NASA decided to make a surprising purchase after it bought planet-themed comics from a Singaporean undergrad. Jarrod Chua, the student who created the cartoon illustrations, created an Instagram page containing all his artwork.
The NASA logo is displayed at the agency's booth during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 11, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 3,900 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees.
Chua worked on his space-themed comics after issuing a stay-home restriction order back in June 2020. This happened when he was doing his national service.
After creating the Spaceytales IG account, he was surprised that his page attracted more than 1,000 followers after a month. Right now, @spaceytales has more than 9,100 followers.
Meanwhile, Jarrod already posted 106 planet-themed cartoon illustrations on his official Instagram page.
NASA Buys Planet-Themed Comics
According to The Star's latest report, the works of Chua attracted the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The international space agency contacted him back in July 2020.
At first, NASA asked his permission to repost one of his drawings, specifically the one that shows the giant James Webb Space Telescope. After that, the space union decided to purchase one of his illustrations for $1,000.
"At first, I was quite happy and shocked and didn't think much of it. I thought they were just going to repost my drawing and that was it," said Chua.
However, the student added that he was surprised when things started to get serious since NASA is offering to pay for his work.
What Will NASA Do With It?
The Strait Times reported that the modified cartoon illustration it purchased from the Singaporean undergrad was used for the agency's public outreach efforts.
The artwork that features the popular Hubble Space Telescope was posted on NASA's official website. If you see some comic strips explaining how the agency's technologies work, most of them are created by Chua.
In other news, SpaceX closed the U.S. Air Force deal, a million-dollar contract that will last for five years. Meanwhile, NASA launched its "Waste to Base" challenge, which will focus on gathering sustainable waste management ideas for its upcoming Mars missions.
For more news updates about NASA and its upcoming activities, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
