Triumph, Graham Saunders, 2021
When most people see a spacesuit they see clothing. In reality, it is far closer to a vehicle and contains all the same functions as a small spacecraft. Having a human shape, they look like something you wear rather than something you pilot or drive. Like many vehicles before them, they have allowed us to reach beyond what we thought was possible and triumph over all odds.
I love the bulky, clunky nature of spacecraft and space suits, they look imposing and detailed. I think this comes from one of my pet peeves about modern sci-fi, I hate pointless-looking greeble. Stuff that’s there just to look cool or fill space without actually doing anything. I love space suits because they look purposeful, And frankly, they’re just cool as hell.
In the 1970s the United States government was given the choice between the Vietnam war or a manned lunar base, and eventually, a Mars landing by the 1990s. They chose the Vietnam war, and we haven’t been back to the moon since. This is a frozen moment of a future that never was. A future I fell head over heels for.