Mars Curiosity Rover
This poster was created for a Principles of Graphic Design class at San Francisco’s Academy of Art. The assignment was to create a historic or significant current event poster for educating viewers, with original text. I chose the Mars ‘Curiosity’ rover for the topic of my poster, because I knew very little about the subject and wanted to learn more. My starting point for the project was to research previous rover missions to Mars. I then organized this data into a mind-map. Numerous sketches followed this, in which I strove to create a graphic that represents the transfer of data remotely from Mars, by way of the remote controlled rover. Using images that I found on the subject matter as inspiration (primarily from Nasa.gov), I integrated references to the way that the data is being collected and how it appears to us on Earth. In this project I strove to capture the contrast and interaction between organic nature and rigid technology.
Mars Curiosity Rover—Final Poster
Design Process
Mars Rovers – Concept Map
Curiosity Rover’s camera allows it to stitch together images, to create more revealing panoramas such as these. I strove to capture this effect in my poster to indicate data being gathered.
Mars Curiosity Rover—Final Poster
The Text: Curiosity is the latest of five successful rovers to have landed on Mars, and is by far the most technologically advanced, remote controlled science lab on wheels to ever have been built. The question everyone wants to know the answer to is whether microbial life ever existed on the red planet, which has a remarkably similar atmosphere to that of Earth. This would aid us Earth Dwellers in understanding our past, and therefore also potentially help us in predicting our future. Since its landing August 5th of 2012, Curiosity has detected much evidence of liquid water having existed on the planet, through mapping the planet’s geology. However, the recipe for life, at least as we know it, calls not only for liquid water, but carbon-based molecules and a source for energy. Also, there is plenty of ice on Mars, but the chemical reactions for life come to a halt when water freezes. Other successful Mars rovers have contributed similar findings, and have left scientists with many questions. But with the technological marvel that is Curioisty sending data back to Earth for at least fourteen years to come, we are sure to uncover significant answers.