Thursday, April 11, 2019

Map of shallow subsurface water distribution on Mars

On March 10 ESA has revealed the first results from ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter orbiting Mars since October 2016. Among the data there is the best map of shallow subsurface water distribution on Mars ever created. The map is made by orbiter's neutron detector FREND mapping the distribution of hydrogen in the uppermost metre of the planet’s surface. Hydrogen indicates the presence of water, being one of the constituents of the water molecule; it can also indicate water absorbed into the surface, or minerals that were formed in the presence of water.
  • Blue areas - more water
  • Orange areas - less water
Map of shallow subsurface water distribution on Mars by ExoMars

Monday, April 8, 2019

SpaceX outpost on Mars by Kevin Gill

Artist's vision of an early SpaceX outpost on Mars if Red Dragon missions launched by Falcon Heavy wouldn't be cancelled and replaced by much more powerful Starship mission architecture. The image was done by software engineer Kevin Gill from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. More of his images here.

SpaceX outpost on Mars by Kevin Gill

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Mars colony by Alexey Shugurov

Picture of the Day 4/4/2019 - Astronaut trying to charge his ATV near a futuristic human colony on Mars by Ukrainian fantasy and space artist Alexey Shugurov. More of his art here.

Mars colony by Alexey Shugurov

Monday, April 1, 2019

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Mars rover concept by Jort van Welbergen

Picture of the Day 31/3/2019 - Mars rover concept by Dutch concept designer Jort van Welbergen for upcoming massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Citizen. More of his concept art here.

Mars rover concept by Jort van Welbergen for Star Citizen MMO game

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Mining colony in a Martian crater by Johannes Ewers

Picture of the Day 28/3/2019 - Mining colony in a Martian crater by German digital artist Johannes Ewers. More of his art here.

Mining colony in Martian crater by Johannes Ewers
Closeup of the colony:
Mining colony in Martian crater by Johannes Ewers (closeup)

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

First official HQ render of SpaceX stainless steel Starship

On the cover of Popular Mechanic’s April 2019 issue there is the first official HQ render of SpaceX's stainless steel Starship, showing the next-generation spaceship reentering Earth’s atmosphere in a blaze of glowing metal and plasma. The image was obtained by Teslarati.

A few days ago during a visit to Doyle Ryder Elementary school in Flint, Michigan, Elon Musk teased a video showing the Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha.

Official HQ render of SpaceX stainless steel Starship

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Forest under a dome by Artur Rosa

Picture of the Day 24/3/2019 - Forest with a lake and human colony under a dome on Mars by Portuguese digital artist Artur Rosa. More of his art here.

Forest under a dome on Mars by Artur Rosa

Friday, March 22, 2019

New official renders of SpaceX Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha

Today Elon Musk visited Doyle Ryder Elementary school in Flint, Michigan and demonstrated a new video of SpaceX's Starship. Here are some render images from that presentation with Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha. Forgive the poor quality of the images as they were captured by a camera; we will definitely get better quality official renders in the future.

Official render of SpaceX Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha

Official render of SpaceX Starship approaching Mars Base Alpha

Official render of SpaceX Mars Base Alpha

Development phases of SpaceX Starship by Colin Doublier

Sketch of the development phases of SpaceX's Starship by French urban artist Colin Doublier. More of his art here.

Development phases of SpaceX Starship by Colin Doublier