Science Explorers Poster Series

Download the Science Explorer Posters, including desktop and mobile wallpaper.

This illustration depicts a warm hued underwater landscape framed by a spherical cave opening. The microscopic building blocks of life - molecules, amino acids, proteins, bacteria, microorganisms, and extremophiles - appear to grow on surfaces and float throughout the composition. Ediacaran fossils are embedded in the surrounding rock. Hot smokers and stromatolites decorate the foreground and slime molds and lichens fill out the scene. A central hydrothermal vent emits glowing gold particles which coalesce into the shape of a human being. Molecular structures intersperse with these particles and drift upward toward the water’s blue-lit surface. The rippling reflection on surface resembles a distant spiral galaxy. From stars to life, we are the same.

Astrobiology Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Astrobiology Download Options
NASA Ocean Worlds Poster Gallery Thumbnail

Ocean Worlds Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Ocean Worlds Download Options
An artist’s concept of a landscape framed inside a sphere, which doubles as an eclipse. The concept is composed of dusky purples, oranges, golds, and greens. In the left foreground, a young woman wearing a white dress basks in the rays of a solar eclipse. She stands under a bright orange fall tree rooted to the side of a rocky mountain trail. The scene overlooks a valley with a river running through the middle towards distant hazy blue mountains. Nocturnal animals – including a fox, owl, possum, and bat – emerge to investigate the sudden onset of night. A deer stands on a grassy knoll at right in front of a line of fall colored trees. The Milky Way trails across the sky, leading up from the young woman to the eclipse and glittering stars at top right. Two hot air balloons float in the distance. This concept was created in celebration of the Heliophysics Big Year, which is bookended by the Annular Eclipse in October of 2023 and the Total Solar Eclipse in April of 2024. It also serves as the cover of the 2024 NASA Science Planning Guide.

Science Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Science Download Options

Earth Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Earth Download Options

Moon Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Moon Download Options
An artist’s concept – composed of rusty browns, reds, and dusky purples – depicting two Artemis astronauts collecting rock samples on Mars. The scene is surrounded by a spherical frame, which resembles the planet Mars on the outside, and forms the rocky cliffs of the Jezero Delta formation on the inside. The landscape is composited with real images captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover in June of 2022. In the right foreground an astronaut kneels, using a shovel to dig up soil samples. On left, the other astronaut stands, holding a rock sample in their left hand. The Artemis 1 launch can be seen reflected in the helmets visor. Behind them at left, a rover explores the surrounding area, leaving tracks in the sand. In the sky, a trajectory leads upward, curving around from right to left, then dividing into various paths at top. These paths represent the many past and future missions to visit the red planet. A futuristic Mars helicopter drone hovers in the sky on the left, and a satellite passes over in the upper right. The spherical scene is surrounded by space and stars.

Mars Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

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An artist’s concept – composed of reds, oranges, and blues accents – depicting swirling vortex of gasses, nebula, galaxies, stars, and exoplanets. These elements spiral inward toward a central glowing light. This light represents the origin of our Universe, or the “big bang.” The inner portion of the spiral was created from a section of the Carina Nebula, also known as the “Cosmic Cliffs,” captured by the Webb Space Telescope in 2022. A young boy stands at bottom right in the foreground with arm outstretched, and gazes up at the central light source.

Universe Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Universe Download Options
An artist’s concept – composed of cool blues and greens with orange accent colors – depicting a plain clothed female astronaut reading a tablet while floating in front of the cupola window on the International Space Station. Biological and Physical Science experiments surround the left side of the window. A strand of DNA provides a lattice for green plants, yellow mustard flowers, red peppers, and orange Zinnia flowers to grow. Glowing molecules and atoms float around the lattice. The Earth (left) and Moon (right) are visible outside the window. A small red star, representing Mars seen at center. The window provides a spherical frame for the composition, fading to black at the edges.

Research Poster and Virtual Backgrounds

Research Download Options