"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
— Neil Armstrong
NASA inspired Space Exploration illustrations by Oktopolis: The Art of Brian Miller
Series of Space Exploration illustrations inspired by historic NASA programs.
Apollo 11 blasted off in July 1969, sending astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on a journey to the moon and back. These brave NASA astronauts became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface. Over 650 million people watched the historic landing on July 20, 1969, and heard Neil Armstrong now famous quote “... one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
That first lunar lander named Eagle, touched down on the moon's surface as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Four days later the the Lunar Module's ascent stage blasted off from the moon's surface and rejoined the command module, already in orbit around the moon. The astronauts jettisoned the LEM's ascent stage and set their course for Earth, splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean, completing President John F. Kennedy's goal "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
In all six Lunar Modules landed on the moon and each crew was able to return home. The final moon mission to use the LEM was Apollo 17, launched on December 7th, 1972 and was NASA's final manned moon landing. This artwork is inspired by those historic NASA missions and celebrates the brave astronauts who went to the moon and back.
Flash forward to the summer of 1977. Star Wars landed in theaters and the Voyager mission launched. The twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, were sent on a planetary grand tour of Jupiter and Saturn and beyond. After decades of service, both spacecraft are now headed out of the solar system into interstellar space. Voyager mission status: still going.
These illustrations were drawn using Adobe Draw on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil. The drawings were exported to Adobe Photoshop where final color adjustments were made, halftone patterns created, and typography finalized.
Fine-Art Prints available from Oktopolis.
illustration by Brian Miller © Oktopolis. All rights reserved. This artwork may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Oktopolis. All characters and names © & ™ their respective owners. Illustration © Oktopolis.
