SIGHTINGSNASAPROBESHAVESENTBACKdaz-
zlingimagesofthemoonsinoursolarsystem,
butspaceartistRonMillerlikensthosephotos
toexploringtheUnitedStatesinanairplane.
“SeeingtheGrandCanyonfrom30,000feetjust
isn’tthesameasseeingit fromthenorthrim,”he
says,addingthatit’shisgoaltogiveusthatsame
on-the-groundviewofdistantmoons.
Andso,thankstoMiller,wefindourselves
nexttoa geyserofwatervaporandiceparticles
eruptingfromthesurfaceofoneofSaturn’smoons,
Enceladus(below).TheCassinispacecraftdetected
complexorganicmoleculesintheseplumes,hint-
ingat thepossibilitythattherecouldbelifeinthe
sub-surfaceoceans.
Morethan 400 millionmilesaway,Jupiter
loomsonthehorizonofEuropa(opposite,top),
anothericymoonthatis believedtohavea vast
oceanbeneathitssurface.InMiller’spainting,
astronautscarryflashlightsastheyexplore a
canyon.Whiletherearenoforthcomingplans
tolandhumanbeings—orevena probe—on
Europa,NASAplanstosendanorbiter,the
EuropaClipper,tostudythemooninthe2020s,
carryinga suiteofinstrumentsthatwillinclude an
icepenetratingradartodeterminethethickness
ofthemoon’sicyshell.
Saturn’smoonTitan(opposite,below),is like
an“alienEarth,”saysMiller.It’stheonlyother
worldwithstandingbodiesofliquid—although its
lakesandseascontainhydrocarbons,notwater.
But,heretoo,scientistsbelieveexoticforms of
lifecouldexist.In2026,NASAplanstolaunch
theDragonflyrotorcrafttoexploreTitan’ssurface,
finallygivingusa viewthat,fornow,existsonly
intheimaginationsofartistslikeRonMiller.The Man on the Moons
ARTIST RON MILLER TAKES US ON A TOUR OF ALIEN LANDSCAPES.70 AIR & SPACE