Space + Art

Figure 1: Graphic Depiction of the space race

Space technology and advancement would not have been possible without advertisement from art against the opposing countries in the space race and in NASA and beyond. Art has also done a great job of depicting the space race, mostly in the movie department. In the past half century, there have been three major movies that romanticize the technological advancements in both the space race and in working towards re-landing on the moon (Dutch).

Figure 2: October Sky

The movie October sky, which came out in 90’s and is based on a true story of a boy that lead his group of high school friends in successfully launching his own rocket after watching the Russian Sputnik satellite travel in the sky. The movie caught the eye of many young students, myself included, to continue to pursue their passion in the sciences. Depicting the engineering process as a very fun and beneficial one. I know for me personally it swayed me towards the sciences after I watched it. In addition to the movies about the engineering process there are also a good number of movies about the danger that can come from outer space.

Figure 3: Gravity the Movie

In the movie Gravity, depicted above, the crew of the space station has to deal with debris coming towards their ship. These types of movies lead to a different motivation for engineering, motivating saving the planet from extraterrestrial items.  Hollywood overall has vastly helped the advancement of space technology. Further displaying the relation between the sciences and art. These two, while considered to be independent, art has helped to drive space technology moving forward.

References:

1. Anderson, Ross. The Best Way to Find Aliens: Look for Their Solar Power Plants. The Atlantic. 4 Oct 2012. Web. 18 May 2015. Link.
2. Dubner, Stephen. Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost? A Freakonomics Quorum. Freakonomics. 11 Jan 2008. Web. 18 May 2015. Link. 
3. Garland, Joe. The Kardashev Scale – Type I, II, III, IV & V Civilization. Quarks & Quasars. 19 Jul 2014. Web. 16 May 2015. Link.
4. Majumdar, Nivedit. When Will We Go Interstellar – Part 1. Yaabot. 1 June 2014. Web. 18 May 2015. Link. 
5. Venable, Nick. Google X Confirms Attempts At Space Elevators And Hoverboards. Giant Freaking Robot. 16 April 2014. Web. 18 May 2015. Link.
6. Yarow, Jay. Bill Gates Disses Tech Billionaires Spending Their Free Time On Space Rockets: I Don't See How It Improves Humanity. Business Insider, Tech. 8 Aug 2013. Web. 18 May 2015. Link.