This project began as an exploration of lunar topography and grew into an animated infographic, illustrating the history of Moon missions. What follows is a look at how the idea developed step by step.
.
1. Exploring the Moon’s Elevation Data
I started with a dataset from PyGMT of lunar elevation.
Using GMT, I plotted the data as a shaded relief and experimented with different colour palettes.
2. Building a 3D Moon
I wanted to explore a more 3-dimensional approach to visualizing the surface of the moon, and decided to continue in Blender. I exported a grayscale height map from my GMT workflow.
Using this height map, I generated a 3D model of the moon.The final export was a rotating 3D animation with shadows, lighting, and texture.
3. Adding Context: Moon Missions Timeline
I wanted to pair the 3D animation with meaningful scientific context. After researching lunar-related datasets, I found a timeline of all Moon missions.
After exploring the data, I decided to filter the list to include only successful and partially successful missions. Trying to fit all missions, including unsuccessful missions became too crowded, and I wanted to highlight milestones in lunar exploration. I then parsed and plotted the missions chronologically by launch date using python, which provided a starting point to design the rest of the infographic around.
4. Designing the Final Infographic
I designed this infographic using my 3D animation and timeline. I used a range of software including Adobe Illustrator and After Effects.