Portraits of a Planet Portraits of a Planet
Outer Space

Portraits of a Planet

Three Photos of Earth
Piotr Stankiewicz
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Space flight brought a new perspective – for the first time, Earthlings saw their planet from afar. Three photos of Earth, which we will look at here, are especially famous.

Man flew into space, but discovered the Earth. This is a paradox and perhaps rather banal, but important and true. For the most important lesson of space travel isn’t about the infinite expanse of space, distant planets and constellations, but about the planet we set off from. And about us.

In the golden years of space travel (an era which, for now, is over), it was typical to hear talk of “conquering” or even “colonizing” space. Indeed, in the 1960s or 1970s, it might have seemed that a great future for mankind in space was within our grasp. This is not surprising, because the early years were electrifying. Barely three years passed between

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Scene from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey”
Outer Space

Space Mess

Interior Design in Space Stations
Zygmunt Borawski

Every internet user probably knows the videos shot at the International Space Station (ISS) by Chris Hadfield. Thanks to them, we have seen everyday life in space – what the inhabitants of the station eat, what they do in their spare time, how they take baths, and even how they brush their teeth. Meanwhile, an interior designer watches it and cries…

How a director sees it…

It’s hard not to notice the dissonance between real space images and our notions of living up there. Ever since the first films about conquering the universe, directors have presented us more and more daring visions of space stations and interplanetary spaceships. The most emblematic examples are in the Star Wars saga and Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. On screen, we always see sterile, clean interiors, and perfectly designed forms.

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