'Space capsule' spotted along I-10 near Casa Grande
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Did you see it?
A large object resembling a space capsule caused quite a stir along I-10 near Casa Grande this morning.
It turns out the "space capsule" is a piece of installation art that was transformed from an old cement mixer. The creator, Jack Millard, even purchased a vintage parachute to attach to the piece of art.
The art installation led many people to believe it is a real space capsule, including a former NASA engineer, who reported that it had fallen from the sky and into a field. Many other people have also called 911 to report a similar sighting.
The artist said he used to see the old cement mixer out in the field, and had an idea one day to turn that cement mixer, into a piece of art.
"I saw this abandoned old rested-out cement mixer," said Millard. "I saw it a couple times and I thought, 'you know, that looks a lot like a space capsule'."
Millard then contacted the landowner.
"He calls my dad up and said he's interested in the cement mixer," said Yvette Kent, whose family owns the land the "space capsule" rests on. "My dad offers to sell it to him for $200, and he says,'I don't want to buy it. I want to paint on it', and my dad was like, 'oh OK, go ahead'."
It took Millard two days to turn the old cement mixer into his newest art installation.
"What I wanted to do is to turn this project around as quickly as possible, so it's a surprise," said Millard.
Surprise indeed, as the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) received a few 911 calls from concerned citizens, thinking the capsule was real.
"We sent some folks out, just to double check the area to make sure it wasn't indeed a piece of aircraft or a piece from space," said Trooper Kameron Lee with DPS.
With some cans of paint, an idea, and a lot of creativity, Millard has turned the ordinary, into the extraordinary.
"What you're looking at has been here 30-35 years," said Millard. "Through this art of creation, it's brand new."