each block and each is a piece of art on its own. Then you can step back and look at what it becomes when all of those pieces come together. It is a very beautiful thing. I think that collaboration on all levels, and especially internationally, is extremely important."

"The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilts," as well as Karen Nyberg's separate mosaics celebrating women in space history, are at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. during the Earth to Space festival through April 13, 2025.