Aerocene

A sculpture, a movement, a community, an era for all

Dear Friends, Planet/s, Universes, Mountains, Waters, Clouds, Birds, Spores, Spiders,

We would like to invite you to participate in Aerocene’s live-life weather dependent launch near Paris, France, in April or later during the Spring.

For a more just world, Aerocene will on this occasion attempt 30 new world records for the most sustainable flight in human history, carrying the message “Water and Life are worth more than Lithium”*

In January 2020, this message, aligned with an ecosocial energy transition from and for the peoples of the South** , floated over the Salinas Grandes in Jujuy, Argentina carried by Aerocene Pacha. This historical Free Human Flight covered 667.85 metres and lasted 16 minutes, while inaugurating the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) category of Solar Ballooning.

The forthcoming flight will be attempted with a new, much larger sculpture of 7000m3 of air, more than double of Aerocene Pacha’s 3000m3, in order to carry the message and movement for ecosocial justice further, higher, and longer, free from fossil fuels!

Today, humanity’s dream of flight has become a nightmare. There are 1.3 million people in the air at any given time, releasing over 1 billion tons of CO2 annually, as the interests of capitalist systems continue to obscure an imaginary that shouldn’t be claimed by any bomb, missile, flag or billionaire. In addition to technological change, the decarbonization of the air and a just energy transition also demand significant behavioural change. This is -truly- not rocket science!!

The energy transition is having an unequal impact in the world, as the decarbonization of privileged people in the North is relying on a new phase of neo-colonial extractivism in the South, affecting human and non-human lives. In this context, Aerocene’s flight brings urgent messages from the global South to the global North, elevating only with the heat of the sun, carried by the currents of the wind and with no propellers, no combustion, no burning, no runways, no pipelines, no noise, no helium, no solar panels or lithium/batteries!

A form of flying for humans that used to be unthinkable is now possible. A metaphor of living, creating and relating otherwise with respect, care and dignity for the entangled and interconnected relations that grant life on Earth. In the context of the environmental crisis, the ongoing need to stop war-s, and the perpetuation of injustice, we will fly with Aerocene pilot Lea Zeberli, carrying messages of hope for peace now, as far as the sun and the winds will allow.

We hope you will join us! Our very best,

Aerocene
A sculpture, a movement, a community, an era for all.

* Written with the Communities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, Jujuy, Argentina

** Manifesto for an Ecosocial Energy Transition from the Peoples of the South https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfl_OW5eY_lZNABezGBhsbL3fy2xPOSpB0qwifkjnkA 0B6y1A/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

BRIEF

Date/Time/Location: Weather/Climate dependent – in April or later during the Spring.
The location follows the wind: if E-NE winds, Maintenon, if N-NW Coulommiers, if S-SW Montargis ou Sens, if W Chateaudun or Arthenay or Pithiviers
Messages carried by Aerocene: “Water & Life are worth more than Lithium” was written by the Indigenous Communities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, Jujuy, Argentina. “Fly free from fossil fuels” – “Stop War-s! Peace Now!”

Stream it: Sign up here for the live stream and to stay in touch with the Aerocene community. World Records: The records to be attempted cover the Female and General categories for balloon classes AT- 11 through AT-15 in distance, duration and altitude. This will be the second occasion in the history of aviation that invokes FAI’s Ballooning Category AT: “free balloons which obtain buoyancy as a result of heating air using solar and/or external radiation sources”. Aerocene Pilot: Lea Zeberli

EC-096 Aerocene Aerosolar vehicle: Developed by Aerocene with UltraMagic Balloons Moving images and sound will be part of Aerocene’s diverse living materials, which will be presented at:
Aerocene Festival at At Hangar Y, Meudon, France – 23 – 25 June 2023
Serpentine, London, England – June – September 2023
Produced by: Produced by the Aerocene Community and Foundation. Supported by the artistic creation funding program Mondes nouveaux. With the long term support of Eric and Caroline Freymond.

UPDATED INFORMATION ON THE AEROCENE WEBSITE, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND TWITTER.

SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES AND HASHTAGS

@aerocene
@mondes_nouveaux
#MondesNouveaux #Aerocene #freetheair #stopwars #peacenow #flyfreefromfossilfuels #waterandlifeareworthmorethanlithium

FAQs: Aerocene

Aerocene is an interdisciplinary community that brings together diverse artists, activists, geographers, philosophers, speculative scientists, balloonists, technologists, thinkers, and dreamers from around the world for collective performances towards eco-social justice. Its members seek to devise collaborative modes of ecological sensitivity increasing public awareness of global resource circulation, and reactivating a common imaginary towards an ethical collaboration with the environment and the atmosphere. Through a DIT (Do-It-Together) and open-source ethos, the community attempts to overcome abusive extractive practices, like oil, gas, and lithium mining among many others, that some humans have imposed on landscapes, ecosystems, communities, and other species. The group’s ever-evolving practice manifests in myriad ways, including the testing and circulation of aerosolar sculptures that become buoyant with nothing but the heat of the sun and infrared radiation from Earth’s surface—free from fossil fuels, batteries, lithium, solar panels, helium, and hydrogen. To build and float with an aerosolar sculpture is to engage participants in practices of thinking-through-making and collaborative action, triggering imagination and creativity, and spreading knowledge through a multidisciplinary approach that can extend into other fields of socio-environmental activism. Active in 126 cities, 43 countries and 6 continents, the Aerocene community has activated artistic environmental projects and floated over 8,000 minutes in the air, free from carbon, for climate justice. Find the Aerocene community’s Timeline and learn more on Aerocene.org

World Records Attempt:

The records to be attempted cover the Female and General categories for balloon classes AT- 11 through AT-15 in distance, duration and altitude. In the case of altitude, it will mean the first such flight ever to attempt a FAI recognized World Record.

This will be the second occasion in the history of aviation that invokes FAI’s Ballooning Category AT: “free balloons which obtain buoyancy as a result of heating air using solar and/or external radiation sources”.

In 2020, the flight of Aerocene Pacha inaugurated FAI’s AT Category in Salinas Grandes, Argentina, heralding the most sustainable flight in the history of aviation. These flights, their pilot, Leticia Marques, and the team of the international Aerocene Community, were awarded 32 World Records by FAI.

Three years later, the human flight in France will be the first time in history that solar ballooning World Records are attempted in Europe.

How does Aerocene fly and land without any fossil fuels, solar panels, lithium batteries or helium?

Hot air balloons fly due to temperature differences between the air inside the balloon and the cooler air on the outside. The hot air inside expands and becomes lighter than the exterior, causing the balloon to float upwards. In conventional hot air balloons the air inside the balloon is heated with a propane gas burner, and the flight normally lasts an hour at most, because propane

is heavy and it is impractical to carry more. With Aerocene, the volume of air inside is heated directly – and only – by the sun. The Aerocene sculpture rises thanks to its ability to contain a large volume of air, along with its ultra-thin, lightweight, black envelope, allowing maximised heat absorption. It descends back to earth slowly, once the interior air starts to cool down. The pilot can control the altitude by pulling a rope that will partially open a valve to release a controlled amount of air and in this way bring the Aerocene sculpture gently down to the ground. If the pilot wants to go up further, she can release weighted bags.

How long can Aerocene fly?

Aerocene is able to float for much longer than a balloon fuelled by propane, which due to the weight of the propane can normally only travel for an hour. Moving only with the heat of the sun – an unlimited source of lifting potential – Aerocene can theoretically float from dawn till dusk, approximately 8-15 hours, depending on the season, location and weather. This project will allow the Aerocene Community to understand more about this capacity. Use the Aerocene App or Float Predictor to learn more and test a potential day or day-night journey using only solar power.

Does Aerocene’s flight create any carbon emissions?

No. Aerocene during its flight creates no carbon emissions because it uses only the energy of the sun above us and the air we breathe. By comparison, an average-sized hot air balloon (2,200 m3) will use about 136 litres of liquid propane gas in a one hour flight. This is equivalent to 207 kgCO2e (at 1.522 kgCO2/l) or the equivalent carbon emissions of driving an average car 1,250 km. Source: Julie’s Bicycle, London.

How far, high, and long can Aerocene fly in one day?

Aerocene moves with the rhythms of the planet, meaning the distance and speed is dependent on the level of solar energy, wind speeds and weather. For this flight we will fly up to 25-30 km per hour for as long the sun and the weather condition are favourable. However, Aerocene is not focused on speed or the usual aims of mobility – faster, further, quicker. Rather, the community focuses on understanding the patience and relationship to the elements we need to drift and move in a way which ethically collaborates with Earth’s abundance of energy. Learn more with the Aerocene App or Float Predictor.

How long. High and far will Aerocene fly?

The weather will decide!

Is Aerocene safe?

Yes, Aerocene is both a flying sculpture and a fully certified balloon aircraft built to all regulations, following all annual controls and insured. The pilot is a trained, licenced balloonist. Should the valve used to descend or the sandbags used to ascend fail, we carry a propane burner to use in case of emergency.