(Above) This is an artist’s concept illustrating a part of the planned Apollo 9 extravehicular activity on the fourth day of the mission as the Command/Servic Module is docked to the Lunar Module. The figure performing the EVA represents Astronaut Russel L. Schweickart, Apollo 9 lunar module pilot.
After 20 hours of lunar orbit, Apollo 8 astronauts fire the Service Module engine producing 20,500 lb. of thrust and head for home.
(Above) This artist concept depicts NASA Astronauts constructing solar panels on the surface of Mars. The use of solar panels reduces the amount of fuel that must be brought to the surface and overall mission cost.
This painting was produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings.
This is an artist concept of a Gemini astronaut, wearing an Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, during extravehicular activity. An umbilical tether secures the astronaut to the Gemini spacecraft (upper left). The Agena Target Vehicle (lower right) is used for Gemini rendezvous and docking maneuvers.
(Above) This artist concept depicts Space Shuttle Columbia docking with Ronald Reagan’s Space Station Freedom. In this painting Columbia is equipped with the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) pallet which in this configuration would have allowed the shuttle to remain on orbit for 28 days. Space Station Freedom eventually became the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA - Rockwell International
(Above) We are back by Bart Sitek, Warsaw School of Computer Science, Poland
The results of the second annual NASA Lunar Art Contest are out-of-this-world productions from high school and college students from around the globe.
“Crater Core Sample,” a painting by Zachary Madere of the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Lakewood, Colo., was judged the best of more than 90 imaginative entries. The painting shows an astronaut holding an icy cylinder in a darkened crater while two other astronauts look on.
This year, in addition to two-dimensional artwork and sculpture, NASA accepted three-dimensional art and digital art, including video.
The Lunar Art Contest, sponsored by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., allows students from the creative arts disciplines to become involved with and excited about the nation’s space exploration program.
“The contest also enables us to see the future from very different and important perspectives,” said Richard Antcliff, director of Langley’s Strategic Relationships Office, which manages the art contest.
A total of 147 students from more than 70 institutions participated as teams or individuals. More than half the entries were from high school students. Entries were received from 25 U.S. states, France, Poland, India and Romania. A panel of 12 reviewers that included professional artists, scientists, engineers and educators evaluated the entries using three criteria: the artist’s statement, creativity and artistic expression, and whether the art represented a valid scenario.
Students who won the overall and first place awards in each category will be recognized as part of a celebration at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington that marks the 40th anniversary of the first Apollo landing. The winning art will be on display in the form of a digital exhibit. Afterward, the exhibit will be available for display at NASA facilities, public venues, the students’ schools and elsewhere as requested.
In addition to Madere, who received the best overall score, top winners in the College and University Division are:
- Two-dimensional art: (tie) Jesse Lenz, West Liberty State College, West Liberty, W.V. and Brent Bishop, University of Colorado at Boulder
- Three-dimensional art: Kristine Beam, Winston Salem State University, Winston Salem, N.C.
- Digital art (video): Chi Thien Pham, Institut d’Etudes Supérieures des Arts, or IESA, Paris
Top winners in the High School or Secondary School Division are:
- Best overall score: Pratham Karnik, Walt Whitman High School, Rockville, Md.
- Two-dimensional art: Josh Kim, Kent Mountain View Academy, Auburn, Wash.
- Three dimensional: Sami Khaleeq (team entry), Clear Brook High School, Houston
- Digital art: Matthew Bruemmer, Ronald Reagan High School, San Antonio
For a gallery of winning art and videos, visit: http://artcontest.cet.edu
(Above) Rick Guidice’s The Surface of Venus.
FACT: The temperature of the the planet’s surface is about 870 degrees F (465 degrees C), higher than that of any other planet and hotter than most ovens.
This mosaic includes photos of the people, projects and technologies that have contributed to the space shuttle program over the past three decades.
The American Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) crewmen search the skies for the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in this humorous artwork by Cosmonaut Aleksey A. Leonov.
Astronauts Vance D. Brand, Donald K. Slayton and Thomas P. Stafford (left to right) sit astride the Apollo spacecraft and Docking Module ready to lasso Soyuz.
This is a 1975 artist’s concept illustrating a cutaway view of the docked Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit.
This scene depicts the moment the two international crews meet in space for the first time. Two of the three American crewmen are in the Docking Module. The two Soviet crewmen are in the Soyuz spacecraft’s Orbital Module. The two crew commanders are shaking hands through the hatchway. The third American crewman is in the Apollo Command Module.
Painting by Davis Meltzer.