Österreichisches Weltraum Forum Austrian Space Forum
Two Worlds. One Crystal.
During the World Space Week 2013 we invited the public around the world to send us their rock samples. In Austria we cominbed all samples incl. a sample from Antartica and the deep see together with a Mars meteorite. Swarovski then transformed then into the TiuTerra Crystal.
Hand-over ceremony of TiuTerra Crystal to the Austrian Space Forum & World Space Week. from left: Remco Timmermans (World Space Week), Monika Fischer (OeWF), Gernot Grömer (OeWF), Christian Nagele (Swarovski) (c) OeWF (Klaus Kornfeld)
The new Tiuterra Crystals combine Mars (“Tiu”) and Earth (“Terra”) into a single gemstone. The limited edition crystals, designed and produced by world renowned Austrian crystal maker Swarovski, were presented at Yuri’s Night in Vienna on 12th April 2014. Only 100 numbered pieces have been produced, one of which will be taken to the International Space Station by Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. The remaining crystals will be distributed among international space organizations and key space stakeholders all over the world.
The crystals form the closing piece of the “Earth Master Sample” project that was launched during World Space Week in October 2013. People from all over the world sent in rock samples typical for their region. Samples were sent from China to Mexico and from Canada to New Zealand. There were even rock samples from the deep ocean floor and from Antarctica. These samples were analysed by Austrian Space Forum planetary geologists in Innsbruck, Austria and then taken to Swarovski, where they were combined with a Martian meteorite to form the Tiuterra Crystals.
The crystal has a lenght of ca. 8 cm and includes inside the melted rock samples from 2 worlds. Only 100 pieces were produced. (c) OeWF (Kerstin Zimmermann)
“Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth” was the theme of the 2013 edition of UN-declared World Space Week. It was the largest World Space Week celebration ever, with over 1,400 events organized in 80 countries. These event showcase how Mars research and technology benefits and inspires society on Earth. This inspiration will live on in the Tiuterra Crystals, as they are distributed over the world. You can follow the crystals by following World Space Week and the Austrian Space Forum on social media. Some of the crystals will go on public display, telling the story of the two planets that define human space exploration in the 21st century.
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