It’s the next stop for The BeautifulMars Project: a website, Tumblr, and a dedicated Twitter feed, @HiRISEKernow, in Cornish (Kernewek), making these the first and only resources from an active NASA mission in this language.

Cornish is a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which is the southwestern most point of the British Isles. HiRISE Kernewek will be an invaluable tool for revival efforts of the language, and demonstrate how capable it is of describing the surface of another planet. The new site offers HiFlyers in the A4 format for downloading and printing that can be useful in a classroom setting or just to put on a wall.


Rod Lyon (r): “I was truly delighted when I received the invitation to participate in this incredible project. With the fast growing public interest in Mars, it is extremely exciting to realize that Cornish is being viewed internationally as one of the languages figuring prominently with this wide range of outstanding photographs.”

Steve Harris says: “With British astronaut Tim Peake aboard the ISS, there couldn’t have been a better time to have the great privilege of working with the BeautifulMars Project. It’s very important for Cornish to be recognized as modern and relevant, and to be represented in such a prestigious NASA project is a great boost for the language.

“The amount of media coverage of Tim's mission shows how interested the public is in our exploration of the universe, and hopefully seeing these amazing pictures of Mars described in Cornish will get new people, especially children and young adults, interested in the language, too.”

The purpose of the BeautifulMars Project is to reach those people, especially children, who want to know about Mars but don’t have strong skills in English. Our Project also serves as an excellent tool for language promotion and preservation. Since we call HiRISE “the people’s camera,” our project is a perfect way to bring planetary science to people all over the world in their own language. More importantly, we always seek to improve on what we have, so if you see something that can be worded better, let us know! Communicating with people is what the Project is all about.

If you’re interested in volunteering for HiRISE Kernewek, please contact The BeautifulMars Project.



About HiRISE
The HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the most powerful one of its kind ever sent to another planet. Its high resolution allows us to see Mars like never before, and helps other missions choose a safe spot to land for future exploration.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. and is operated by the University of Arizona.