Wednesday 10 March 2021

dare mighty things

Via Super Punch—and our thanks for letting us revisit a pretty incredible moment when Perseverance touched down—we have this flowing dress (see also) inspired by the Martian rover’s parachute, whose unfurled patterns encoded an inspiring, rewarding message. Mission planners and scientists have been dropping the motto in press-releases for some time, including a feature on Curiosity (the openings in that rover’s wheels spelled out JPL, Jet Propulsion Labs just as the hem of the dress, outer ring of the parachute gives the facility’s coordinates) with the same title back in 2013 but it’s really enjoyable to see it all come together.
In the spirit of a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, the invocation first appeared in an address (“The Stenous Life,” 1899) by Theodore Roosevelt: “Far better is it to dare might things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much—because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory not defeat.” Find out about more Easter eggs on the manifest, including an emblem of the Rod of Asclepius in deference to the present pandemic on Earth.