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Life on Mars

MAY 7, 2013
Growing up I dreamed of being an astronaut. They always send up scientists and engineers. Why not an artist? Someone who could observe and document the experience on a personal level? Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has been taking a series of amazing photos from the space station, capturing some of the amazing vistas of earth that can only be seen from space. An inspirational document of our planet.
 
Watching the unmanned rovers poking and probing the surface of Mars looking for signs of life has been amazing. I find the images of snow and ice and from the satellites circling the planet to be beautiful and captivating. When you get down to the surface of the planet, however, it gets very cold and bleak and barren. Imagine waking up on that cold and distant planet every day. So remote and inhospitable. Like the moon with an atmosphere. Could humans survive on Mars? If we go, chances are those who do will never come back. Could you live there for a year, or a decade? Or for several generations?
 
I loved working on this story, it asked those questions and came up with a lot of surprising answers, and unusual twists. Take the time and see for yourself.
Big thanks to Irene Gallo for sending this one along. Always great to work in these cover illustrations, I get to take my work in new directions and explore distant horizons.
© 2024 Carl Wiens