Creative visions transformed contestants into winning artists as the inspiration for the New Millennium art contest, sponsored by NASA's New Millennium Program, came to a colorful end.
Intertwining technology with art, the winning individual and group contestants were chosen for their portrayal of the spirit of exploration and creative interpretations of the advanced technologies flown and tested on NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) mission. The mission, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, is the first Earth-observing satellite in NASA's New Millennium Program.
"This contest is a unique way to get people of all ages to use art and creativity to think about space and technology," said Dr. Fuk Li, manager of the New Millennium Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
All contestants were required to illustrate any or all of the advanced technologies, from a camera that detects landscapes from space to an electronic flat antenna able to send large amounts of data to the ground very quickly. The participants were free to use any two- or three-dimensional artistic mediums, as long as their creations could be represented on 8-1/2 x 11- inch paper.
"The interest and creativity expressed by these young contestants bodes well for our future in space," said Bryant Cramer, Goddard's EO-1 implementation manager.
The grand-prize winners received Mars-themed toys donated by Uncle Milton Industries: one, a four-kid domed tent with an observatory telescope port, escape hatch and storage pods for stowing gear; the other, a retractable robotic arm able to extend up to 66 centimeters (26 inches), equipped with night light and gripper.
The winners, comprised of children (ages 6 to 12), young adults (ages 13 to 18) and adults (ages 19 and over), are from the following cities: Glen Falls, NY; Palm Beach, FL; Tacoma, WA; Reading, PA; Las Cruces, NM; Greeley, CO; Deltona, FL; a group from the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Owensboro, KY; a Rochester Art Center group, Rochester, MN; and a group from La Puerta Abierta Day Care Center, Brooklyn, NY.
The winning entries can be viewed at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/artcontest .
New Millennium is an advanced-technology development program, designed to develop concepts and revolutionary new technologies for future science missions. JPL manages the program for NASA's Office of Earth Science and Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.