Your Favorite Planet May Soon Turn Up In The Mail

The Postal Service will showcase some of the more compelling historic, full-disk images of the planets obtained during the last half-century of space exploration. Some show the planets’ “true color” like Earth and Mars — what one might see if traveling through space. Others, such as Venus, use colors to represent and visualize certain features of a planet based in imaging data. Still others (red storms on Uranus) use the near-infrared spectrum to show things that cannot be seen by the human eye. Credits: USPS/Antonio Alcalá © 2016 USPS — The Postal Service will showcase some of the more compelling historic, full-disk images of the planets obtained during the last half-century of space exploration. Some show the planets’ “true color” like Earth and Mars — what one might see if traveling through space. Others, such as Venus, use colors to represent and visualize certain features of a planet based in imaging data. Still others (red storms on Uranus) use the near-infrared spectrum to show things invisible to the human eye.
Credits: USPS/Antonio Alcalá © 2016 USPS

Whenever I go to the post office to pick up stamps I always ask for the most colorful ones. No dead president heads for me. Mailing letters is a rare thing nowadays — might as well choose something colorful and interesting. How sweet then that we’ll soon be able to pick and stick our favorite planets (and dwarf planet!) on the mail and send them flying off to far places.

The U.S. Postal Service sneak-previewed a new series of stamps earlier this year highlighting NASA’s Planetary Science program, including a do-over of a famous Pluto stamp commemorating the New Horizons’ historic 2015 flyby. Also in the works are eight new colorful Forever stamps featuring NASA images of the planets, a Global Forever stamp dedicated to Earth’s moon and a tribute to 50 years of Star Trek.

Pluto Explored! In 2006, NASA placed a 29-cent 1991 ‘Pluto: Not Yet Explored’ stamp in the New Horizons spacecraft. With the new stamp, the Postal Service recognizes the first reconnaissance of Pluto in 2015 by NASA’s New Horizon mission. The two separate stamps show an artists’ rendering of the New Horizons spacecraft and the spacecraft’s enhanced color image of Pluto taken near closest approach. Credits: USPS/Antonio Alcalá © 2016 USPS — New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern (left), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Director Ralph Semmel (center) and New Horizons Co-Investigator Will Grundy Lowell Observatory hold a print of an U.S. stamp with their suggested update since the New Horizons spacecraft has explored Pluto last July. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The New Horizons team, which placed a 29-cent 1991 “Pluto: Not Yet Explored” stamp on board the New Horizons spacecraft, is thrilled at the updated stamp recognizing the mission.

“The New Horizons project is proud to have such an important honor from the U.S. Postal Service,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute. “Since the early 1990s the old, ‘Pluto Not Explored’ stamp served as a rallying cry for many who wanted to mount this historic mission of space exploration. Now that NASA’s New Horizons has accomplished that goal, it’s a wonderful feeling to see these new stamps join others commemorating first explorations of the planets.”

In the upcoming planet series, we’re treated to a color-enhanced Mercury taken by MESSENGER highlighting the planet’s varied terrains. Venus appears in all its naked volcanic glory courtesy of the Magellan probe which mapped the planet using cloud-penetrating radar. Like Mercury, it’s also color-enhanced since it’s impossible to see the surface in visual light even from orbit. Earth and Mars were photographed in natural light with orbiting satellites in tow.

Ten of the round Global Forever stamps of the full moon. Issued at the price of $1.20, this Global Forever stamp can be used to mail a one-ounce letter to any country to which First-Class Mail International service is available. Credits: USPS/Greg Breeding under the art direction of William Gicker © 2016 USPS — Ten of the round Global Forever stamps of the Full Moon. Issued at the price of $1.20, this Global Forever stamp can be used to mail a one-ounce letter to any country to which First-Class Mail International service is available.
Credits: USPS/Greg Breeding under the art direction of William Gicker © 2016 USPS

The Hubble Space Telescope photographed Jupiter in infrared light in 2004, capturing a rare triple transit of the moons Ganymede, Io and Callisto. Saturn comes to us from the Cassini probe, still in good health and routinely sending gorgeous images every month of the ringed planet and its moons. Pity the rings had to be trimmed, but it had to be done to keep all the globes close to the same relative size. Hubble took Uranus’ picture in infrared light, while the Neptune close-up was sent by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the television premiere, the new Star Trek Forever stamps showcase four digital illustrations inspired by the television program: the Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia, the silhouette of a crewman in a transporter, the silhouette of the Enterprise from above and the Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute. Credits: USPS/Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá © 2016 USPS — Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the television premiere, the new Star Trek Forever stamps showcase four digital illustrations inspired by the television program. Credits: USPS/Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá © 2016 USPS

2016 also marks the 50th anniversary of the television premier of Star Trek, which the post office will commemorate with the new Star Trek Forever stamps. They feature four digital illustrations inspired by the television program: the Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia, the silhouette of a crewman in a transporter, the silhouette of the Enterprise from above and the Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute.

The Global Moon stamp was issued on Feb. 22. You can pre-order the Pluto and planet stamps from USPS.com 30 days before their dedication between May 28 and June 4 at the World Stamp Show in New York. Expect the Star Trek series sometime this summer.

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