In 2003, Britain’s Beagle 2 set off on a mission to search for signs of Martian life - but the multi-pound million probe famously disappeared on Christmas Day of that year. The press had a field day, with the tabloid cartoonists making fun of Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University - the man who headed the project.
But Prof. Pillinger doesn’t seem to mind having fun poked at him in the name of space exploration and alongside his serious research he’s spent years collecting funnies about his favourite red planet and space exploration.
Professor Pillinger owns probably the largest collections of cartoons and caricatures on the subject, and Mars in their Eyes is a hand picked selection of some of the collection.
"Mars in their Eyes sets out to show that scientists are human too and enjoy a laugh as much as anybody, even if it is at their own expense."
Each of the cartoons at the Cardiff exhibition is accompanied by a snippet of information about the science behind it.
Cartoons offer a fun way of bringing space science to the public. The drawings on display are each accompanied by a snippet of information about the science and engineering behind the image. Funded by a contribution by the STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council), the aim is to bring the excitement of space science to a wider public audience through the medium of cartoon art.
The cartoons focus on more than the failed Beagle 2 mission. The US presidency does not get off lightly, and cartoons from the 1950s and 1960s chart the space race between the US and the former Soviet Union.
But Prof. Pillinger doesn’t seem to mind having fun poked at him in the name of space exploration and alongside his serious research he’s spent years collecting funnies about his favourite red planet and space exploration.
Professor Pillinger owns probably the largest collections of cartoons and caricatures on the subject, and Mars in their Eyes is a hand picked selection of some of the collection.
"Mars in their Eyes sets out to show that scientists are human too and enjoy a laugh as much as anybody, even if it is at their own expense."
Each of the cartoons at the Cardiff exhibition is accompanied by a snippet of information about the science behind it.
Cartoons offer a fun way of bringing space science to the public. The drawings on display are each accompanied by a snippet of information about the science and engineering behind the image. Funded by a contribution by the STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council), the aim is to bring the excitement of space science to a wider public audience through the medium of cartoon art.
The cartoons focus on more than the failed Beagle 2 mission. The US presidency does not get off lightly, and cartoons from the 1950s and 1960s chart the space race between the US and the former Soviet Union.