--- title: "NASA Posts Touching Tribute to the Late David Lynch" description: "In the wake of director David Lynch's death, NASA has joined the throngs of mourners celebrating the life of the \"Mulholland Drive\" auteur." date: "2025-01-17" modified: "2025-01-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-david-lynch-tribute" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "celebrities" - "david lynch" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Posts Touching Tribute to the Late David Lynch ![In the wake of director David Lynch's death, NASA has joined the throngs of mourners celebrating the life of the "Mulholland Drive" auteur.]() *\Image: Scott Dudelson via Getty / NASA / Futurism\* ## Dream Weaver In the wake of celebrated surrealist director [David Lynch's death at the age of 78](), NASA has joined the [throngs of mourners]() celebrating the life of the "Mulholland Drive" and "Blue Velvet" auteur. "Keep your eye on the donut," the space agency wrote in a post on X-formerly-Twitter, "and not on the hole." That simultaneously mundane and profound statement, published in [one of Lynch's transcendental meditation books](), was accompanied by an image of a black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy that resembled the delicious fried dough pastry at the heart of so many scenes in "[Twin Peaks]()." Most of Lynch's work — save for his [1984 adaptation of "Dune]()" starring a young Kyle MacLachlan — took place on terra firma. Still, he encouraged everyone to "explore the otherworldly and the unknown," as NASA so aptly put it in its post. "We will focus not on the loss, but on what we gained from the years we shared this planet with you," the space agency shared. "We will see you in our dreams." https://www.twitter.com/NASA/status/1880014378444952035 ## Goodbye for Now The latter half of that tear-jerking homage is reminiscent of comments the "Twin Peaks" creator made in a [rare 2023 interview with the *BBC*](). Conducted after the [passing of composer and longtime Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti]() the year prior, the interviewer noticed that the director kept referring to his old friend in the present tense — and the response was flooring. "You have to keep Angelo alive," Lynch said. "I believe life is a continuum, and that no one really dies, they just drop their physical body and we'll all meet again, like the song says." "It's sad but it's not devastating if you think like that," he continued. "Otherwise, I don't see how anybody could ever, once they see someone die, that they'd just disappear forever and that's what we're all bound to do." "I'm sorry but it just doesn't make any sense," the [lifelong transcendental meditation enthusiast]() said. "It's a continuum, and we're all going to be fine at the end of the story." Viewed through that lens, Lynch is merely further along the continuum than the rest of us — and there's no doubt that those whose lives he touched will indeed be seeing him in their dreams. **More on directors:** [*Kink App Throws Party, Guests Alarmed When Woody Allen Shows Up*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()