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SYFY WIRE Black Lives Matter

New Black Lives Matter mural in nation’s capital can be seen from space

By Jacob Oller
Black Lives Matter mural getty

The Black Lives Matter movement, which has been the center of worldwide protests after the police killing of George Floyd, is now visible off-world as well. A recent mural painted on two blocks of Washington DC’s 16th Street (now known as Black Lives Matter Plaza thanks to mayor Muriel Bowser), writes the name of the movement in such large font that it can be seen from space. In fact, satellites have already snapped photos of it -- and some maps compiled from such imagery have even updated with the new artwork.

While the above photo was captured by Maxar Technologies' satellites, the words can also be seen on Apple Maps — which has updated just the relevant portion on its navigation app:

Google Maps has not yet changed its satellite images for that portion of the nation's capital, though it does show that the plaza has been renamed. Here's the renaming ceremony from June 5:

The large yellow letters of the mural now span the two-lane street, making it hard to miss even if you're hanging out in low orbit:

Black Lives Matter Plaza and the mural in question are directly adjacent to Lafayette Square Park and, crossing that, the White House. While many in the world of genre have raised money and awareness for the social justice cause, this is the first time any of the pieces of Black Lives Matter activism have reached beyond terra firma.