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Space Topics: Postcards from Venus

Contest Rules and Prizes

The official version of these rules is the English language version. In the event of contradictions between different language versions of these rules, the English language version takes precedent.

Contest Theme

Venus, shrouded under a dense haze, is a world steeped in mystery. Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor, Venus is nearly identical in size and mass, yet its surface temperature is hotter than a kitchen oven because the thick atmosphere traps the Sun’s heat.  Instruments on board Venus Express will study the planet’s atmosphere and what drives the planet’s high-speed winds. An on-board camera will capture images of the surface by peering through “windows” in the enveloping haze.

The Venus Express Art Contest theme is “Postcards from Venus.”  Contest entrants are invited to imagine the surface of Venus from an above-ground perspective – a bird’s eye view of a mysterious world whose volcano-ridden surface contains few impact craters, indicating a planet where resurfacing on a global scale has taken place within the last 500 million years.  ESA requests that the subject of the artwork be the surface of Venus, not the spacecraft.

How to Enter

Anyone may enter. The “Youth” category includes anyone aged 17 or under as of April 1, 2006. The “Adult” category includes anyone who will be 18 or over as of April 1, 2006. Only one entry per person is permitted. No group projects are permitted; only one artist may submit each artwork.

Produce your artwork on the contest theme in any two-dimensional artistic medium.  Computer-generated art is acceptable. All work must be the original, unique creation of the artist submitting the artwork. No work that has been directly copied from any published source, or which includes such material, may be submitted. Renderings of spacecraft and space objects may be based upon existing published imagery but they must be creatively modified and reinterpreted using the artist’s own vision and style.

Artwork that has been previously published or exhibited is not permitted.

You may enter your artwork either digitally, through our online form, or by mailing a submission. We encourage everyone to enter digitally if possible in order to avoid lost, damaged, or late entries.

• To enter online, photograph or scan your artwork into the computer. If you do not have a digital camera or scanner, try visiting a “Print & Copy Center” type of business for help. The artwork should be the shape of a postcard (wider than it is tall, with the ratio of the long to short sides about 3:2).  It is suggested that the artwork be between 600 by 900 and 1200 by 1800 pixels in size.  Save the resulting artwork as a JPEG image. The image must be smaller than 2 Megabytes in size after JPEG compression. Submit the artwork online at http://planetary.org/postcards_from_venus/. Fill the form out completely; incomplete information could disqualify your entry.
• To enter by mail, mail your art and your entry form to Venus Express Art Contest, 65 N Catalina Ave, Pasadena, California, 91106, USA. The artwork should be the shape and size of a postcard (approximately 4 by 6 inches or 10 by 15 centimeters).  Your entry must arrive at The Planetary Society by January 13, 2006. Artwork mailed to The Planetary Society becomes the property of The Planetary Society and cannot be returned.

All reproduction rights to all of the submitted artwork will remain with the artists. However, all prize winners shall agree that The Planetary Society and ESA are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights for Planetary Society or ESA advertising, promotion, print publication, and Internet purposes. The Planetary Society and ESA agree not to sell any of the artwork, or any reproduction, unless an additional agreement is reached with the artist involved. The Planetary Society and ESA also will refer any inquiries regarding sale or other use of the art directly to the artist.

Judging

All entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges selected by The Planetary Society. Art will be judged on the artwork’s articulation of the contest theme, creativity, and artistic merit. For submissions by artists under 18 years of age, the age of the artist will be taken into consideration. One Grand Prize winner will be selected.  One First, one Second, one Third, and five Honorable Mention winners will be selected in each age category (Youth and Adult). Judging decisions are final and may not be appealed.

Two months or more after the arrival of Venus Express, another judging panel will review the entries to select two Special Prizes.  The Special Prizes (one Youth and one Adult) will be awarded for that art most closely resembling a view of Venus returned from the Venus Express spacecraft.

A graphic artist employed by the European Space Agency will select hundreds of artworks from among the entries for inclusion in a collage to be exhibited when Venus Express arrives at Venus in April 2006.

Dates

All dates refer to Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8 hours). All entries must be received by The Planetary Society no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 13, 2006. The Planetary Society and the European Space Agency cannot be responsible for entries that are late due to computer malfunction, or for entries that are lost, delayed, or damaged in transit.

Judging will take place in late January.  Following judging, the Grand Prize Winner will be notified of his or her status privately by e-mail and/or by telephone. Honorable Mention Winners will be notified privately by e-mail and/or by mail. A list of contest winners and their artworks will be posted on http://planetary.org. Entrants who provide e-mail addresses will receive a one-time e-mail informing them of the results of the contest.

Prizes

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a trip to Darmstadt, Germany in April 2006, including travel expenses, food, and lodging, in order to visit the European Space Operations Centre during Venus Express’ arrival at Venus.  If the Grand Prize Winner is under 18 as of April 1, 2006, the Grand Prize will also include companion travel for one accompanying parent or legal guardian.

All Winners’ artworks will be displayed at ESA's European Space Operations Centre during the Venus Express arrival at Venus, as well as on The Planetary Society's website at planetary.org. A selection of entries will be featured in a special gallery on the European Space Agency's web Portal at www.esa.int, together with the names of the winners.

All Winners will receive: a Planetary Society Prize Package including one year of free Planetary Society membership, a Certificate of Honor; and an ESA Prize Package consisting of a Venus Express Mission Patch, T-shirt, cap, poster, pin, and keychain.

The two Special Prize winners will receive a framed, enlarged image of Venus captured by Venus Express, provided by ESA, as well as the Planetary Society and ESA Prize Packages.

The Planetary Society and ESA reserve the right to replace any prize with one of equal or greater value.

Eligibility

Entrants may be of any age and from any country. Employees, Board members, and Advisors of The Planetary Society, employees of the European Space Agency, and their immediate family members (i.e. spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and siblings) are not eligible to enter.

Eligibility: Grand Prize
Citizenship/Passport: To be eligible for the Grand Prize, entrants must satisfy one of the following: Be a citizen of a country in the European Union; hold a passport from a country whose citizens are not required to have visas in order to enter the European Union; or hold a passport and a German visa that are valid for the entire month of April 2006.

Failure to meet the Citizenship/Passport requirement will disqualify an entry from receiving the Grand Prize but will leave the entry eligible for other prizes.

In the case of a Grand Prize Winner from the Youth category (under the age of 18), a Parent or Guardian of the Winner must be available to accompany the Winner during travel. The Winner may only be escorted by his or her parent or legal guardian, not by any other person. The parent or legal guardian must be able to satisfy the Citizenship/Passport requirements as listed above.  A Youth Grand Prize Winner must be at least 10 years of age on April 1, 2006.