Photographer is flying high as picture chosen to go to the moon

Hanne Brooks was literally over the moon to discover that a couple she photographed during their Covid wedding had won a competition to select a photograph to be printed out and be part of the payload on the upcoming Peregrine Mission 1 flight, and had chosen their favourite photo taken by Hanne on their big day.

Hanne started Hanne Brooks Photography during lockdown and the business has gone from strength to strength over the last year. She takes assignments all over the UK, and has already built up an excellent reputation for her weddings, engagement shoots, lifestyle and portrait work.

Peregrine Mission 1 is a partnership between NASA and Astrobotic and was due to launch this year but has been delayed due to the pandemic, and is now expected to blast off in March.

It will carry scientific items and other payloads including 15 photographs, winners of the competition run by Andy Saunders – well known for his work in remastering pictures from the Apollo programme which landed men on the moon in the late 60s and early 70s.

Hanne, who lives in Wolverhampton and is a member of BNI Thomas Telford in Telford, said: “I really can’t believe it – one of my photographs is actually going to the moon! It’s incredible to think that a photograph of mine is going to achieve more in life than I am and that a little piece of me will be up there on the moon forever.

“It all came about when a wonderful couple I photographed for their Covid wedding won this amazing competition which meant they could select a photo to be printed and taken to the moon, and they chose mine.

“Andy Saunders created the competition on the back of his incredible work retouching pictures from the Apollo era and has just released a book for pre-ordering featuring this work called Apollo Remastered. He was able to offer 15 lucky people the opportunity to win a place for a photograph to be added to the payload on the moon lander.

“So now, thanks to my wonderful clients, a photograph of mine will be one of them and I’m honoured that they chose one of my pictures. They rang me to say they had entered the competition and submitted their favourite picture which I took on their wedding day.

“The 15 pictures on the mission have been printed out onto small hexagons that are smaller than the palm of your hand.

“These are really exciting times for me. I’ve been delighted at how things have gone and it’s all been achieved during a pandemic. I started the business during the first lockdown, the pandemic gave me the opportunity to pursue my dream and put all the time and effort into actually developing the business.

“It’s been a thrilling ride so far and you might say I’m flying higher than I ever dreamed possible with my work now being taken to another world.”