Exploring the Mars Frontier requires scientists, engineers and artists.

Mars Artist

My name is Corby Waste and I create artwork for the NASA Mars Exploration Program which is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Since 1998 I've been at JPL visualizing Mars missions. I have to imagine what it's like to be on Mars or in orbit. Before I arrived at the Lab the Mars program mostly used paintings of their spacecraft. I create my artwork with computer graphics. Most likely you've already seen my Mars or other mission artwork for years but never knew who created them because the image credits usually say only: NASA JPL. Below are a few of my most well-known images.

 

It's a big job helping to open up the Mars Frontier but someone has to do it!

 

My Life on Mars: Working for the Mars Program

Click on the link below to see where my artwork is being used in over 65 countries around the world.

 

My current JPL Mars projects include the 2007 Phoenix Mars Lander, the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), a 2016 Mars Science Orbiter (MSO) and a really big project, a 2020 Mars Sample Return (MSR). In addition I'm working on visualizations of the 2011 GRAIL mission to map the Moon's gravity and the 2011 JUNO Jupiter polar orbiter mission. I've been busy!

There are graphical links all through this site - just click on everything to learn more.

 

 

2007 Phoenix Mars Lander

 

May, 2008: New Phoenix 3D for JPL Open House

May, 2007: Phoenix Mars Lander in stereo 3D

Feb. 2007: My pictures of the Phoenix Mars Lander in clean room

 

 

 

 

 

2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Launch: December, 2009
Arrival: October, 2010

 

 

"Troubles parallel ambitions in NASA Mars project" - USATODAY.com, April, 2008

 

 

 

2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

 

MRO is NASA's powerful new Mars orbiter which arrived safely on March 10, 2006

 

 

These are some of the MRO images I've created.

 

January, 2005: I went to see MRO at Lockheed Martin Astronautics near Denver, Colorado and take pictures. That's me in two of the pictures.

 

 

2003 Mars Exploration Rovers - still going!

 

 

NASA JPL has 2 highly sophisticated twin rovers called "Spirit" and "Opportunity" on Mars. They've been operating successfully now since January of 2004 and are still going strong. During the spring of 2004 my office was located with part of the rover team. It was very interesting ! Click on the images below to learn more.

 

 

Mars Express

NASA is participating in the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission. All of the images of Mars Express on the US mission website were created by me. The Mars Express mission is turning out to be very important scientifically and the pictures it sends back are amazing - they can be seen here. Below is a recent example of the high quality images Mars Express is capturing.

 

Mars Express image of water ice in crater at Martian north pole

 

It is a special pleasure to be part of such a successful international Mars mission. JPL played a key part in it's success.

 

 

2001 Mars Odyssey

I created all the NASA artwork for the 2001 mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)

Entered Mars orbit on September 11, 1997

Missing presumed lost November, 2006

   

 

   

Sept. 20, 2006 at JPL: I finally got to meet astronaut, scientist, educator/author Sally Ride in person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 years on Mars!

August 2007 marks my 10th anniversary of helping the Mars program at JPL. Many people have asked me how I was able to get such a great job. Perhaps reading about my previous space experiences will help explain. Click on the link below to read about some my pre-JPL hightlights.

 

 

 

3 new books featuring my Mars artwork

 

 

 

Corby Crater in the news

Click on the articles from Corby, UK

 

Corby Waste, JPL, mentioned on BBC Comedy Show !

Andrew Rees, a friend from my years in Tenby, Wales, UK (1962-1964) rediscovered me this way:

 "LAST SATURDAY I WAS WATCHING A PROGAMME ON BBC 1 HERE IN SUNNY OLD PEMBROKESHIRE AND LO AND BEHOLD THE NAME CORBY WASTE CAME UP. THE PROG IS CALLED 'QI' AS IN 'QUITE INTERESTING', A SORT OF A PANEL GAME HOSTED BY STEPHEN FRY. THEY HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT CORBY IN THE UK, THE CORBY TROUSER PRESS, CORBY WASTE DISPOSAL ETC AND FRY MENTIONED YOUR NAME IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR WORK AT JPL."

 

That episode aired on Nov. 19, 2005. I plan to buy it on DVD when it's released.

 

 

 

My own Mars stamps!

I've discovered 34 of my Mars mission images on foreign postage stamps! So far they've been issued by Guyana, Nevis, Niger, Palau, Somalia, Madagascar, Guinea, Dominica, Togo, Tanzania, Gambia and the island of Niue. Click on them to see the collection. My Mars artwork has also appeared in books, on mugs, watches, toy boxes, clothes, etc. but this is one of my favorites.

 

 

Site Directory

Keywords: Mars artist - NASA artist

- JPL artist - Space artist

 

 

 

 

Gateway to the Mars Frontier

 

Images Courtesy: NASA JPL/Caltech, Artist: Corby Waste

 Mars artist contact: Corby Waste or corby.waste@jpl.nasa.gov

  JPL artist Corby Waste, soon after his arrival on Mars on March 2, 1998. Welcome to Outer Space!  

 

The opinions expressed in the Fourth Millennium are strictly my own. This is not a NASA website.

Other illustration credits: top left, astronauts on a Mars moon is by Jack Coggins, 1951, and the top right image of astronauts on a Mars moon is by Paul Rossi, 1960, for the Martin Company (as in Lockheed Martin)
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