a+ (fut)_v_bw_o_n (unnumbered NAA photo, ca. 1961-66)
North American Aviation (NAA) artist’s concept of a post-Apollo(?) lunar base/colony, with an Astronaut in the foreground exploring the surface.
It’s very difficult to date this photograph. The space suit appears to be a Mercury-Gemini combination, with rope-on-hip. I expected the half-dome shelters to be helpful as far as dating the image…nope. Note what appear to be directional communications antennas possessed by all, specifically the one extending up from the Astronaut’s portable life support system, which would be a non-starter I’d think. The terrain, specifically the steep lunar peaks, would seem to place it earlier during my time-span guess. The crevasse, a popular lunar surface feature in early lunar depictions, also hints at this being by Gary Meyer. That, along with it being of NAA origin.
Then there’s the orbiting spacecraft. What the hell is that/are they? To me, it looks like a lifting body/shuttle-like craft just below and to the right of the rectangular primary/mothership, which also has an odd appendage at its forward end.
I like it, it’s bold, it’s the moon, humans are on it, and it’s a little enigmatic.
Finally, what actually struck me the most, the prophetic pose of the Astronaut. See the linked photograph below.
a+ (fut)_v_bw_o_n (unnumbered NAA photo, ca. 1961-66)
North American Aviation (NAA) artist’s concept of a post-Apollo(?) lunar base/colony, with an Astronaut in the foreground exploring the surface.
It’s very difficult to date this photograph. The space suit appears to be a Mercury-Gemini combination, with rope-on-hip. I expected the half-dome shelters to be helpful as far as dating the image…nope. Note what appear to be directional communications antennas possessed by all, specifically the one extending up from the Astronaut’s portable life support system, which would be a non-starter I’d think. The terrain, specifically the steep lunar peaks, would seem to place it earlier during my time-span guess. The crevasse, a popular lunar surface feature in early lunar depictions, also hints at this being by Gary Meyer. That, along with it being of NAA origin.
Then there’s the orbiting spacecraft. What the hell is that/are they? To me, it looks like a lifting body/shuttle-like craft just below and to the right of the rectangular primary/mothership, which also has an odd appendage at its forward end.
I like it, it’s bold, it’s the moon, humans are on it, and it’s a little enigmatic.
Finally, what actually struck me the most, the prophetic pose of the Astronaut. See the linked photograph below.