Archive
Bring Back The Orbit Pavilion: A Sound Bath of the Cosmos
A Symphony of Satellites,
Visitors inside NASA’s Orbit Pavilion concept, eyes closed, immersed in a “sound bath” experience. Credit: AI-generated image under editorial commission by Akashma News, Sept. 13, 2025. Concept rendering of NASA Orbit Pavilion, The Huntington Library.
What if you could listen to the cosmos?
Not as equations on a screen, but as music surrounding your body. That was the vision behind NASA’s Orbit Pavilion, an immersive sound installation designed as a giant seashell and placed in the gardens of The Huntington Library.
Created in collaboration between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and artist Christopher Janney, the Pavilion invited visitors to step inside and let the universe sing around them.
Caption: The seashell-like design of NASA’s Orbit Pavilion at The Huntington Library. © Chuck Choi, courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech and The Huntington Library.
The Vision
The Orbit Pavilion was a sculptural dome with 28 speakers hidden in its metallic skin. Each speaker voiced the path of a NASA satellite in orbit—its movement across the heavens translated into swirling sounds, from oceanic waves to electronic tones.
Visitors could literally hear the satellites tracing their paths across the sky, bringing invisible space data into a profoundly human experience.
The Experience
For me and my longtime friend Rosa, the Pavilion became a ritual. We would enter the silvery shell, close our eyes, and let the layered tones envelop us.What began as an art installation turned into a kind of sound bath. After an hour inside, we always left feeling refreshed, lighter, and deeply connected. It was as if the rhythm of the universe had attuned our own bodies and reminded us of our place in the cosmos.
Inside view of NASA’s Orbit Pavilion – visitors enveloped by the sound-chamber and metallic shell structure. Credit: © Chuck Choi / ArchDaily, Jan. 15, 2016. Used with permission. Location: The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Why It Matters
The Orbit Pavilion was more than an installation—it was an invitation to feel space.
In an age when cosmic knowledge often exists only as numbers and graphs, this artwork transformed raw satellite data into sound, memory, and sensation. It blended art, science, and meditation into one seamless experience.
Bring It Back
Today, the Pavilion is no longer at The Huntington. But its absence is felt. Many of us who visited still carry its resonance.
Perhaps it is time to bring back the Orbit Pavilion—to let more people step inside the shell, close their eyes, and hear the Earth’s satellites sing.
If you believe art and science should inspire, share this story and join the call to bring the Orbit Pavilion back to The Huntington Library.
TheThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
United States
Phone: (626) 405-3501
Website: www.huntington.org
Akashma Online News 