Eyal Gever had a problem. The Israeli artist was picked by Nasa's partner Made in Space to create the first sculpture in zero gravity. But what physical form could represent the whole of humanity?

Gever is known for his innovative combinations of expression and science. "What I create is emotions that come from code," says the Tel Aviv-based artist. His solution - laughter: "It is the most beautiful expression of humanity".

For the #Laugh project, Gever created an ioses app that lets anyone submit their own giggles, chuckles or chortles.

The app generates a 3D visualisation in real time - Saturn-like rings or cuboid planets, spiked with colourful waveforms. The public can then vote for the most popular. The laugh will be 3D-printed on 
the International Space Station in January 2017, then carried out on a space walk.

As for Gever, sculpting a library of joy has proved infectious: "I fainted twice from laughing."

This article was originally published by WIRED UK