Mars base by Bryan Versteeg

Picture of the Day 30/12/15 - Mars base with inflatable sections partially buried in sand by Bryan Versteeg.
More of his space concept art here.

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Concept art for The Martian by Oleg Zherebin

Picture of the Day 30/10/2015 - Mark Watney, his rover and the Sojourner rover as a concept art for The Martian by Oleg Zherebin. More of his art here.

Mars base illustrations for National Geographic Kids Magazine

Mondolithic Studios has made some pretty impressive illustrations of a human Martian base for National Geographic Kids Magazine (November 2015). Click to view in full resolution:

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Mars hotel by Bob Eggleton

Picture of the Day 11/10/2015 - "Mars hotel" by fantasy and sci-fi artist Bob Eggleton.

Concept art for The Martian by Artur Sadlos

Picture of the Day 6/10/2015 - Sandstorm over a Mars base as a concept art for The Martian by Artur Sadlos.

Quotes from The Martian

Some of the most memorable quotes from the latest sci-fi blockbuster The Martian (click to view in full resolution):

Everywhere I go, I’m the first. Step outside the rover - First guy ever to be there! Climb a hill - First guy to climb that hill!

Once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially 'colonised' it.

List of Global release dates for The Martian

Upcoming sci-fi blockbuster The Martian will be on cinema screens on October 2 in United States, September 30 in United Kingdom... The full list for most of the countries can be seen here:

Official trailers of the movie here

HD images from the movie trailers here

HD images from Total Recall (1990) movie

By many the Total Recall of 1990, stared by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin and Sharon Stone and directed by Paul Verhoeven (known also for Starship Troopers, RoboCop, Basic Instinct and other movies), is being considered the best Mars movie ever, at least till The Martian will hit cinema screens. Here are some of the best HD images from Total Recall focusing on the Martian landscapes and human colony depicted in the movie (open link in new tab to view in full resolution).

Mars rover by Florent Lebrun

Picture of the Day 22/9/2015 - Rover in a Martian canyon by Canadian fantasy artist Florent Lebrun. More of his art here.

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Mars movie review - Red Planet (2000)

In the time we all are waiting for the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster The Martian I decided to watch again and review Red Planet (2000) - a sci-fi movie stared by Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss with quite similar plot (astronauts trying to survive and get off Mars) as the The Martian but undeservedly low scored by the most critics.

Story

In the first part of 21st century humans have totally polluted Earth and now are remotely trying to terraform Mars to make it a second home for humanity. For 20 years everything seems to be going according to the plan - temperatures on Mars has been raised and dispatched algae has been starting to cover more and more of the planet introducing oxygen in its atmosphere. Suddenly all the algae vanishes and there is no other way but to send a manned mission to find out - why this is happening.

It is year 2056 and a crew of 6 is being sent to Mars aboard the "Mars-1" in the first manned mission to Mars. When they reach the orbit of Mars their ship is struck by a particle burst from an unexpectedly powerful Solar flare. In result the electronics of Mars-1 is fried and fire is spreading through all the ship. 5 of 6 crew members eject the ship with landing module but the only female - ship's captain Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) - stays on Mars-1 to save the ship.

Mars outpost by Robert McCall

Picture of the Day 15/9/15 - "Another busy day on Mars" by classical space artist Robert McCall.

Images from The last days on Mars movie

The horror sci-fi thriller "The last days on Mars" (2013) by itself with its zombie virus nonsense is a complete crap, but visually it's quite attractive. Here are some of the best images from the movie (Open link in new tab to view in full resolution):

Mars lander over Valles Marineris by William Black

Picture of the Day 12/9/15 - A spacecraft entering Mars atmosphere over Valles Marineris by William Black.
More of his space concept art here.

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HD images from The Martian movie

The upcoming sci-fi movie "The Martian" is based on the novel by Andy Weir and is directed by Ridley Scott (known for Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Prometheus and countless other movies). The Martian will hit theaters mostly on early October 2015 (see full list of release dates here).

Plot in brief: "During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return."

More stuff from The Martian:  ►Trailers  ►Quotes  ►Concept art

Some of the best images from the various trailers of The Martian (Open link in new tab to view in full resolution):

Mars game review - Red Faction: Guerrilla

Red Faction: Guerrilla (2009) is an open world (sandbox) third-person shooter game set in the universe of Red Faction computer game series. It details the events between original Red Faction and Red Faction: Origins TV movie (followed by Red Faction: Armageddon computer game) on a terraformed Mars in 2125.

The most unique and compelling feature of this game is the ability to destroy almost everything in the game world. And you can do this in a lot of ways - by crushing with your powerful sledgehammer or any type of transport, by shooting, by blowing up a charge or a chemical cistern and so on.

Story

The story of Red Faction series is tied around the freedom fights of human colonists on Mars against an oppressive rule of Earth-based corporation - the plot line often used in Mars fiction. In the first game of the series - Red Faction set in 2075, 50 years before Guerrilla - Mars was liberated from the oppressive rule of Ultor corporation by revolutionary Martian miners (called "Red Faction") and its leader Parker (you can visit him as an old man next to his shack near a mohole in Badlands sector of Guerrilla). The allies of those fights - Earth Defense Force (EDF) - in last 50 years has become as ruthless as Ultor had been, for the interests of Earth's corporations pressing Martian society into forced labor. No wonder the Red Faction is revived. Unlike as in the original game where in open areas you should walk in a pressure suit, in Guerrilla the Mars is terraformed to the stage you can breath freely.

Mars base model by Kevin Atkins

Some of the pictures of the Mars base model by Kevin Atkins which was exhibited at National Space Society's International Space Development Conference in Chicago May, 2010 (click to view in full resolution):

Interspace Mars colony

Picture of the Day 31/8/15 - A drawing of a Mars colony from the website of "Interspace" - a Mars-themed attraction park in Titusville, Florida (near Kennedy Space Center) which will hopefully open in 2016 and house "the largest indoor Mars simulation in the world". It's one of the entertainment & education projects of 4Frontiers Corporation, a space commerce company focused on the settlement of Mars.

Terraformed Mars by Ville Ericsson

Picture of the Day 29/8/15 - A shuttle flying over terraformed Mars by Swedish concept artist Ville Ericsson. More of his fantasy art here.

Mars colony by Adam Bujorian

Picture of the Day 19/6/15 - Mars colony above the edge of a canyon by fantasy artist Adam Bujorian. More of his art here.

Awesome movie trailers of The Martian [updated]

My first thoughts - Awesome! If the movie will be as good as the trailers The Martian will become the BEST MARS MOVIE EVER, overthrowing Total Recall from that throne. The Martian will hit theaters mostly on early October 2015 (see full list of release dates here).

The Martian is based on the novel by Andy Weir and is directed by Ridley Scott (known for Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Prometheus and countless other movies). Plot in brief: "During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return."

More stuff from The Martian:  ►Concept art  ►HD images  ►Quotes

Update: The 2nd "official trailer" of The Martian released on 19 August:

Mars glider by David A. Hardy

Picture of the Day 6/6/15 - A solar powered glider flying over a Mars canyon by classical space artist David A. Hardy.
More of his Mars art here.

5 spacecraft currently orbiting Mars

In a recent article "Traffic around Mars gets busy" the NASA/JPL summed up some facts about spacecraft currently orbiting Mars. The most interesting is the provided graphic of their orbits around Mars (together with planet's two natural satellites Phobos & Deimos):

So there are 5 active Mars orbiters currently orbiting the planet:

Mars outpost by Robert McCall

Picture of the Day 4/5/15 - "Mars outpost" by legendary space artist Robert McCall.

Basic facts about Mars in a video by Crash Course

The most basic facts about Mars in a popular science video by Phil Plait, Crash Course. More of Crash Course educational videos about Astronomy you can watch here.

Take off from Mars by Pat Rawlings

Picture of the Day 25/4/15 - Spaceship taking off from Mars (1990) by space illustrator Pat Rawlings. His description about this drawing you can read here.

Mars greenhouse by Robert Murray

Picture of the Day 18/4/15 - Mars greenhouse by Robert Murray / The Mars Society.

View from Mars orbit by Ludovic Celle

Picture of the Day 14/4/15 - View from the window of spaceship in Mars orbit by French graphic artist Ludovic Celle.
More of his Mars art here.

Terraforming Mars by William Black

The gradual terraformation of Mars as it would be seen from space (by William Black). More of his space concept art here.

Space elevator from Mars by Peter Elson

Picture of the Day 28/3/15 - Space elevator from Mars by classical space illustrator Peter Elson. More of his paintings here.

Mars explorer by Erik van Helvoirt

Picture of the Day 21/3/15 - Mars exploration rover by Erik van Helvoirt from Netherlands. More of his concept art here.

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Mars base by Walter Myers

Picture of the Day 9/3/15 - Mars outpost habitat near Martian mesa by sci-fi artist Walter Myers. Watch more of his art here.

Why we should go to Mars, a video interview with Robert Zubrin

4 part video interview with Robert Zubrin, the president of The Mars Society, around the main subject - Why we should go to Mars? The interview was done by moonandback.com in 2012. Zubrin's and The Mars Society's efforts towards the manned mission to Mars was depicted in details in The Mars Underground documentary.

1. part - about Zubrin's career in space and the path that led to the founding of the Mars Society.

Mars explorer by Dmitry Kolomeets

Picture of the Day 6/3/15 - Mars exploration rover (2014) by freelance digital artist Dmitry Kolomeets (Dimk). More of his art here.

My LEGO Mars colony #2

When I finished my 1st LEGO Mars base back in April, 2014 (inspired from GRusso's idea for a LEGO Mars base) my boys were telling it's too small :) So now I pulled oneself together to build a bigger one - one which you could call even a small "colony" not only a "base". Part of the colony (the living quarters and some of the maintenance facilities) is hidden underground a mountain for better protection from radioactivity. Click to view in full resolution: