Putting a stamp on Huginn
A new stamp for the Huginn mission has been released, taking inspiration from the mission’s Nordic name, Huginn, it presents a colourful design with a deep history.
The stamp
Space exploration has always captivated the imagination, and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s Huginn mission inspired the two postal companies of Faroe Islands and Greenland, Posta Faroe Islands and Tusass Greenland, to create a stamp commemorating the International Space Station mission.
For the design, Posta and Tusass turned to Anker Eli Petersen, a renowned stamp artist from the Faroe Islands specialising in Nordic mythology.
“It was clear that the raven was going to be the focus of the stamp, with the Huginn name tying the mission to Nordic mythology,” says Anker Petersen.
Connecting design, culture, and mission
The stamp features a raven with its wings extended, set against a backdrop that includes Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark, collectively known as the Kingdom of Denmark. Both Greenland and the Faroe Islands are autonomous regions within the Kingdom, with their own government.
Greenland shares its heritage with the Inuit culture, which includes Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The Faroe Islands have a shared heritage with the Nordic countries and has the Faeroese name for the Faroe Islands, “Føroyar”, appearing bottom left of the stamp while the International Space Station, where Andreas will spend six months, features on the opposite corner.
Released together with the stamp is also a stamp sheet, with cultural depictions tying together the Nordic and Inuit heritage. On the left is the Greenlandic Akvkos, a shaman in Inuit culture, with the raven spirit Qaartukuk, and on the right the Norse god Odin with the raven Huginn returning after a day scouting the world to gather information.
“As I was researching Greenland’s cultural heritage, I came across the poem ‘Qaartuluk’, meaning ’Song of the Raven Spirit’. The song tells the story of a shaman with a raven companion that searched the unknown for knowledge for its shaman master. It was perfect to connect the two cultures, Huginn from Nordic, and Qaartuluk from Inuit,” said Anker.
To accompany the stamp release, a Huginn folder is available, with the front page showing the artist’s impression of a raven with the Earth and the Moon behind it and images from Andreas’s training inside the folder.
For collectors and everybody
If you are interested in getting your hands on the stamps, the mini-sheet or folder, they can be found at Stamps.gl and https://en.stamps.fo/, with world-wide shipping available.
Visit the Huginn page on Andreas’s mission to read about the science he will perform and all things Huginn.