Saturn as seen from Titan.
The “father of space art”, Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986).
(Note the tiny human figures in the foreground.)
First art on the Moon: the “Fallen Astronaut” figurine. The sculpture, by Belgian artist Paul van Hoeydonck, was placed on the moon by the crew of the Apollo 15 in 1971 to commemorate astronauts and cosmonauts who had died prior to their mission.
Sunset on Mars. Taken at 6:07 in the evening on May 19, 2005 by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover, SPIRIT.
“In the Columbia Hills, we discovered compelling evidence of an ancient Mars that was a hot, wet, violent place, with volcanic explosions, hydrothermal activity, steam vents – nothing like Mars today,” NASA said in a statement.
In his book The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps (1992), Marshall Savage argues that building floating cities above tropical oceans would be a good first step to learning how to build space colonies. These floating cities—or “arcologies” as they are sometimes called—would preferably have to be constructed near the equator, where the ocean is relatively calm.
“Accordingly, the design […] must harmonize with nature, minimizing material requirements, while maximizing volume, usable surface area, and dynamic stability.”
Production art and some stills from the 1957 Disney production, Mars and Beyond, which explored the possibility of life on other planets.
It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. It’s a colorful, creative piece of work; look it up on YouTube if you have the time.
Skylab art by Ralph McQuarrie. 1970s.
Skylab was the first US space station, made out of spare Apollo parts. It launched in 1973 and, uhm, returned to Earth in 1979.
Concept and storyboard drawings for 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) by Harry Lange and Roy Carnon.
Cutaway of the Discovery. Art by Oliver Rennert for Taschen’s Making of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
(Image 2 is the complete painting, but it’s not as sharp—1 and 3 are details.)
Space art by John Polgreen. 1950s.
