In Pictures: NASA’s retro travel posters imagine a bright future for space tourism
- Text by Alex King
- Photography by NASA Jet Propulsion Lab/Invisible Creature
The people at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab have their eyes firmly on the future. The California-based outfit is America’s top centre for robotic exploration of the solar system and have 19 spacecraft carrying out astronomy missions as we speak.
For the JPL, the future is space travel. To help bring that vision to life for the average earth-dweller, they reached out to design agency Invisible Creature – who in turn looked to the past.
Artists and brothers Don and Ryan Clark drew on advertising from travel’s ‘golden age’ to ’60s sci-fi paperback covers. They channelled the spirit of their grandfather, who for over 30 years worked as an illustrator at the Ames Research Center, where he helped NASA sketch out the look of the future.
Their amazing retro advertising posters imagine a brave new universe where balloon rides on Jupiter are a great choice for a weekend and where Earth is just another destination in a solar system of potential holiday destinations.
Check out the full Visions of the Future series at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.
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