Exploration begins with imagination, so as NASA embarks on a new generation of research and exploration we want you to imagine some of the ways space explorers will work in space and what a journey to Mars will mean for people all over the world. Here in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, we are working with the American aerospace industry to launch astronauts from U.S. soil to the International Space Station, the cornerstone of current human space exploration.
We want to get the most we can out of that unique orbiting laboratory, therefore commercial crew spacecraft are geared toward allowing an additional resident on the station, raising the standard station crew to seven. That will double the amount of time astronauts can devote to science in space and increase the work done there to answer some of the mysteries of sending astronauts to deep space and to Mars in the future.
What do you think that research will look like in orbit? What kind of laboratory in space do think of? The artwork above shows what Georgia, 10, of Merritt Island, Florida, envisions. Show us what you see when you think of the many aspects of space exploration, including the work that goes into making it safe, and we might put your vision in our Children’s Artwork Calendar for 2016. We have several topics to inspire you, along with the rules of the competition, at this website. And we’ve extended the deadline to midnight Eastern on Tuesday, Dec. 8. We look forward to seeing your vision of spaceflight!