Posts Tagged nasa
Another Science Fiction
Posted by Danielle in Advertising & Media, Books & Literature on March 16, 2010
When I was contemplating starting a “space and culture” blog back in 2006 (Common Themes, which became this blog you see here), one of my inspirations was “Space Age” advertisements from the 1950s-1970s. I have a collection of advertising books from those decades, and a copy of Science Magazine with the initial moon rock findings from Apollo 11 (basically, LPSC #1) with some spectacular examples of horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing, white-lab-coat-sporting scientists forging ahead in the name of PROGRESS. I love this stuff. I have a whole category here for advertising, because it’s just so darn fun.
I love the “future that never was” because hey, that future was pretty exciting, and a lot more optimistic than the grim realities of what’s happening right now at NASA. In fact, the “new vision” is so nebulous that one might say we don’t have a future in spaceflight at the moment. That may change, and certainly I hope it does… in the mean time, I have shelves of classic and modern science fiction to keep me dreaming.
Anyway, last week I was pointed to a fantastic upcoming book by two Twitter friends, linking to two separate, high-profile interviews and reviews — this author has a savvy publicist!! — and all I could think was, “at last, someone wrote a book FOR ME!” This book is Another Science Fiction: Advertising the Space Race 1957-1962 by Megan Prelinger. I must own this book, forthwith. Or, well, forthwith upon release.
From “Another Science Fiction”
I missed out on Apollo completely, and even most sci-fi I read was written before I was born. I long for the Space Age, having never experienced it personally. I’m a child of the Space Shuttle, and my era is ending, with nothing to replace it (on NASA’s part; full well I know that the next era will most likely be commercial, and I embrace that future with open arms. Maybe I’ll even get to go somewhere in my lifetime. Viva la space tourist!)
Which is all a really long way of saying, I really look forward to Another Science Fiction, and I can already tell I’ll be loving it from cover to cover. Preorder it on Amazon — it comes out on May 1st!
By purchasing this book through my links, I may possibly get an Amazon Affiliates payout… in another year or two. For more information, click here.
Veils
I’ve always loved imagery of the Veil Nebula/Cygnus Loop — I guess I’m a sucker for wisps of color. These Hubble images rock my socks off (artistically speaking.)
Credit for both images: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)
This image shows a small portion of the Veil Nebula – the shattered remains of a supernova that exploded some 5-10,000 years ago. The intertwined rope-like filaments of gas result from the enormous amounts of energy released as the fast-moving debris from the explosion ploughs into its surroundings and creates shock fronts. These shocks, driven by debris moving at 600,000 kilometres per hour, heat the gas to millions of degrees. It is the subsequent cooling of this material that produces the brilliantly coloured glows.
This portion of the Veil Nebula is located in a magnificent part of the Veil known as the Witch’s Broom Nebula to the east (to the right in the overview image). The entire structure spans about 3 degrees, corresponding to about 6 full moons. The bright blue star – dubbed 52 Cygni and unrelated to the supernova explosion – can be observed with the naked eye on a clear summer’s night.
This small portion of the Veil Nebula is located in the larger segment seen in its western part (the top left corner of the large ground-based overview image). The entire structure spans about 3 degrees, corresponding to about 6 full moons.
The Art of Robert McCall
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture on March 2, 2010
“Handshake in Space” by Robert McCall
The great space artist Robert McCall passed away on February 26 at the age of 90. McCall’s illustrations of the space age are nothing but iconic, and epic in scale. I’ve seen the Opening the Space Frontier, The Next Giant Step mural at Johnson Space Center, and would love to see the others. If nothing else, you’ve seen his work on stamps, mission patches, and 2001: A Space Odyssey posters. He will be missed.
February 28, 2010 — An artist whose visions of the past, present, and future of space exploration have graced U.S. postage stamps, NASA mission patches, and the walls of the Smithsonian, Robert McCall died on Friday of a heart attack in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 90.
Once described by author Isaac Asimov as the “nearest thing to an artist in residence from outer space,” McCall’s paintings first attracted the public’s attention in the 1960s on the pages of LIFE, illustrating the magazine’s series on the future of space travel. He expanded on that theme at the invitation of director Stanley Kubrick, who had McCall paint the advertising posters for his seminal 1968 science fiction film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
— collectSPACE
“Opening the Space Frontier, The Next Giant Step” by Robert McCall
NASA has a gallery of his work online; collectSPACE has this excellent post, and NASA Watch has additional links.
“Orion Leaving Space Station” by Robert McCall
Shuttle Program Patches — Editor’s Choice
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings, Perspectives on January 11, 2010
When I first heard of the NASA employee patch design contest to commemorate the end of the shuttle program later this year, I was really excited to see what people would come up with. I’ve always loved patch designs — the layers of meaning and symbolism, and that the patch is team-designed, allowing the people involved to incorporate personal touches (and in-jokes, at times.) For this contest, 85 design concepts were submitted in all, and I had great fun before Christmas checking them all out. I definitely had my favorites.
15 finalists were selected on January 4, and while I agree with some of the picks (they were some of my favorites as well; more on that below), there were two designs I am really surprised to NOT see in the final 15. I’m featuring these two designs as an “editor’s choice” of sorts. Because… why not? It’s my blog, and these artists deserve a shoutout!
I guess I should disclose that I know the artist behind this patch — but really, I think this is a standout design because of its simplicity. There aren’t any words on the patch, but it doesn’t need any. In my opinion, this design expresses everything about the Shuttle program, commemorates the astronauts that fell along the way, and highlights the major achievements, all without “saying” a word. It’s beautifully done.
Here’s the artist-supplied caption:
The five orbiters shown represent Columbia, Challenger, Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour. The fourteen stars are to represent each of those who lost their lives on shuttle missions, with one of the stars having six points like a Star of David, in honor of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon (as was seen in the STS-107 patch). Also shown is the earth, because the shuttle was bound to low earth orbit. Finally, two of the shuttle program’s greatest and most recognizable accomplishments are represented- the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope.
I felt that each of the orbiters should be shown as they were all so important to the program. As someone that works on them, each seems to have its own personality, in a way. In commemorating the program, I wanted to honor the fallen astronauts. Let us never forget them and what we learned from losing them. I also thought it was important to include two shining examples of what was accomplished by the shuttle program: the International Space Station for the amazing science that has been and continues to be performed there, and the Hubble Space Telescope for bringing the heavens so much closer to earth in crisp, clear images.
And my other pick is this one:
What immediately drew me to this patch is how different it looks. The colors aren’t typical (compared to the other entries), and the design is very unique — it incorporates a sundial motif, which gives it extra awesome points in my opinion. I think the text is fantastic, I love the navy and gold, and I like the symbolism:
The concept is simple–remember life at every hour. The patch commemorates the life of the orbiter and the lives of those astronauts lost onboard Challenger and Columbia. Through life, memories are made, and the success of the Space Shuttle Program is remembered.
In graphic form, the patch is a sundial. The years 1981 (the first shuttle launch) and 2010 (the last) are fitted at the two edges. The space shuttle orbiter is shown as a blueprint–the beginning–embarking on a journey into a sunset–the end. The two gold shuttles flanking the patch represent Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003). And the seven stars represent the crew of seven from those two flights. The center star is slightly larger to accentuate the center of the sundial. The shuttle is the main object of the sundial (the tail being the gnomon) and it pulls the seven stars forward as it flies. However, the shuttle does not cast a shadow in the design–its legacy is vivid. And the last element of the patch sums up the overall concept with the Latin verse, Tempus omnia sed memorias privat–time deprives all but memories.
That last bit bolded by me, because I like it.
As for my favorites from the 15 finalists, here’s the ones I think are particularly strong (the last one is my favorite):
Milky Way Central
A colorful examination of the center of our Milky Way galaxy:
In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, NASA’s Great Observatories — the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory — have collaborated to produce an unprecedented image of the central region of our Milky Way galaxy.
In this spectacular image, observations using infrared light and X-ray light see through the obscuring dust and reveal the intense activity near the galactic core. Note that the center of the galaxy is located within the bright white region to the right of and just below the middle of the image. The entire image width covers about one-half a degree, about the same angular width as the full moon.
Each telescope’s contribution is presented in a different color:
- Yellow represents the near-infrared observations of Hubble. These observations outline the energetic regions where stars are being born as well as reveal hundreds of thousands of stars.
- Red represents the infrared observations of Spitzer. The radiation and winds from stars create glowing dust clouds that exhibit complex structures from compact, spherical globules to long, stringy filaments.
- Blue and violet represent the X-ray observations of Chandra. X-rays are emitted by gas heated to millions of degrees by stellar explosions and by outflows from the supermassive black hole in the galaxy’s center. The bright blue blob on the left side is emission from a double star system containing either a neutron star or a black hole.
When these views are brought together, this composite image provides one of the most detailed views ever of our galaxy’s mysterious core.
Moon Survives
Posted by Danielle in Computer & Internet on October 17, 2009
If I post on a Saturday, it’s because I have something fun to share. Today, it’s my winning entry for Veer’s Contest #24: Newsworthy, which started last Friday (LCROSS Impact Day, or perhaps we should call it No Visible Plume Day?) Annoyed by the “NASA is wasting our tax dollars to blow up the Moon!” comments online, as soon as Veer announced this contest, I already had the headline in mind (it was just a matter of finding as cratery a font as possible. If anyone ever comes across a genuinely cratered font, please let me know! This was as close as I could get on short notice.)
Ares I-X
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings on August 19, 2009
A new rocket stands in the Vehicle Assembly Building — the Ares I-X:
Standing tall at its fully assembled height of 327 feet, the Ares I-X is one of the largest rockets ever processed in the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3, Super Stack 5 at the Kennedy Space Center.
Ares I-X rivals the height of the Apollo Program’s 364-foot-tall Saturn V. Five super stacks make up the rocket’s upper stage that is integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return humans to the moon and beyond.
The Ares I-X flight test currently is targeted for Oct. 31.
Image Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
Splashdown-spam
Posted by Danielle in Picspam, Special Events on July 24, 2009
40 years ago today, this happened. [points up] Which led to exciting times for the astronauts… [points down]
Well, the point was, not only did we land on the moon in 1969, the astronauts lived to tell about it, and in fact came back here:
…which really, is quite remarkable.
I’ve always liked Google’s logo designs for special events, and for the 40th on Monday, they had this up, which I find admirably subtle:
40 Years Ago Today
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings, Picspam, Special Events on July 16, 2009
…a Saturn V launched toward the Moon. Over the next few days I will be sharing photos from Apollo 11, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing.
And here’s the official logo!
Unseen Apollo 11
Posted by Danielle in Special Events on June 25, 2009
The astronauts were international celebrities. A goodwill tour carried them to 24 countries and 27 cities in 45 days. Thousands swarmed them during a parade in Mexico City on September 23, 1969.
So you’ve seen all the iconic Apollo 11 photos. Odds are, in the media and such, you’re seeing them right now, and will do so for the next month. Well here’s a smattering you’ve probably NEVER seen — *I* certainly had not seen them, until now — showing the befores and afters of America’s first moon-landing mission. (Link via Flight Plan.)
The above photo is my favorite of the bunch — astronauts in sombreros, lol — and below, I had to include a photo of Mr. Enigmatic, Neil Armstrong:
Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, seen with the helicopter he flew to practice landing the Lunar Module.
-
Subscribe
Link Groups I Manage
