Mars Express

What could possibly be more fun than creating Mars mission artwork for NASA? How about creating artwork for use by ESA, the European Space Agency! It's a special thrill going "international" and "inter-agency". So now I am also an "ESA" artist, which would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.

NASA is participating in the Mars Express mission which was launched by the European Space Agency from Baikonur, Kazahkstan in June, 2003. Mars Express also carried the British Beagle 2 lander, which disappeared on it's way to the surface, unfortunately. In any case I started work on Mars Express way back around 2000. It's been a long wait for it to arrive safely and deploy the science experiment called MARSIS that NASA helped create.

 

Following the water underground

 

MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding

 

Joint ESA-US-ASI Mars Express science instrument called MARSIS. Here are two pictures of the folded up MARSIS antenna before launch.

In support of NASA's "Mars Express Project "and working directly for US mission manager Tommy Thompson I created a series of Mars Express images that were the first to show our MARSIS instrument. MARSIS is short for Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding..The US provides addtional support, both scientifically and navigationally, for this first European Mars mission. The Mars Express science discoveries have been specatular so far and it's not over yet. The MARSIS radar antenna has now been successfully deployed and may make some spectacular discoveries of subsurface water.

 

Mars Express image of water ice in crater at Martian north pole

 

Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) images

 

Mars Express Launch Party, June, 2003

 

 

Corby Waste congratulating the manager of the US participation in Mars Express, Tommy Thompson. My former wife on Mars: Emily pointing in astonishment at the 3D stereojet print image of Mars Express that I created.

 

 

 

That's me explaining the stereojet print of Mars Express. A boy can be seen wearing polarized viewing glasses. I wrote a good luck message on the Mars Express launch banner.

 Mars Express Pic Posters

Click on them to see full-size

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La sonde Mars Express de l’ESA poursuit ses observations. Elle a transmis des données inédites, notamment sur les caractéristiques géologiques de la planète rouge et leur incidence climatique, mais aussi sur son atmosphère et – fait majeur – sur la présence d’eau dans le sol martien.

 

 

 

Mars Express news and artwork links

 Oct 2006

 Mars Express and the story of water on Mars
 Jan. 2006  Celebrating Two Years Of Mars Express Discoveries
 Nov. 2005  Signs of water found deep within Mars
 Nov. 2005  Radar sees ice deep below Mars - featuring my artwork
 June 2005  Green light for the deployment of the second MARSIS boom - featuring my artwork
 June 2005  Mars Express radar ready to begins its probing work
May 2005 First Marsis radar boom deployed - featuring my artwork
 May 2005   Mars probe’s radar system hits snag - featuring my artwork
April 2005   MARSIS set to reveal more from Mars -featuring my artwork
 Feb. 2005  Mars pictures reveal frozen sea - featuring my artwork
 Feb. 2005  Mars probe radar to deploy in May - featuring my artwork
 Sept. 2004  New Mars data gives life clue
 July 2004 Ammonia on Mars could mean life
   

 

Mars Express patch

 

 

 

 

 

 The European Space Agency Mars Express site   All of the images of Mars Express on the US website were created by me. The MARSIS team at the Univ. of Iowa has a series of my old Mars Express images online.

 

Fourth Millennium Mission Art Links

 

     

 

 

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