Mars Seen From Phobos
December,1954

New opportunities for exploration beckoned as the opening of the Space Frontier approached. Chesley Bonestell, the painter of this striking cover, carefully included tiny figures of space suited explorers in most of his extra-terrestrial landscapes: an artistic expression of the pioneering spirit and adventurous restlessness inspired by the promise of space flight. His miniature spacemen blazed the trail later taken by American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts in the quest for the stars.

Artist information

Mission to Mars
May, 1958

Mars has always exerted a powerful influence on our
imaginations. The seasonal color variations exhibited
by its surface, its alternately shrinking and expanding
ice caps, and the fact that it has been the subject of
so many SF stories about dying civilizations and hostile
invaders, all combine to give Mars an aura of mystery
that no amount of Viking and Pathfinder photographs
can completely dispel. John Pederson's cover depicts
fuel laden spaceships decelerating for insertion into
Mars orbit preparatory to landing on the red planet's
desert-like surface.

See Pathfinder photos of the surface of Mars!