News Archive

Saturday, January 28, 2006 New Article: Tuner on Mars A couple of affectionate astronauts getting ready to explore (Mars?!) Credit: 1987 Marilynn Flynn In centuries past, explorers carried boxes of paints instead of mobile phones, easels instead of PDAs, sketchpads instead of laptops. Instead of snapping away at a landscape with a digital camera and posting their pictures onto their website for everyone to see instantly, they sat down on a boulder or a log and patiently drew or painted what they saw, then carefully packed their work away and continued on their journey, slowly building-up a portfolio of images which would be sent back home many months if not years later. The Voyagers and Pathfinders of two centuries ago, who opened up the frontiers of that age, were artists: men, and women, stained with paint, who lovingly recorded what they saw and shared their experiences with others, and left us an incredible and rich heritage in the process. Stuart Atkinson has submitted a new article to us, Turner on Mars. Well written and informative, it is an interesting read. It gives a powerful case for why art may be the way to capture the public's imagination and the spirit of exploration in a way no picture can. I would also like to offer this moment to remember the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission 51-L 20 years ago. Those 7 were lost 73 seconds into the launch because of an explosion due to problems with the O-rings of the solid fuel boosters. @ 19:22 EST