Remote sensing can now determine the materiality of terrestrial geologies and extraterrestrial atmospheres. In April 2018 NASA launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), whose mission was to find earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone of 200,000 candidate stars. Following the identification of an exoplanet, spectroscopic measurements can be made to ascertain their atmospheric conditions. Meanwhile, spectral geologist Arjan Dijkstra is imaging synthetic rare earth minerals to determine their spectral signature in the hope of contributing to our ability to resource energy transition.

Connecting artistic research into the applications of multispectral remote sensing across a series of disciplines and fields, this video considers the role of rare earth metals in our energetic futures and astronomical explorations, questioning the relative scarcities in these two spectral surveying techniques. Rare earth is famously a misnomer: these elements are not rare. The video’s title eta-Earth is the astronomical shorthand for the fraction of sun-like stars with Earth-size planets in their habitable zones, a number which to date remains unknown. We have no idea how rare Earth is.