Mars Space Suit Thinktank

'Artem's space suit has great visual impact in our new look Futures Gallery. It presents a very convincing and realistic interpretation of what future astronauts may be wearing on Mars.'

Janine Eason, Exhibition Manager, Thinktank

Artem's team of creative designers and special effects technicians designed and fabricated a life-size Mars concept space suit for the newly refurbished Futures Gallery at Thinktank - Millennium Point in Birmingham.

Extensive research was conducted into a creative solution to produce a realistic interpretation of what a prototype Mars space suit could look like. We began by sculpting a figure in a natural pose in order that the final spaceman would appear balanced, an effect not possible with a generic mannequin. We then created a fibreglass shell on which to construct the suit.

The suit was fabricated out of materials used by the Space industry and intricate components were added to produce a logical representation of a life-support system. A custom-built helmet with gold-metalised visor and headlights completes the suit's highly detailed finish, resulting in a truly convincing exhibit that has a great visual impact.

A section of Mars landscape was modelled for the suit to stand on in the gallery.

Doug Hedges, Exhibition Co-ordinator at Artem, said:

'This was a really nice project to work on because it involved evaluating contemporary scientific rationale with our own design aesthetic to produce a visually impacting display.'

Thinktank is the main visitor attraction at Millennium Point, England's largest Millennium Commission lottery funded project outside London. The total cost was 114 million, including 50 million from the Millennium Commission, 25.6m from the European Regional Development Fund and 7.4m from Advantage West Midlands.

Industry

• Visitor Attractions & Museums

Discipline

• Special Costume

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