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P H OTO G R A P H Y BY J O E L F I L I P E . T Y P O G R A P H Y BY K AT R I N A G U I N TO . N EW FRONTI ER
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C O N T R I B U TO R S
Who We Are CHARLTON OLMOS, CO-CREATOR
Charlton is a graphic + product designer, as well as a self-described learner for life. He has visited over twelve countries to date and aspires to own a bee farm and live a simple life. @ C H A R LTO N . O L M O S
KATRI NA GU I NTO, CO-CREATOR
New Frontier is an educational magazine about exploration that invites readers to pursue their curiosity and think deeper about the world. © New Frontier Magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent from the editors. Additional images throughout the magazine were taken from Unsplash.com. Contributing photographers: Joel Filipe, Hans Reniers, Jude Beck, Andy Holmes New Frontier Magazine 123 Adventure Lane NW Calgary, AB T2X 0G0 Printed in Calgary For subscriptions, please email subscribe@newfrontier.com For all advertising inquiries, please email advertising@ newfrontier.com. Issue 1, Spring 2020 newfrontier.com N EW FRONTI ER
Katrina is a graphic designer whose fascination with outer space is rivalled only by her love for typography. She is an eternal optimist with a dream of owning a floor-to-ceiling library. @ K AT R I N A . G U I N TO
MI KA ABADA, ILLUSTRATOR
Mika is an illustrator with a passion for history. Armed with a sketchbook and drawing supplies, she spends her free time making stickers and learning ancient languages. @ K A I B I GA N G M I K A
CARLOS OLMOS, PHOTOGRAPH ER
Carlos is an intrepid explorer and photographer with a thirst for adventure. He’s an expert at capturing the beauty around us, as well as making the world’s best tacos. @ E X P LO R E O L M O S
A L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I TO R S
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uriosity is an integral part of humanity. Our textbooks are filled with countless examples of people who have marvelled at the world and left the familiar to set out into the unknown. That tenacity, that wonder, that desire to see and learn more about the universe is something that we value. And so we created this magazine to analyze and celebrate this incredible spirit of exploration. The world inspires wonder and excitement, and we believe that learning about it should be just the same. In order to have the greatest impact, learning should be fun and personalized, so we’ve added interactivity throughout this magazine, including pages for you to unfold, spaces to draw on, and codes to crack. At the same time, we also believe that education should be accurate and objective. Life is not as clear-cut as we have been led to believe, so it’s important to think deeper. We’ve taken great care to research the information given to you, but we invite you to make your own investigations instead of fully trusting us. Consider additional sources and examine them with a critical eye to gain a more unbiased and well-rounded understanding of science and history. This magazine is not meant to be an accumulation of facts, but a starting point to introduce you to a range of ideas and information so you can begin your own journey of discovery. In each issue, we cover two areas of exploration and find a way to bridge them together. Both oceans and outer space contain traces of our origins, so it was fitting to begin our explorations there. As we survey the seas and the cosmos together, we hope to kindle your curiosity, not only about the world but the steps that we, as humanity, took to make sense of it. A better understanding of our past can help us map the trajectory of our future, so let’s look back through our history and consider where we came from. We’ve compiled different topics that relate to this issue’s theme, from ancient myths that explain the occurrence of eclipses to a present-day explorer reading the stars to find a lost city. Think of each topic as a different lens with which to see the world. And as you read through the next few pages, we encourage you to scribble in the margins, highlight the parts that interest you, and even dog-ear the pages you want to revisit. Make this magazine your own. After all, you are as much a part of this journey as we are.
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Charlton & Katrina
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CONTE NTS
01 4
WHO WE ARE
Let us introduce ourselves to you.
5 A LETTER FROM TH E EDITORS
This is what New Frontier is about.
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FIND TH E MYTHS
An interactive break.
22 WHAT DO YOU SEE IN TH E STARS?
An interactive break.
02 9 ALFA, BRAVO, CHARLIE Communication is key to human susses, so how did we communicate over the ocean without words?
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TH E STORIES TH EY TOLD
Meet the cast of characters from stories woven by ancient civilizations around the globe.
12 TH E BOY WHO DID TH E THING 6
Exploration and ingenuity can come from anyone. This is a story of what happens when you have an idea that doesn’t quite work out
13 JUST A BUNCH OF HOGWASH Often, the way we look at history comes from a subjective lens. What we believe to be true might in fact be a stretch. It’s time to set the record straight.
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CONTE NTS
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MYSTERIES OF TH E DEEP
The depths of the ocean contain both wonders and terrors beyond our imagination. Discover what we know, as well as what we don’t.
18 SAME STARS, DIFFERENT STORIES We learned to explore the oceans by looking up into outer space. The stars that guided us were the same, but the stories we gave them were not.
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TH E RACE TO SPACE
The race to space was not a smooth, paved path, but rather a rough upward mountain.
04 26 SYMPOSIUM Share your thoughts and join the conversation.
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TELL TH E STORY
In every issue, we give you a unique prompt so you can take this magazine beyond the page and into your own life.
Legend
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FEATU RES DEPARTM ENTS I NTERACTIVE
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Ex pl ore Olmos Photography
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C R AC K T H E C O D E
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY N A S A + C A R LO S O L M O S
Alfa, Bravo, Charlie Communication is key to human susses, so how did we communicate over the ocean without words? COMMU N ICATION I N TH E SEAS
TRY IT YOU RSELF
Early ocean explorers realized the value of being able to contact other ships, and so they came up with different methods to communicate in a pre-radio world. Although it’s unclear as to the earlier forms of communication, most suspect that simple hand gestures would have served well in communicating a message. From there, the addition of different coloured cloths would further add meaning until a standardized system of flags was created.
Hidden throughout the magazine are flags, each of which correspond to a letter. Try and crack the code to find the hidden message.
The International Code of Symbols is a collection of flags that are used to signal different messages to other ships. Being a standardized code made it possible to communicate even with different language speakers. There are 40 flags in total, one for each letter of the alphabet, 4 substitute, and 10 for each numerical digit. Each flag can stand on its own to have a single meaning or can be combined to create a new meaning. Even if your message is not represented by the flags, you can use a combination of flags with different hand positions to create letters. This method is called semaphore and involves a person holding a flag in each hand and moving their positions. Each letter in the alphabet, as well as the ten digits, corresponds to a different arm position. Knowing how to follow the International Code system is necessary for military communication on boats and is a requirement in the navy.
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MYTHS AN D LEGE N DS
I L L U S T R AT I O N BY M I K A A B A D A
The Stories They Told Meet the cast of characters from stories woven by ancient civilizations around the globe 10
The universe has fascinated humanity for millennia. Our ancestors didn’t have a thorough understanding of the world, so they created explanations for the natural phenomena they observed. The stories they crafted enrich our understanding of what the world was like—and what we were like—long ago. While it’s important to pursue knowledge, we must remember that wonder, curiosity, and storytelling also play a part in the process of discovery. These are just a few of the stories told by people long ago who, like us, wondered about the depths of the ocean and the reaches of the galaxy.
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MYTHS AN D LEGE N DS
AMAN SI NAYA (TH E PH ILI PPI N ES)
ALULU EI (MICRON ESIA)
The primordial deity of the ocean and protector of fishermen, Aman Sinaya was one of the five original deities in Philippine mythology. Some accounts depict them as a male deity, while some a female deity. There was no conflict in this gender fluidity in precolonial times as a god and a goddess may be referred to simply as anito. Aman Sinaya sent tempests into the heavens, to which the ruler god Bathala responded by throwing boulders which would become the Tagalog people’s islands.
In the Caroline Islands emerged the story of Aluluei, the god of seafaring. When his two older brothers tried to drown him out of jealousy, his father rescued him and gave him eyes like the stars as protection. This terrified his younger brother, but Aluluei showed him that they were the stars in the sky and taught him how to navigate by them.
N EHALEN N IA (TH E N ETH ERLAN DS)
Before the Viking Age, sailors prayed to Nehalennia, the Celtic goddess of navigation and fertility, before crossing the North Sea. Some believe she caused storms, while others believe she had the power to calm them. OLOKU N (N IGERIA)
The Yoruba people of Nigeria tell the story of Olokun, the god of the sea, who once challenged the supreme god Olorun to a weaving contest. Olorun craftily sent a chameleon as his messenger, who copied and built off of Olokun’s designs. When Olokun saw that even Olorun’s messenger was that skilled, he accepted defeat. TISHTRYA (I RAN)
In Iranian mythology, the bright star Sirius is known as Tishtrya. He was said to bring rain down on the earth by fighting a demon named Apaosha who had stolen the people’s water.
PULEKU KWEREK (NATIVE AM ERICA)
The Yurok people from northwestern California believed that Pulekukwerek, a spirit created from tobacco, was the protector of humankind. He placed the stars in the sky and stole the night so people could rest. I NTI (PERU)
Inti was the sun god of the Incas. While they revered his power, they also thought that Inti could contract illnesses and contaminate their water. The rainbow signalled when this would happen, so people stocked up on their water supply whenever it appeared. 11
ARI KUTE AN D TAM EN DONAR (BRAZIL)
The Tupi people believed that the sun and moon were two quarreling brothers named Arikute and Tamendonar. One fight grew so intense that it caused a worldwide flood. After repopulating the earth, they became the gods of day and night, but their fight never ended. In fact, you can still witness them battle to this day.
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E V E RY DAY E X P LO R E R S
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY C A R LO S O L M O S
The Boy Who Did the Thing Exploration and ingenuity can come from anyone. This is a story of what happens when you have an idea that doesn’t quite work out
In 2016, 15-year-old William Gadoury made headlines when he theorized the location of an ancient Mayan city using a little brain power and Google Maps. Gadoury became fascinated with ancient Mayan peoples after the end-ofthe-world craze in 2012. He was particularly interested in the locations of the cities finding it odd that they lived where they did. Most ancient and modern cities are situated around natural water sources, but the Mayan cities were not. Gadoury remembered the Mayan people’s interest in the cosmos and began to look for answers. A breakthrough came when Gadoury overlaid aerial images of ancient Mayan cities with star maps to plot 23 constellations to the cities’ locations. He found that every star within a constellation matched up to 117 different Mayan cities in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador— with the exception of one. 12
Looking back at his map overlay, Gadoury was able to point out the location where, based on his theory, a Mayan city should be. Using Google Images, he found an object he assumed was manmade and concluded that what he found was the lost Mayan city. He presented his findings to the media and the story took off. However, this was only a theory, and in order to prove it, Gadoury would need to take an expedition deep into the jungle to substantiate his claims. But there are many who say that it won’t even be necessary.
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David Stuart, an anthropologist from the Mesoamerica Centre at the University of Texas, says, “There is no evidence to suggest that ancient Mayans plotted their cities according to the constellations. Seeing any patterns is just coincidental since Mayan cities are everywhere and so are stars.” Thomas Garrison, another anthropologist, added that “[he] applauds the young kid’s effort... [h]owever, groundtruthing is the key to remote sensing research. You have to be able to confirm what you are identifying…” With such evidence, it’s hard to lay claim to Gadoury’s findings. His theory was accepted by the media as true before it could be tested only because it made for a good headline. It’s easy to say that this story ended poorly or that nothing could be learned from it, but that isn’t the case. Gadoury did everything right. He came up with an idea, tested it, and found something there, so he tested it some more. Even if his idea never led to the discovery of a Mayan city, he was able to spark curiosity in many others. Now it’s a matter of altering his theory based on the new evidence provided and trying again. In the world of exploration, you often need failure to understand your successes. Without it, you will never be able to rule out what’s inaccurate on your way to discovering the truth.
DEBU N KI NG MYTHS
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY C A R LO S O L M O S
Just a Bunch of Hogwash Often, the way we look at history comes from a subjective lens. What we believe to be true might in fact be a stretch. It’s time to set the record straight. The Vikings were the greatest nautical explorers of their time. They founded cities in England and Iceland 500 years before Columbus, and yet it seems that they are only remembered as a brutal, war-mongering, horntoting people. Like most things lost to history, we can only rely on stories and written accounts to help piece together what actually happened. But what do you do if the written history is not accurate? The Vikings, as they are referred to, were made up of people from what is now Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. They were a largely self-governing group of people that all collectively identified as one. Most of whom we would call Vikings were actually peaceful farmers who were more interested in trade than anything else. The term “Viking” is actually a verb, which means to go on a raid.
The nautical expertise of the Viking people was what made them known for these raids. Their boats were shallower, which meant they could sail over seas and through rivers, and thus have greater access to water. One river they sailed through led directly into the city of Paris, which was full of treasure that a group of Vikings wanted. Raid after raid, Paris found themselves ransacked by Vikings who would kill and plunder. The king of Paris decided he would prevent them from invading by offering them silver coins instead. The Vikings took the offer and left. Word soon got out and many other Vikings began using their brutal reputation as a way to scare the kings into giving them easy money. This continued for a while until another king decided it had to stop. They would soon be out of money. He decided to offer one Viking warlord a permanent plot of land for him and his men in exchange for protection from other incoming Vikings. The warlord in question agreed to the terms, and the land surrounding the mouth of the river that led into Paris was given to them. The land was named Normandy after the Norman people it was given to. Of the Viking history we know, all of it was written after the Viking culture had died off. A large majority of it was written by Christian priests as they were some of the only literate people at the time and were often the main targets of Viking attack. Not only did the priests exaggerate their accounts of the Vikings, but they were also in strong opposition of their polytheistic views and had much to gain from painting Vikings as godless brutes. For most historians, it seems as though the Viking story has fallen victim to the victors who told their tales. Much like the horns on their helmets, the Viking people were demonized and exaggerated throughout history.
One of the warlord’s descendants was William the Conquerer, who took over England and established the current line of monarchs. Yes, this means the queen of England is related to a Viking warrior.
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W O R D S BY K AT R I N A G U I N TO
The depths of the ocean contain both wonders and terrors beyond our imagination. Discover what we know, as well as what we don’t.
They are surprisingly diverse, from fish to arthropods to jellyfish, all thriving despite the lack of sunlight and oxygen. Where they’ve been discovered reveals a pattern that suggests what types of creatures can be found at which depths. To our knowledge, the inhabitants of the deep sea are loosely intertwined with more complex animals, such as sharks and squid, nearer to the surface are more simplistic animals, such as tube worms and unicellular organisms, along the ocean floor. The pattern is a fascinating timeline, providing us with clues as to how animal life has evolved over the millennia. For a long time, scientists were mystified by how these creatures survived in such harsh conditions until the discovery of hydrothermal vents led to new revelations about the existence of life. Scientists found microorganisms that undergo chemosynthesis to turn heat and chemicals from the vents into food, similar to how plants undergo photosynthesis. Only instead of sunlight, these bacteria source
What remains to be found?
Arthropods are invertebrates that include insects, shrimp, crabs, and even trilobites.
sea, is home to a multitude of the earth’s most fascinating creatures.
the thought of deep, open waters brings a sense of unease. Much of the ocean is both dark and unknown, preying on humankind’s most primal fears. Even what we do know about life in the deep, like the discovery of the famous anglerfish—which lures its prey with a mysterious light before snapping it up in its jaws— sounds like it came straight out of a nightmare. There’s something about the deep sea that makes us feel a sense of dread, but fear and wonder often go hand in hand. The ocean is terrifying, but is also immensely fascinating. For some of us, our fear has kept us from diving too deep, but for others, our wonder and curiosity have pulled us in and compelled us
FO R MA NY,
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Many might wonder why so much of the ocean still remains a mystery, especially considering how much we know about outer space, which is much further away. As it stands, humanity has sent twelve people to walk on the moon, but only three people have reached the deepest part of the ocean, a point in the Marianas Trench called the Challenger Deep. In 1960, two explorers named Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard became the first human beings to reach that depth in a deep-sea submersible called a bathyscaphe. Invented by Jacques’s
CHARTI NG TH E U N KNOWN
Considering the feats humankind has accomplished in studying the ocean, it seems we understand life in its depths quite extensively. However, the astounding truth is that 95% of it still remains to be explored. Everything that we’ve learned, we’ve gained from the little that we’ve seen. We can only imagine what else we can discover from the areas still unmapped.
their nutrients from underneath the earth itself. The bacteria then become food for another animal, which in turn becomes food for another, and another, forming the basic food chain of the deep sea.
We used to think that marine life became more and more sparse the further down we traveled. After all, how can life exist in such an intensely cold, dark environment? While it’s true that a majority of underwater creatures live within 200 metres from the surface of the ocean, we have since discovered that the deeper areas we previously thought were mostly uninhabited weren’t actually so. The reality, and the astonishing wonder, is that the expanse of darkness, called the deep
CREATU RES OF TH E DEEP
to explore this mysterious frontier. So, what have we discovered so far? And what remains to be found?
The character Jean-Luc Picard from the Star Trek universe was named after Auguste Piccard.
A DEEP DIVE
M ESOPELAGIC ZON E
This creature appears to be faceless because its mouth is on the underside of its head. Its eyes are either underneath its skin or they’re nonexistent.
FACELESS CUSK
This fish preys on creatures twice as big, swallowing them whole.
BLACK SWALLOWER
Female anglerfish are known by their dorsal spines, which emit light to trap prey. Males lack this feature and survive by latching onto the females.
ANGLERFISH
Also known as the abyssal zone. Most of the ocean floor is found here.
ABYSSOPELAGIC ZON E
This shark is a slow swimmer with extendable jaws and a snout shaped like the blade of a sword. Its name is a translation of the Japanese word tengu, which is a mythical creature that the shark resembles.
GOBLI N SHARK
Also known as the twilight zone. There isn’t enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur here.
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The wreck of the sunken Titanic rests at this depth.
RMS TITAN IC
Measuring up to 46 feet long and weighing almost 1,100 pounds, the colossal squid is the largest known invertebrate.
COLOSSAL SQU I D
The dragonfish lures prey with a bioluminescent trap dangling from its chin. It has a darkly coloured body and large transparent teeth, making the dragonfish appear invisible.
DEEP SEA DRAGON FISH
bones before they could be fossilized.
Scientifically known as Osedax worms, these creatures feed off the bones of the dead. They have been around since the dinosaurs and are thought to have eaten through plesiosaur
ZOMBI E WORMS
Often called slime eels, hagfish are scavengers that range between being 4 centimeters to 4 feet long. They produce a unique slime that scientists are researching to develop new materials.
HAGFISH
Also known as the midnight zone. Sunlight can no longer reach this depth.
BATHYPELAGIC ZON E
Also known as the sunlight zone. Most marine life lives in this area.
EPI PELAGIC ZON E
Travel through the five zones of the ocean and see what lies within its dark, deep waters.
Why have we explored so little of the ocean? The biggest and most pressing reason lies in the fact that it exerts lethal amounts of pressure the deeper you travel. When you’re in the ocean, the weight of the water above you presses down on you at an additional 6.47 kg of weight every 10 metres deep. Reaching just 2,500 metres below the ocean surface exerts about the same amount of pressure as having an adult elephant stand on your toe. Then there are also the freezing temperatures and the complete darkness to consider. The deep ocean is so
Regardless of why we explore, it’s apparent that the act of exploration teaches us about the world around us. Thousands of years of scientific discoveries have led to humanity’s collective understanding of our universe, and there is still so much to learn. But what most people may not readily admit is that exploration also teaches us about ourselves. It is not just a telescope we use to look outward but a mirror that reveals who we are. Regardless of why we do it, we will continue to seek new lands, persevere in our investigations, and keep journeying forward in our endless pursuit of discovery. Maybe we’ll find life outside our planet, or the answers to how the universe began. Or maybe what we’ll find at the end of all this is, simply, ourselves.
genuine desire to learn more about the world and our place in it? Or are we merely searching for new territories to conquer, new resources to ensure the survival of our species? Is that necessarily a bad thing?
This is, by no means, a call to end space exploration. It has taught us so much, provided piece after piece to the complex puzzle of where life and matter in the universe began. We have learned a lot from our space travels, and there is still much to discover. But perhaps stepping back and asking ourselves why we’ve chosen to
The deep sea is a complicated environment to explore but, surely, you might argue, we can get over these limitations, especially when considering how quickly technology has progressed over the past few decades, even the past few years. If humanity was able to go hundreds of thousands of kilometres above the surface of the earth, then why is it so difficult for us to travel roughly 11 kilometres below? Both space and ocean exploration are challenging endeavours, but why is one valued more than the other? Why is the thought of space travel filled with wonder and excitement while the thought of the deep ocean is tinged with fear, or worse, indifference?
devoid of light that even when you bring it down from the surface, it illuminates only small sections at a time, making your surroundings harder to study. To further add to that, you might also find that many of the creatures you encounter are extremely fragile or hard to catch, making it impossible to bring them back to the surface to study.
Talk about it on page 26 and let us know what you think.
WH Y DO WE PR I OR ITIZ E EX PL O R I N G S OME T H INGS OV ER O THE R S?
What really fuels our exploration?
Read more about this topic on page 24.
Maybe considering what we’ve chosen to traverse can tell us the reasons why we explore in the first place. Maybe our achievements reveal our underlying priorities. The complex history of humanity’s journey to the moon suggests we were motivated by more than just our wonder. Sometimes, exploration brings achievements beyond scientific discoveries. It often brings fame, or power, or the privilege of gaining first access to a new resource, and perhaps certain areas of exploration provide more of those benefits than others. This leads us to ask— what really fuels our exploration? Why do we spend countless amounts of time and money in pursuit of new discoveries? Are we moved by our
A DEEPER LOOK
focus on exploring some areas over others can prove to be an interesting and meaningful endeavour.
We can only imagine what else we can discover
No pun intended
Yes, that James Cameron. The famed director is also an avid oceanographer who partners with the National Geographic Society to promote deep sea exploration.
father Auguste, the bathyscaphe allowed Don and Jacques to explore the Challenger Deep for twenty minutes before heading back to the surface. The last person to visit the Challenger Deep was James Cameron, who, along with a team of scientists and engineers, spent seven years developing a submersible to continue the work that Walsh and the Piccards began. In 2012, he completed a nine-hour journey where he collected samples and captured never-before-seen footage of what life was like at the bottom of the ocean. No one has made it down to the Challenger Deep since.
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The Challenger Deep measures 10,994 metres.
The moon is about 384,400 km away from the Earth.
This is the deepest known point on the ocean floor. On March 26, 2012, filmmaker and explorer James Cameron became the third person to reach this depth.
CHALLENGER DEEP, MARIANA TRENCH
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Named after its home, the Mariana snailfish is small, transparent, and looks almost like a white tadpole, but it’s considered to be at the top of the hadal zone food chain. It feeds on invertebrate prey and has no known predators.
MARIANA SNAILFISH
These unicellular creatures can be found on the deepest parts of the ocean floor. Their structure is made up of a single-chamber shell called a test and a granular ectoplasm primarily used for catching food.
MONOTHALAM EANS
Found near hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, these creatures survive through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria living inside them. The worms are capped with hemoglobin-filled plumes that feed the bacteria, while the bacteria converts chemicals in the vents into food for the worms.
GIANT TU BE WORMS
After about 8,000 m, amphipods become some of the most abundant species in the deep ocean, often forming massive clouds. As scavengers, they eat anything that makes its way down, sometimes even eating their own kind.
AM PH I PODS
With its delicately thin, mesh-like surface, the deepstaria resembles a plastic bag floating across the deep ocean. It’s technically considered a jellyfish, although it doesn’t have any tentacles. It instead opens up around its prey and closes back in to trap it.
DEEPSTARIA
There are about 1,700 species of sea cucumbers, many of which can be found in the hadal zone. They have tubular bodies and leathery skin, and some have the ability to launch themselves up to 1,000 meters upwards through the sea before drifting back down to the ocean floor.
SEA CUCUMBERS
Also known as the hadal zone. This is where the ocean floor narrows into deep trenches.
HADOPELAGIC ZON E
W O R D S & I L L U S T R AT I O N BY M I K A A B A D A
Find These Myths How many of these celestial myths from India and the Philippines can you find in the illustration underneath this page? DALI KAMATA
A clairvoyant health goddess from Visayan myths who possessed many eyes all over her body. All-seeing, she saw all that was, tangible or invisible. She was said to have placed eyes on the wings of the butterfly to keep watch over earth.
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Early people believed this creature was so big that it swallowed (or covered) the sun, explaining the occurrence of eclipses. LAHO
A giant fish in Bicolano myths that can swallow moons and also cause eclipses.
MI NOKAWA
KI N NARI/KI N NARA
A giant, dragon-like bird in Bagobo legends.
In Hindu mythology, a kinnara is a paradigmatic
lover, a celestial musician, part human, part horse and part bird. In Buddhist mythology, there are two half-human, half-bird creatures known as the Kinnara and Kinnari, which are believed to come from the Himalayas and often watch over the well-being of humans in times of trouble or danger. In Southeast Asian mythology, Kinnaris, the female counterpart of
Kinnaras, are depicted as half-bird, half-woman creatures. SIGBI N
A creature from Ilonggo myths said to come out at night to suck the blood of victims from their shadows. It is said to walk backwards with its head lowered between its hind legs, and to have the ability to become invisible to other creatures, especially humans. It resembles a hornless goat, but has very large ears which it can clap like a pair of hands and a long, flexible tail that can be used as a whip. MAYARI
The Tagalog Goddess of Combat, War, Revolution, Hunt, Weaponry, Beauty,
Strength, Moon and Night. She is known as the most beautiful deity in the supreme god Bathala’s court. She yields a bow and arrow.
NĀGA
Wind people who also serve the Bicolano deity Haliya, the masked goddess of the moonlight.
Syncretized the Hindu belief with the Bakunawa. They are principally depicted in three forms: wholly human with snakes on the heads and necks, common serpents, or as half-human half-snake beings. A female naga is a “nagi,” “nagin,” or “nagini.”
BAKU NAWA
SANTELMO
A serpent-like dragon believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, and rains. The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system for ancient Bicolanos and were part of the shamanistic rituals of the Babaylan.
Believed by the Tagalog people to be the spirit of a man who has died near a river, lake, ocean, or during heavy rains. The lost soul appears as a ball of fire and some say it seeks revenge on those who may have done him wrong, while others claim the soul is seeking peace.
TAWONG LI POD
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W O R D S BY K AT R I N A G U I N TO & C H A R LTO N O L M O S . I L L U S T R AT I O N S BY M I K A A B A D A .
same stars, We learned to explore the oceans by looking up into outer space. The stars that guided us were the same, but the stories we gave them were not. Long before humankind emerged as a species, the stars had already made their mark on the universe. These stars were the same ones our ancestors looked up at. As they watched the skies, they began to connect the dots, turning them into patterns. They realized that the stars moved in a consistent way throughout the year, with their positions fixed in relation to each other, as if the whole sky moved as one. Certain stars stood out like landmarks, such as the north star, which sits above the north pole like an anchor that all other stars revolve around. Thus, people began to use the stars for navigation, which proved to be especially useful on the open seas, where there were no landmarks to guide sailors. The stars allowed us to leave land and set sail across the seas. The stars were used for practical reasons, so it would’ve made sense if they were simply numbered and categorized into grid-like sections to make a straightforward navigation system. But instead, our ancestors created stories. They categorized the stars, not into
grids, but into pictures they drew in the sky. Culturally, it made sense for people groups that relied on oral traditions to pass down information. Scientifically, research has also shown that ascribing a narrative to something strengthens your memory of it. It’s easier to remember a story than a name or a number. The stories in the stars guided early explorers as they set out on their journeys. We all know the stars by the same names today, but long before the sky was divided into the official constellations, each culture made up their own stories according to what was relevant to their lives. One group of people might look at a cluster of stars and see a lion, while another might see a dragon. As human beings, we find meaning in everything, even the coincidental arrangement of stars in the universe, although it’s interesting to think that the same stars can mean entirely different things to different people. Our nature inclines us to find patterns in the stars, and what we see says a lot about who we are.
What do our stories say about us? Talk about it on page 26 and let us know what you think.
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different
Betelgeuse is a significant star in the constellation Orion, but it was seen as a buffalo embryo by the Dakota people in America. Polaris, or the North Star, is found in Ursa Minor, but in Aztec cultures, it was part of a constellation that resembled a twisted foot.
Antares is a distinct star in the constellation Scorpius, but it becomes part of the god Maui’s hook in Polynesian cultures.
The star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus symbolized a pink cockatoo for the Boorong people in Australia.
The star Regulus is part of the constellation Leo, but it forms the head of the Xuanyuan, or Yellow Dragon, in China. The star Deneb forms the head of the constellation Cygnus, but in Mongolia, the same constellation was seen as a bow and arrow instead of a swan.
W E S T E R N C O N S T E L L AT I O N
A LT E R N AT E C O N S T E L L AT I O N
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How did they do it? Early explorers used these methods to navigate the seas without getting lost.
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UNKNOWN
900 C.E.
TH E SHORELI N E
TH E KAMAL
The first ways people would navigate the seas was by staying as close to the shoreline as possible. This made it possible to keep track of notable landmarks to help guide you through the waters. You could follow the shoreline all the way around a small island to end up exactly where you left off.
Used by Arabic explorers, the kamal comprised a string attached to a plank. You would place the string in your mouth and use the plank to fill in the gap between the horizon and either the sun or the north star. Using the string, you would then measure the distance between your teeth and the plank to calculate your longitudes. The kamal was limited to the length of string it had and so multiple ones were needed to calculate different longitudes.
UNKNOWN
UNKNOWN
CELESTIAL OBJECTS
STICK CHARTS
Early explorers realized the potential of using an object in the sky as a notable landmark while at sea. They used the sun to measure their location by calculating the time of day and the angle which the sun was at. Another object they used was the north star because of its consistent location in the sky during the year.
These were charts made of woven sticks used by the early Marshallese people. The sticks represented the direction of ocean currents while sea shells represented the islands. The charts were used to teach navigators so that by the time they first set sail, they already had the ocean landscape memorized.
1300 C.E.
1900 C.E.
1940 C.E.
TH E CROSS STAFF
TH E GYROCOM PASS
LORAN
Similar to the kamal, the cross staff used the distance from the horizon to the sun or north star to measure longitudes. The cross staff was more robust, being made of wood and a sliding measurement with precise points so you can calculate multiple longitudes with only one device. However, both measuring tools had the downside of needing the user to look directly into the sun if they were using the tools during the day.
Unlike the magnetic compass, the gyrocompass doesn’t rely on magnetic north. Magnetic north is always changing and can be influenced by other factors, such as the mass of your boat. Instead, gyrocompasses use gyroscopic force to keep a needle in a fixed point. So long as the axis of the compass is spinning, the needle will stay facing north.
Short for “long range navigation,” this tool was developed by the U.S. Navy. It uses two long range radio pulses to track the position of a ship between two points and is far more accurate than any other tool that came before it. Despite its name, however, LORAN still had a limited coverage of signal.
1350 C.E.
1420 C.E.
1973 C.E.
TH E BACK STAFF
TH E MAGN ETIC COM PASS
GPS
This had the same mechanism as the cross staff, except the user looked in the opposite direction and used the shadow created to measure the longitude. Both the cross and back staff were limited to between 60º and 20º on either side of the equator. Anything greater would make the angles too great to use the devices properly.
Early magnetism was first discovered when people realized that magnetic stones aligned themselves according to magnetic north. Eventually, they discovered that they could use the stones to magnetize other metals. These metals could then be used to point north and south when suspended on water with wood. Explorers in China were able to use these metals to create the magnetic compass.
Similar to LORAN, GPS uses the time difference from separate signals to get a location. Unlike LORAN, GPS signals come from satellites. As of 2016, there are 24 GPS satellites being used to track modern nautical exploration. However, sometimes a ship's navigation system falters. That’s why, despite the accuracy of GPS, boats today still rely on older navigation methods.
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Draw your own constellations in this night sky. To take it even further, go to page 28.
the
Race 24
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Space The race to space was not a smooth, paved path, but rather a rough upward mountain.
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WO R DS BY C HAR LTO N O LM OS . P H OTOG RAP H Y BY NASA .
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Space At this point, each system of government was being tested. In fact, some communist countries saw more technological advancements then democratic countries.
has been at the centre of human curiosity for millennia. We’ve used it to draw conclusions about our world as well as to help us navigate it. Despite our fascination, it was only in the last 65 years that humanity’s curiosity and drive to reach space matched our technological advancements to get us there. From the first man-made object in orbit to the final moon landing, humanity’s epic battle for space has had many successes and failures. But what was it all for? Why was it so important for humanity to leave Earth to land where we were never meant to be? TH E START OF TH E COLD WAR
Following the second world war, the Allied powers had agreed to step in to help correct the path that the world had been on for the past decade. Each country focused their
efforts on helping other countries by exposing their own forms of government. The United States used a democratic model and such implemented democratic systems in the countries it helped. Similarly, The USSR had implemented its communist views into countries it helped. Unlike the United States, the USSR had more aggressive strategies to take over Europe with its views. Soon after the war, the USSR showed no signs of stopping its indoctrination of Europe, bringing large concern to the United States. In 1947, thenpresident Harry Truman declared the Truman doctoring, which pledged to give military aid to anticommunist forces around the world. This act by Truman was seen as a direct threat of war to the USSR, serving as the start of the Cold War.
Key Players
Many were involved in the race to get humanity to the moon. Here are some notable names on both sides, who fought for the impossible.
security. For the first time in history, people had the capability of destroying the world in a matter of seconds. Each of the two countries stood guard, waiting to launch missiles at the other. Had one of them shot, the other would follow suit. For most of the Cold War, the thought that destroying your enemy would also destroy yourself was what kept each country at bay. With this fact in mind, the two countries set up proxy wars across the globe. This allowed them to further spread their own ideology without directly fighting the other.
U N USED MILITARY POTENTIAL
Realizing the potential of rocket research done during the second world war, both the USSR and America spent eight years further developing their rocket technologies for their militaries. From the start, the two countries competed for the new battle ground that their rockets enabled. No longer would Earth be the limits of war. Each country saw an opportunity for space-bound missiles that could be fired from opposite sides of the globe. The declaration to go to space came as a shock when both countries stated within four days of each other that they would be the first to launch artificial satellites into orbit. The space race had officially begun.
TH EY TOOK TH E LEAD
The first leap forward in the race was held by the USSR when, in 1957, they launched the world’s first ICBM. This shocked the American nation. Realizing their enemies’ ability to launch rockets with a global distance was not something they took lightly. The nation was shocked again when, in the same year, the USSR launched the Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit, becoming the first country to send something to space. Another blow came at the end of that year when the USSR beat America by sending a dog to space on the Sputnik 2 rocket. Within one year, it had seemed as though the USSR had won the race.
A proxy war is instigated by a foreign country, who is never directly involved.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles are rockets that are shot into space and fall back down to Earth.
NASA
In 1958, after many successes from the USSR, the United States allocated funding to a new federal program called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which was dedicated to aerospace research and space exploration. Within 3 years of the formation of NASA, the Soviet Union made
For each country, getting to space was not just about advancing technology. Each saw it as a national
1957
1961
1961
1962
SERGEI KOROLEV
YU RI GAGARI N
GH ERMAN TITOV
JOH N KEN N EDY
He was a lead Soviet rocket engineer. Because of his early work with rocket science, he is regarded as the father of practical astronautics.
The USSR successfully launched the Vostok 1 rocket to space. Onboard was 27-year-old cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man to orbit the Earth.
He was the second man to go to space and was the first to spend more than 24 hours there, pushing what was ever thought possible.
His “We Choose to Go to the Moon” speech pushed the moon landing agenda. It was his promise that brought together the American people to do the impossible.
a big leap forward when they successfully sent a man into orbit. It seemed as though the USSR had proven that its form of government was superior. KEN N EDY Did you know that JFK’s Grandfather sold moonshine during prohibition
To bridge the gap between the two countries, President Kennedy devoted much of the United States’ power to getting man on the moon. In his speech “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” he hammered home the importance of the space project for national security and for scientific advancement. He vowed to make it to the moon by the end of the 1960’s. Some argue that this was in direct response to the threat of a USSRcontrolled space, while others say it was only a way for Kennedy to cover up his failures at the invasion of the Bay of Pigs. They saw his ambition to get to the moon as a way to save public face as it was only after that invasion that President Kennedy made the moon landing such a priority for the American people.
The two countries would soon find another battle ground—space.
TH E WORLD RESPON DS
The space race was also a means of displaying power as each country could show their strength with each new advancement without attacking the other. Many around the world saw the two displays of power and worried that the countries would soon find another battle ground—space. The United Nations stepped in to make sure that
space did not become this new battleground and drafted the Outer Space Treaty, which represents the basic legal framework of international space law. Formally known as the “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,” the treaty stops any country that signs it from placing weapons of mass destruction into orbit, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or otherwise stationing them in outer space. This meant that the moon and other celestial bodies could only be used for peaceful purposes and expressly prohibited their use for testing weapons of any kind, military maneuvers, or establishing military bases or installing fortifications. The USSR was reluctant to sign but did so in 1967. More than 100 countries have signed it to date.
Humanity’s epic battle for space had many successes and failures, but what was it all for?
TH E ROAD TO VICTORY
In 1967, both the US Apollo program and the Soviet Soyuz program rushed to be the first to get man to the moon. This proved fatal for both sides as they both overlooked design and manufacturing problems. The first Apollo mission failed when a fire swept through the cabin of the spacecraft, killing all of its crew during a ground test. In that same year, one Soviet pilot died when onboard systems failed during flight. While the United States was able to push past its failures, the USSR was not. Many failed attempts to get its rockets to the Moon resulted in explosions and failures. In 1969, US astronauts made a successful 8-day
trip to the moon and back, completing the mission 161 days before the end of the decade, fulfilling Kennedy’s promise. After the success of the moon mission, the Soviet Union accepted defeat on the race to the moon and focused instead on orbital space stations.
TH E SLOW FI N ISH
After the first successful mission to the moon, public interest in space travel diminished. But still, six total missions to the moon were successful in landing and collecting data and moon dust to bring back to be studied. By 1972, the space race had slowed down after Nixon planned a multinational space mission with the USSR. It was called the Apolllo-Soyuz test project and saw the end of the space race after the two
The Sputnik 1 satellite was successfully launched untested
sides exchanged gifts on the open hatch of a Soyuz spacecraft. WAS IT WORTH IT?
Many advancements can be attributed to the moon landing and yet many scientists have spoken out against it, saying that the means never outweighed the benefits. They argue that the scientific advancements seen by the moon landing never really made their way down to the average person but were largely kept within the military. On the other hand of the debate, some scientists say that the benefits that humanity was given came in the form of scientific betterment and the further understanding of who we are in the universe. After all, it was the race to space that served as the catalyst for every other space mission we have done. Without it, we might never have left our Earth.
We have the moon landing to thank for the engines airplanes
To what extent should exploration be pursued? Talk about it on page 26 and let us know what you think.
1962
1963
1965
1965
1969
JOH N GLEN N
VALENTI NA TERESH KOVA
DOROTHY VAUGHAN
ALEXEI LEONOV
N EIL ARMSTRONG
He was the first American to enter space. His journey final proved that America had the same capacity to get man to space as the USSR
She was the first woman in space, spent three days in orbit and, to this day, remains the only woman to complete a solo mission to space.
She was the first African American supervisor at NASA. In a field dominated by men and a country full of hate, Dorothy made an impact when her team made the first calculation used by Apollo.
He carried out the first ever space walk. Leaving his capsule, his space suit puffed up and became too large for him to fit back. He had to open a valve on his suite to get back inside
He became the first man to set foot on the moon. Together with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, he made history with the first successful mission to the moon and back.
T H E SY M P O S I U M
MYSTERI ES OF TH E DEEP
Why do we prioritize exploring some things over others? SAM E STARS, DI FFERENT STORI ES
What do our stories say about us? TH E RACE TO SPACE
To what extent should exploration be pursued?
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY H A N S R E N I E R S
Symposium 1 a social gathering at which there is free interchange of ideas 2 a collection of opinions on a subject*
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In every article we write, we try to go beyond just explaining a topic. We’re not merely here to fill your head with knowledge. We’re here to start conversations. That’s why, in our feature articles, we always pose a question back to you. These are questions that don’t have simple answers, but we’ve found that those are always the most interesting and worthwhile pursuits. * F RO M T H E M E R R I A M -W E BST E R D I C T I O N A RY
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T H E SY M P O S I U M
Join the Conversation 01
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TH I N K
EXPLORE
CAPTU RE
SHARE
CONTI N U E
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B E YO N D T H E PAG E
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY J U D E B E C K
Tell the Story In every issue, we give you a unique prompt so you can take this magazine beyond the page and into your own life. For this issue, we want you to look to the stars.
The Prompt
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Make up a story about one or more of your constellations from p. 22.
Share it on social media using the hashtag #BeyondNewFrontier
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Tell the story. Talk about it, draw it, perform it— the medium is up to you.
Keep an eye out for the next issue to see if we've featured your response.
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P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N DY H O L M E S . T Y P O G R A P H Y BY K AT R I N A G U I N TO . N EW FRONTI ER
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