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"Water On Mars": this and the other images are downloadable in various sizes including large poster.

Image Credit: Steve Thomas

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has produced a set of posters for planetary and solar system locations that imagine them as future tourist destinations.

Visions of the Future locations include Ceres, “Queen of the Asteroid Belt”, which has hikers exploring the icy, rocky surface; Europa features an aquarium and some exotic life forms and Jupiter is feted for its amazing aurora. Titan’s icy landscape looms through its smoggy atmosphere, in contrast to the benign scene on Earth. Exoplanets are included, with a superEarth (HD4037g) and Kepler 16b, a planet with two suns.

The idea is not new – Steve Thomas’s wonderful stylized artwork includes “Ski Pluto”, an enticing vision of rocket-powered lifts and endless powder. But this is a stylish way to present talking points about planetary exploration and JPL provides science information about the destinations. Best of all, you can download these posters for free – and bring a bit of the universe into your home, office or school.