Look, blasting humans into the unforgiving vacuum of space is cool and all, but do you REALLY expect us to buy into it without snazzy poster art? NASA's thinking exactly. That's why Kennedy Space Center's graphics department has knocked out crew and mission posters for every space shuttle mission since STS-96.
As revealed by former NASA graphic artist Amy Gish to Gizmodo, all the designs used to be pretty bland. Just check out this dusty number. Then someone up and parodied "The Matrix" for 2008's Expedition 16, and the graphics department has been letting loose with the awesomely cheesy and innocently geeky designs ever since. It sure beats airbrushing out secret lunar cities, don't you think?
For my money, they should actually crank up the cheese on future posters. Go wild, NASA. I want to see Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Cmdr. Alan Poindexter dressed as Barbarella and Pygar. And get Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio in a sandworm costume pronto.
AND YES, you can find all of them right here (as well as the blander posters here -- some of which feature the galaxy's goofiest Photoshop work). Print them out! Give them as gifts! Stick them to your dormitory walls and sail them proudly over your desk at work! You'll quickly become the envy of everyone around you.
Tags: Space Culture, Space People, Space Shuttle, Space Station, Spaceflight
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