“The Journey” is a colored pencil on paper depiction of Psyche’s Mars flyby and trek through space. The surface of the colored pencil has a waxy finish and a smooth blend of colors that spell out the words “the journey” in thick, block-like font; the same words in a curved font lie in the bottom right corner. To the left of the cursive font, the Roman numeral III marks the third project.

The Journey

Emerson Pappas

March 16th, 2026

Major: Chemistry & Studio Art

Genre/Medium: Colored pencils (brand: prismacolor) on paper

About the Work:

“The Journey” is a vibrant colored pencil on paper depiction of Psyche’s Mars flyby and its trek through space. For project III, I wanted to highlight the satellite’s travels out of Earth’s orbit and towards Mars for the upcoming gravity assist. Drawing on past inspiration of sci-fi classics like Star Trek and adding a retro flair, I wanted to create a “wish you were here” type of postcard. Almost as if the satellite Psyche is sending all of its supporters a message from afar. In the work itself I used waxed based pencil colors to achieve depth through layering the different pigments. The juxtaposition of large, blocky text and the cursive “post card” font continues my exploration of words and art in my projects. As for the color palette, what better inspiration is there than the Psyche logo? Similar to my past work, I love “upping” the saturation of natural images; here I dialed up the vibrance of Mars’ orange surface and balanced it with deep space blues and purples.

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Date Added: 03-16-2026
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Emerson Pappas - Psyche Inspired

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