Category Archives: Digital Art
Feng Zhu School of Design: Inspiration for Concept Artists
Concept designs depicting Lockheed Martin’s Orion and SpaceX’s ‘Red Dragon’.
(If artists responsible for rendering these images would please contact us we would love to feature posts dedicated to your work: [email protected] )
A fantastic resource from which even professionals can glean tips is the YouTube channel to which concept designer Feng Zhu generously posts many tutorials:
Just please no depictions of guns, monsters, or shiny Battlestar Gallactica vehicles…
Check out our “Guide to Mars Positive Art“
Extraordinary Cassini Composition by Chris Abbas
(click on “vimeo” in the lower right of the player above for best resolution)
Director Chris Abbas from GiantKillerPandas.com and Digital Kitchen created a remarkable video using individual single frame still images downloaded from the web for free. It has nothing to do with Mars but is still the most heroic work of art inspired by space in ages.
This video is created from free still images taken by the Cassini Saturn orbiter. Chris downloaded them directly from JPL’s Cassini Solstice Mission website. He used off the shelf standard compositing software and did not ask JPL or anyone associated with Cassini for guidance or ‘permission’ (unrequired). The first time those involved with the mission learned of his video was a few days prior to this post. Amazing. Heroic. A testament to individual artistic vision. Congratulations Chris this is by far the most inspiring video seen in a long time.
New Pop Art Blog – Inspiration for Realistic Visualization?
To many potential space enthusiasts this kind of pop concept art makes space seem dangerous and exotic. Rather than a simple Mars-to-Stay Tuna Can, we run the risk of waiting for Battlestar Galactica and Starfleet Academy. Nevertheless this new blog deserves mention — hopefully it may improve visualization of near-term, realistic, affordable, doable space exploration. (Thanks to Pixar’s Ronnie del Carmen (@paperbiscuit) for bringing this to our attention.)
Pat Rawlings Image Gallery on the Mars Society’s Website
These paintings of Mars exploration by Pat Rawlings have been made
available by the artist to Mars Society members and chapters for free use in
producing charts and slides for public presentations. Those wishing to use
the art in commercial media, including magazines, film, and television, should
contact Pat Rawlings at [email protected]
“Distant Shores”
“After driving a short distance from their Ganges Chasma landing site, two
explorers stop to inspect a robotic lander and its small rover. This stop also
allows the crew to check out the life support systems of their rover and
spacesuits while still within walking distance of the base.”
“Hard Science”
“Two kilometers above the lava flows of Mars’ Tharsis Bulge, a geologist
collects samples from the eastern cliff face at the base of Olympus Mons. To
understand the evolution of this Arizona-sized volcano, the scientist
investigates the layers of hardened lava that make up the massive feature.
The block-like nature of the rock face, caused by columnar jointing, is similar
to features on Earth such as The Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.”
“Another North Pole”
“Like the layers of a carrot cake, centuries of hot and cold seasons have left
Mars’ polar cap with alternating bands of white ice and red dust. Massive
icicles can also be found along the rims of thermally etched canyons.”
Pat’s personal website is at this url: http://www.patrawlings.com
His entire gallery of images available for the promotion of the Mars Society’s
endeavors can be seen here:
http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/society-tools/mars_art/pat_rawlings_art
MarsArtGallery.com: A Showcase for Artistic Renditions of Mars Based on Robotic Mission Data
“Sands of Mars” Source: Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
From a number of images taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, this picture was constructed by Jim Plaxco, a digital artist, photographer and owner of Artsnova (http://Artsnova.com). Individual frames were all taken by Opportunity’s Left Panoramic Camera, with each frame being exposed using a different filter.
“Alien Spectrum” Source: Viking Lander 1
This second image is also hosted by the Mars Art Gallery, which was formally launched in March 2005 to serve as “a showcase for artistic renditions of Mars based on data returned by robotic missions.” The above image, titled “Alien Spectrum” has been processed to depict Mars as it might be seen by: “eyes not of this Earth. Evolution has given humans a set of eyes that are responsive to a particular range of electromagnetic radiations and we perceive those radiations as color.” A wallpaper image and more information can be found here: http://www.marsartgallery.com/s_alienspectrum.html
Say Hello to ‘Cynthia,’ Feminine Robonaut with Attitude (by Ikan Loring)
Why do current robonauts look like adolescent dreams of a personal Boba Fett? Meet Cynthia, another variation of an adolescent’s dream. With a synthetic boa and pimped-out hat for character not only would a robonaut with breasts provide more room for tools, sensors, and batteries, but the whole shebang could be more fun (for most of us, to an extent) — and, who knows, maybe encourage more real breasts to go to space.
Marsipan, The British Mars Exploration Programme: "As we know, Mars exploration needs funds, even if it’s low budget!"
Keeping things light-hearted and fun Nikolay Moustakov’s clever, endearing stop-motion series Marsipan expands upon our theme of humanizing Mars through art. The pilot episode for this clever series of videos and “pubcasts” was selected for The British Council Short Film Showcase and also screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival 2005. Nikolay most recently worked as a storyboard artist on Fantastic Mr. Fox and owns his own production company, Earthly Delights Films, with which he and co-creator Liz Rosenthal are developing a slate of animation and live action projects. Marsipan leads the way in exploring Mars and beyond, bringing to you the search for life on the Red Planet in monthly videos showing “what is really happening on Mars for you to watch for free!”Be sure to check out Marsipan’s super clever — very, very well developed — website for the British Mars Exploration Programme. For instance, this is the dialogue of the “countdown” spoken by the Flight Director when his image is clicked upon (in Marsipan HQ’s Mission Control; written and voiced by Nathaniel Tapley):
“Right, right, I’m bored with ordinary countdowns…so…today I’m going to have a poem…ten is the fingers on your hands…nine for the planets in the solar system, on each of which you might land although we prefer Mars…eight of you will leave us when the booster rockets burn…seven at least we expect to return…six are the tanks of coolant upon your outer-shell….five is the number which need to operate efficiently to stop you from being burnt to hell…the other is a back-up its there for your own safety…four…is what Mars is from the sun, fourth…three…is…a number…its two higher than one…two hands we are using to wave you goodbye…one is the single-minded belief that you will fly to Mars. Well, not fly so much as be flown, but I — so blast off! You cosmic sentry! And try not to burn up…in…reentry. Godspeed.”
Take that “3 2 1” NASA! Would that more engineers took such liberties with their Muses!
Explore Mars further via the British Mars Exploration Programme here: http://www.marsipan.co.uk
“Martians beware! Marsipan, The British Mars Exploration Program is sending its space probes in your direction! Here is British engineering at its best, exploring Mars like nobody else.”
“NASA spends billions and can only show you a pile of rocks, or a computer animated reconstruction. Is there life on Mars? Of course there is and our monthly missions can prove it! Come in and see for yourself.”
Archived “Pubcasts” of Marsipan missions by the “Greater British Space Empire” may also be viewed on this YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MarsipanTV
Thank you Nikolay and Liz for making Mars so fun, human, and accessible!
James Cameron: The Last Hope for Hollywood
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James Cameron personally attended the International Mars Society Conference in 1999. He delivered the Keynote Address then spent the entire weekend moving from panel to panel with his camera crew, sitting in the audience alongside other attendees while taking extensive notes on a yellow legal pad with a ball point pen. That was before laptops and only a year and a half after the release of his record blockbuster “Titanic.” It was a bold dramatic meaningful appearance which said: I care about Humans-to-Mars; I want to get this right. For the next two years he continued to send teams of videographers to record every presentation. Then, two purely idiotic movies were released — “Red Planet,” “Mission to Mars” — and Cameron wisely decided to shelve his project until the cultural debris settled. Periodically interviewers will ask, “What about Mars?” The most important consistent reply he provides with confidence is: “I have done the research. I know Mars. When the time is right it will happen.”
James Cameron has not only laid the foundation for making one of the most important films about Mars in our generation, for a time he even sat on NASA’s Advisory Council – a panel of experts and advisers appointed by the agency’s administrator. He remains on the science team for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory. The Mars Science Laboratory, known as Curiosity, is a NASA rover scheduled to be launched between October and December of 2011. One can only hope this window of opportunity is not corrupted by competition from less informed directors, once again.
“I’ve been very interested in the Humans to Mars movement—the ‘Mars Underground’—and I’ve done a tremendous amount of personal research for a novel, a miniseries, and a 3-D film.”
These very rough drafts of Mars mission equipment were created by Digital Domain nearly ten years ago to accompany Cameron’s Keynote Address. Although they were of high-quality for CG at that time, he nevertheless apologized for not being able to bring final renders. The point of showing these images though was to demonstrate his support for Mars Direct and in particular humans to Mars; Cameron wanted to show fellow space enthusiasts he could be relied upon to “get the facts right” and — that this is important. (As an aside, during his keynote the name for Factual Fiction was conceived: if we could get the facts right a “New Mars” in the public’s imagination might lead to a rethinking of humans to Mars.)
“Exploration is not a luxury we can’t afford; it’s a necessity we can’t afford to lose. Pushing farther into the unknown is our greatest endeavor as a civilization and our deepest responsibility to future generations.” Near-term, realistic — without aliens, laser, or guns — someday James Cameron will change the way we think about Mars. No doubt there are many right now saying, “Come on Cameron!”
The follow are excerpts from his Mars Society keynote address:
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“People are always saying … we need to solve our problems right here on Earth before we go spending money out in space. It makes me want to vomit frankly. [applause!].
Check back in five hundred or a thousand years. People will still be talking about all the problems that need to be solved. We are never going to reach some utopian plateau where everything is solved so we can then, with lordly confidence, look around us for worlds to conquer as some kind of hobby. Not spreading ourselves outward into the solar system now, when we have the capability to do so, is one of the problems we have to be solving right here on Earth. [more applause].
We are really at a turning point. Go forward, or go back. By stopping, by stagnating, we go back. I look around at the turn of the millennium and see a prosperous, powerful, technologically unparalleled society which, collectively, has no purpose but to feather its own nest. It is a goal-less, rudderless society, dedicated to increasing security and creature comforts. .
Our children are raised in a world without heroes. [!!!!!!!!!!]
They are led to believe that heroism consists of throwing a football the furthest, getting the most hangtime during a slam dunk, or selling the most movie tickets with your looks and boyish charm. This is not heroism, and these are not valid tests of our mettle as an intelligent race.
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Young kids need something to dream about, something to measure their value system against. They live in a sea of mind-numbing inputs, a point-and-shoot videogame world where it is hip to not care, where death and violence have no meaning, where leaders are morally bankrupt, and where the scientific quest for understanding is sooo not cool. Going to Mars is not a luxury we can’t afford … it is a necessity we can’t afford to be without.”
How to Silence "Moon First" Advocates
Don’t let the beer and pizza throw you off…this will happen before we return to the moon:
Without using or investing in the overhead of lunar hardware three entrepreneurs in twin Dragon Puffs connected by a Bigalow hab/radiation-shelter will spend a month drinking beer, eating cold pizza, and watching YouTube while floating to a Near Earth Asteroid. Upon arrival, since they are not unimaginative NASA bureaucrats, risk-adverse academics, or scientifically illiterate politicians they will toss the protocol for collecting regolith samples to the solar wind. Instead they will spend a week stuffing every nook and crevice of their craft with regolith, sorted or not, while inflating massive canisters filled with a slurry of volatiles and PGMs set to drift slowly on their own way to L1.
Then these three will do something truly remarkable, something which will be the:
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SINGLE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT IN SPACE DURING OUR LIFETIMES
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They will transfer their beer and buddies from the Dragon with a cushion base which had landed on the asteroid to the Dragon and Hab which had been hanging out in orbit a slight distance away. Following that, once the beer is safely ensconced, they will use duct-tape, velcro, and a few spare shoelaces to patch up whatever wear-and-tear the Dragon lander may have experienced. Then, just before heading for home, they will initiate the What-the-Heck-Let’s-Give-It-A-Shot-Before-We-Sober-Up procedure: remotely tilt the unmanned Dragon lander with a cushion base on its side, and, as if it were an undersea craft slowly floating across a reef, drift it horizontally to one of the many massive multistory mountain sized boulders strewn across the asteroid surface. After carefully resting its landing cushion perpendicular to the boulder they will gradually apply more pressure until velocities increase from centimeters per hour to kilometers per hour and so on, gently pushing a mountain of PGMs and volatiles to L1. –Without fancy recycling systems, without special equipment, and certainly without anything associated with the moon.
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Our 3 half-witted heroes will have accomplished 2 things, with or without NASA. They will always be able to buy beer and — apart from fantasy future He3 — no one will ever mention lunar resources again. With vast resources at L1 we will finally concentrate on Mars settlement. Dedicated Earth-based simulation of exact Martian thermal, atmospheric, and solar conditions will provide more realistic evaluation of Martian architectures than extremely expensive, unnecessarily dangerous “Martian/ISRU practice” on the moon; future construction and refueling of GEO satellites/interplanetary craft will be much more easily accomplished at L1 than on the moon.
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Key points:
(1) Transit to an asteroid will take between only two weeks to at most two months.
(2) An asteroid studded with enormous surface boulders can be sufficiently assayed robotically prior to the two week period astronauts would work at the asteroid.
(3) Costs are extremely low without lunar overhead, landers, etc; Delta V fuel requirements are minimal since there is no landing or relaunch (the entire operation takes place in Zero G).
(4) Extensive separation of asteroid material can take place on the boulder at L1 and LEO, leisurely, long after the retrieval mission.
(5) Once even a single PGM asteroid fragment with volatiles is at L1 discussion of Lunar resources becomes absurd.
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With massive NEA resources at L1 Moon First advocates will return to arguing for a moon base “for the sake of a moon base.” It will have no value other than to hinder our progress further into the solar system. If you don’t like Mars, drop it — that does not need to be part of the equation. Just work with a massive amount of profitable PGM/volatiles at L1 — between the Earth and the moon — and pet projects involving lunar rovers, lunar greenhouses, lunar overhead of all kinds will be seen as irrelevant.
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Mars seems to be a convenient distraction, a strawman, an excuse lunar scientists use to not discuss Near Earth Asteroids.
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The cool thing about this debate though is that it doesn’t matter what we decide, since, for-profit mechanisms will create a L1 NEA resource depot before anyone returns to the moon — by the sheer force of informed capital.
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Once massive amounts of precious metals and volatiles are already at L1 it becomes ridiculous to speak of transporting “asteroid debris” in the lunar regolith to L1, or, constructing equipment or fuel depots on the moon. It is much, much easier in terms of equipment overhead and fuel to coast out to NEAs than to land and launch from the lunar surface — especially for any serious amount of resources.
In the August ’09 issue of Ad Astra, Denis Wingo — who has earned admiration as a tireless advocate of entrepreneurial space exploration — writes of a future landing expedition finding on the surface of the moon a large PGM boulder remaining from an asteroid impact. The purpose of the above Dragon Puff story is to point out that if a similar — albeit even much larger boulder — were found on the surface of an asteroid (they are studded with such structures) it would be much easier to transport the boulder to and use it at L1 than to engage resources for similar purposes on the moon. –Especially given that this could be done by entrepreneurs without either lunar overhead or heavy lift or even NASA approval.
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If a massive PGM rock is sitting at L1 then lunar resources become irrelevant to ANYTHING we do in space, anywhere — even, ironically, ON THE MOON. We would actually mine the piece of the asteroid at L1 for resources to be used on the moon. LOL : ) Now THAT is funny! Eventually we will construct many of the heavier components of robotic telescope constellations at L1…future far side L2 radio telescopes in zero G will be constructed and repaired at L1. The moon will not have an extensive permanent human presence until Mars has been definitively settled, if then.
The moon is a Siren’s Call.
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/05/nasas-manned-mi.html
http://www.space.com/news/061116_asteroid_nasa.html
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/05/06/nasa-considers-manned-asteroid-mission/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplanetary_Transport_Network
[graphics thanks to Nick Kaloterakis]