This is a first. We humans created a space-traveling vessel that just orbited Mercury and was kind enough to take a photo to send back to its creators. The earth and moon are the obvious bright spots in the lower left quadrant.

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Everyone knows the world is about to end, so why are people still spending so much money and energy imagining Bond-villain worthy opulence such as this floating luxury hotel that has shifting sections so that the inhabitants can have a different experience every day they are far far away from the starving masses? Oh right, they’re also working on a luxury spaceship to take them to their luxury hotel on Mars.

Oh, to have been a fly on a wall within the exotic imagination of American comic book artist, Alex Schomburg! Working throughout the twentieth century, right up until his death in 1998, Schomburg’s artwork predicted a future world of exciting space exploration, full of scintillating colors and aggrieved aliens tackling unsuspecting All-American astronauts.

The Boston Globe has posted some pretty phenomenal pictures taken from the space shuttle Discovery during its recent mission. It’s almost impossible to imagine that one day views like these could become mundane.