Why did we stop going to the Moon? This question tugs at the mind of many who stare into the night sky and are reminded of the immensity of the universe around us. Since the last lunar walks in the 1970s, humanity has established the International Space Station and landed robots on the surface of Mars, but a space programme committed to our return to the Moon has stalled, largely because of a lack of three interconnected elements: budget, political will, and public interest.
Some dedicated people never lost sight of their lunar ambitions. And now with budgets expanding, thanks in part to private-sector space companies, political will opening, and public interest being revitalised, those who never gave up on their dreams of lunar exploration are finding themselves at the forefront of NASA's goal to put humans back on the Moon, and establish long-term lunar habitats.
The Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc), which designs space exploration architecture and conducts mission planning, has long had its eye on the Moon and the potential it holds for expanding humanity's presence in space. Sam Ximenes, the founder of XArc and. its non-profit WEX Foundation, wanted to bring to life a vision for further exploration on the Moon and eventually on Mars in his collaboration with 3D artists.
His company has engineered systems for lunar landing pads constructed from bricks made of regolith; the loose dust and rock on the Moon's surface. It has also established concepts for underground habitats where scientists can live and conduct research, and designed spaceports to shuttle astronauts and machinery to lunar bases and back.
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Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av 3D World UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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CGI creatures
Leading film creatives pick the VFX animals that have inspired them
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The digital matte painting team at Goodbye Kansas Studios embrace a collaborative approach for the environments in Disney's miniseries
FaceBuilder
PRICE £18/$23 monthly / £180/$230 annual COMPANY Keen Tools WEBSITE keentools.io
Mars 4 Ultra
Elegoo has created quite the name for itself within the 3D printing community, with a loyal band of users singing the praises of its machines from the Mars range to the Saturn series, and also the quality of its resins.
Revodok Max 213
Although a new computer or the latest GPU are the obvious contenders for your cash, there are things that will offer big benefits even if they don’t have the same initial appeal, and a good dock is one of these.
DESIGN CHARACTERS INSPIRED BY HISTORY
Marco Teixeira explores a personal piece that resonates with Brazilian culture and influences to create an appealing portrait
HOW DO I MASTER MATERIALS IN KEYSHOT?
One of the best things about KeyShot is its ability to create and render realistic materials. When paired with beautiful lighting, product visualisations take on a whole new level of believability. When it comes to materials, KeyShot isn’t quite as advanced as some other rendering packages, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still able to create some killer materials.
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This issue’s Q&A is a real sweet treat, as I’m going to show you how to prepare a realistic jelly material in Blender – you’ll have to provide the strawberries and cream yourself though! This is a relatively straightforward procedural recipe and can be done in three quick minutes.
CRAFT UNIQUE MARIO FAN ART WITH A TEAM
Pejman Rajabi explains how his crew of expert artists put their own twist on a classic video game character
BLEND BUILDINGS AND NATURE IN A PEACEFUL SCENE
Find out how Navid Ahmadi combines a selection of assets from BlenderKit to create an awe-inspiring forest setting