Last week we were wowed by NASA's photographs of the sunset on Mars, and this week, SpaceX has released these gorgeous vintage-style travel posters, highlighting some potential tourist hotspots on the Red Planet. If we didn't know any better, we'd think the agencies were in some kind of competition to see who can get us more excited about future expeditions to our neighbouring rock (like, say, this one, or this one).
So what's worth seeing on Mars, according to Elon Musk's SpaceX? For starters, you can't miss the planet's towering, nearly 25 km-tall volcano, Olympus Mons, "The Solar System's highest peak". Then there's Valles Marineris, a system of canyons that run more than 4,000 km, and up to 7 km deep, along the equator of the Red Planet.
And if you're feeling a little bored of all the red dust, why not take a cruise out to Phobos or Deimos, Mars's two oddly shaped moons? After all, nothing says romance like being alone with your significant other in the vacuum of space.
The posters are remarkably similar to these ones created by NASA earlier this year to highlight some of the most inviting exoplanets that the Kepler mission has found so far. But we're not complaining, because they're simple, clever and they definitely do the job. We are so ready for human exploration of the Red Planet to begin.
Enjoy them below and here in all their high-res glory. For those playing along at home, don't forget to zoom in for a game of 'spot the SpaceX logo'. Best viewed while listening to Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" (or maybe that's just me).
