i visited the national air and space museum this afternoon. it's my first chance to visit since the museum reopened from remodeling last month; unfortunately 2/3 of the museum is still under renovation. i did not get to see viking, my love 💔
anyway, imo one of the coolest items in the collection is a giant mars globe. this globe measures about 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and was constructed in 1972-1973 over the course of the mariner 9 mission. new photos of mars were added to the globe as they were downlinked from the spacecraft. this helped the mission scientists keep track of their progress and highlight areas worth taking a closer look at. ultimately, it became the first full map of another planet made using only data from a spacecraft!
the technology used to make the globe - simple scissors and glue - give the globe an amazingly tactile feel. you can see the little seams and ridges from each of the 1500 photographs that went into its construction all over it. it's a really impressive sight, and it's hard not to admire the amount of work that went into it. the craftsmanship is immaculate.
