Space exploration is no longer a science fiction movie. Brave men and women have explored the limitless boundary of space. However, many space programs are often joint ventures of different nations to share resources and knowledge; which country should the astronauts represent once they leave our atmosphere?
There are many unofficial flags that represents the Earth. Most widely recognized is the United Nations Flag, followed by John McConnell’s design with NASA’s photo of the Earth from space; used widely for Earth Day (environmental awareness day).
Oskar Pernefeldt, a Swedish student at Beckmans college of Design in Stockholm, came up with the solution to design a flag of the Earth. Its rather a scientific design than creative: the background color is blue to represents the water in which life is dependent on, but it is a shade of blue that is able to stand out from the white of the astronaut’s suit and the black of the space. Pernefeldt explains, “Centered in the flag, seven rings form a flower – a symbol of the life on Earth. The rings are linked to each other, which represents how everything on our planet, directly or indirectly, are linked.”
The design is only a proposal, but there’s little doubt that Pernefeldt’s flag will be a top contender to be recognized as “The International Flag of Planet Earth”. Pernefeldt proposed this design for his graduation project in hopes to be used while representing Earth on space exploration missions. Also, he hopes to remind people that this planet is shared, regardless of its borders, and we should take care of each other and the planet we live on.
However, a crucial mistake Pernefeldt made was to explain where his design originated from. The seven rings that form a flower is dubbed “The Seed of Life”. It is used many religions worldwide, and it hold similar meaning in which Pernefeldt also portrays.
Find out more about Oskar Pernefeldt’s proposal for The International Flag of Planet Earth here (http://www.flagofplanetearth.com)