
Mars Explorers Wanted Posters - mariusavram
http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/resources/mars-posters-explorers-wanted/
======
fotcorn
Similar posters from SpaceX with a tourism theme:

[https://shop.spacex.com/accessories/mars-phobos-deimos-
poste...](https://shop.spacex.com/accessories/mars-phobos-deimos-poster.html)
[https://shop.spacex.com/accessories/mars-olympus-mons-
poster...](https://shop.spacex.com/accessories/mars-olympus-mons-poster.html)
[https://shop.spacex.com/accessories/mars-valles-marineris-
po...](https://shop.spacex.com/accessories/mars-valles-marineris-poster.html)

~~~
dogma1138
To be fair NASA has those too: [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-
future/](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/)

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alexissantos
If you dig these posters, you'll like these from Chop Shop:
[http://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/space-
exploration-t...](http://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/space-exploration-
themed)

They partnered with The Planetary Society a while ago to make retro-style
posters for both historic and present day robotic spacecraft.

~~~
arethuza
Obligatory link to _Wanderers_ with its Sagan voice over:

[https://vimeo.com/108650530](https://vimeo.com/108650530)

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awesomerobot
I really wish they'd hire an actual painter — the vectorized style emulates a
painted style, but seems to lack the quality of what they're trying to
reproduce.

The astronauts in these posters are really poorly rendered in general and
quite muddy in some places (the we need you poster seems to be a different,
somewhat superior art style).

Don't get me wrong, these are nice, originally had a smaller budget than wide
reproduction/consumption — but in my opinion are about 80% of where they
should be.

~~~
gcr
I like them. They're meant to evoke the sci-fi pulp fantasy spirit of the
1950s and 60s.

For some reason, they also remind me a bit of the art deco style that Dresden
Codak tried to emulate: [http://dresdencodak.com/2011/12/16/dark-
science-14/](http://dresdencodak.com/2011/12/16/dark-science-14/)

~~~
awesomerobot
I like them in theory, and I agree with you — but original sci-fi pulp with
real paintings has a much more authentic feeling to it. That's what I wish
they did here.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=sci-
fi+pulp+fantasy&source=l...](https://www.google.com/search?q=sci-
fi+pulp+fantasy&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwix-
PKVzenOAhUKWh4KHaaOBeIQ_AUICCgB&biw=1379&bih=1232)

------
alexissantos
This is a beautiful thing. If I were a teacher, I'd hang these in my classroom
ASAP. My office will have to do instead.

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avar
Is there any similar pre-lunar landing artwork? The only one I can think of is
this 1955 presentation by Wernher von Braun:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fautyLuuvo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fautyLuuvo)

~~~
patorjk
Probably not what you're looking for, and only in a kind of similar vein, but
the first thing that came to mind was the 1962 Mars Attacks trading cards.
They provided a twisted version of what Mars might be like if it were
inhabited by aliens who wanted to invade and feature soldiers fighting
martians and (if I remember correctly) eventually people going to Mars to
fight them.

------
erikb
God damn it. There is NO NEED to sell it to me. Tell me where to apply, NASA!

~~~
shirro
Put at least $500,000 together and wait for SpaceX to develop the MCT.

You have practically zero chance of being an astronaut with NASA because the
cost of launch with something like SLS will make sending more than a handful
of the best of the best unaffordable.

~~~
erikb
Well, true. But usually when one company finds a cheaper solution the others
are pressured to do the same. NASA will be slower, but eventually they will
provide the same service quality as SpaceX or will be replaced with something
else.

------
Already__Taken
So naturally somebody has to link the Visions of the Future posters as well:
[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-
future/](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/)

I have a sweet huge Grand Tour on my wall. Thanks NASA.

~~~
cmrx64
I got the awesome Europa poster hanging in my room. Absolutely love these!

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copperheart
It would be thrilling if the current state of our space exploration was on a
level suggested by these posters. Are we sending people to farm Martian soil
or explore the Martian terrain anytime soon? Obviously not. So, honest
question: what is the point of these posters?

~~~
_asummers
Pretend you're a 5 year old kid and you get one of these posters. You go to
school for 13 or so years wanting to be an astronaut. Then you join the Air
Force or go to Caltech or something, all with the desire to one day be the
first man on Mars. 10-15+ more years of training, and you're finally an
astronaut. Still think it'll be unreasonable in 30 years?

------
rcarmo
Instant phone wallpaper, right there.

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nxzero
Pretty clear people would volunteer to do missions that assume no return and
possible curtain death - yet NASA instead decides not to embrace this and
instead created posters for a "mission" to Mars that increasingly appears will
never be done by them directly.

------
Noseshine
When I was young becoming an astronaut would have been a dream. In recent
years, after discovering the world of online learning, I learned too much
though to have any desire to go into space, not with current or even soon-to-
be technology. Physiological stress and radiation are very big problems. You
must be young and thinking about health never entered your mind to apply for
the job (yes of course, risk assessment vs. benefits is highly subjective,
here, I'll even help you, see below).

Anyway, if you are interested start here (free courses):

\- The Conquest of Space: Space Exploration and Rocket Science:
[https://www.edx.org/course/conquest-space-space-
exploration-...](https://www.edx.org/course/conquest-space-space-exploration-
rocket-uc3mx-bia-1x)

\- Space Mission Design and Operations Learn the concepts:
[https://www.edx.org/course/space-mission-design-
operations-e...](https://www.edx.org/course/space-mission-design-operations-
epflx-ee585x)

\- Human Spaceflight - An introduction: [https://www.edx.org/course/human-
spaceflight-introduction-kt...](https://www.edx.org/course/human-spaceflight-
introduction-kthx-sd2905-1x)

\- Introduction to Aerospace Engineering: Astronautics and Human Spaceflight:
[https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-aerospace-
engineerin...](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-aerospace-engineering-
mitx-16-00x-0)

and maybe even (the more "heavy-weight" and more theory-heavy course)

\- Introduction to Solar Systems Astronomy:
[https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-solar-systems-
astron...](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-solar-systems-astronomy-
asux-ast111x-2)

\- Talking about a journey to Mars, you just _must_ read "Packing for Mars"
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packing_for_Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packing_for_Mars)),
Google Talk presentation by the author (40 minutes):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0kaycVtvhU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0kaycVtvhU)

.

PS: For a first flight experience I recommend you look up and contact a flight
school at a small airport near you. An introductory 1 hour lesson without any
prior requirements can easily be booked, and it is "self-contained", meaning
you don't need to feel you are taking advantage if you don't become a student,
they get paid for that hour. But even getting your private pilot license is
not all that hard. I got mine years ago :)

For those of you in the Bay Area:
[http://www.wvfc.org/membership/introductory-
flight](http://www.wvfc.org/membership/introductory-flight) (not the only
address there, but the one where I went) As you can see it starts at $99 and
is common enough to be made available in "packaged" form.

~~~
mikeash
The juxtaposition of the "space is risky" with "go learn how to fly small
planes" is weird to me. Small planes are pretty risky too, and you don't even
get to go to space! (Don't believe the common refrain that the riskiest part
of flying is the drive to the airport. That's true for airliners, but
completely untrue for light aircraft.) By all means, be informed, but you
certainly don't need to be ignoring your health to make that decision.

By the way, if you like flying but don't like being deafened by a big fan up
front the whole time, consider a glider flight instead:
[http://www.ssa.org/FAST](http://www.ssa.org/FAST)

~~~
Noseshine
There is a big difference between space risk and small aviation risk. You
_always_ get health issues when you go to space _long-term_ (see the links I
have in other replies) with current technology. That is not true for aviation,
and you overstate the risks too. That's (rare) accidents vs. "simply doing it
is bad for you". I repeat that I'm talking about long-term space flights, not
something like a week-long space shuttle mission.

~~~
mikeash
Where am I overstating the risks?

Flying as a hobby probably doesn't have much in the way of long-term health
consequences, but doing it as a profession does. Radiation exposure at cruise
altitude is significantly higher, but nobody seems to warn prospective pilots
or flight attendants that they're risking their health for their job. At least
with astronauts, you can be certain that they'll be taught just about
everything there is to know about the health consequences of space travel
before they're given the opportunity to go on a long-term space mission.

~~~
Noseshine

        > Where am I overstating the risks?
    

2nd sentence

    
    
        >  long-term health consequences, but doing it as a profession does
    

Okay, you are just trolling, I didn't know that. My apologies. We were talking
about a flight to Mars, it's obvious you are not serious. Sorry I missed your
joke(s).

~~~
mikeash
You go on and on about the risks of long-term space flight, but deny the risks
of spending a lot of time at airliner cruising altitudes? How bizarre.
Obviously, the ill effects aren't nearly as bad, since the radiation exposure
is lower and there are no negative effects from zero g, but it's fairly well
established that flight crews suffer greater incidences of certain diseases,
like cataracts and some cancers.

------
Aardwolf
Nice retro-science-fiction look!

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TACIXAT
So this is how programmers finally go remote. We need people to grow food,
survey land, build things, but you can just code from Earth and transfer it to
Mars. You'll need to be in an office on Earth though.

------
amazon_not
That font size!

The characters are like half an inch high each on my iPad Pro. Auto-detecting
mobile Safari and forcing a mobile view without any way to switch to something
more reasonable perhaps wasn't the best design choice.

The posters are cool tho.

------
dominotw
so you have to walk around and grow vegetables wearing that space suit like a
Ninja.

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coldcode
Beam me up Scotty (to Mars) there is no intelligent life down here (on Earth).

~~~
sdoering
I thought it was "Energize". [1]

[1]:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxKJyeCRVek](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxKJyeCRVek)

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Roark7-2521
So that's where we are? Idiotic wishful thinking instead of real space
exploration? That's what became of yesterday's dreams?

~~~
middleman90
I like to think that this things are made for the public opinion. More people
are exited, easier is for NASA to find the money necessary

~~~
DanielStraight
They tell you why they were made:

"NASA originally commissioned these posters for an exhibit at the Kennedy
Space Center Visitor's Complex in 2009. As part of our Journey to Mars, these
versions are now available to everyone online."

They're just freeing up the design of their decorations in case other people
like them and want to use them.

