Infographic explains NASA's Orion EFT-1 flight in detail

For many of us, it's easier to comprehend complex processes when they are expressed visually. That was the impetus for artist Gary Schroeder in creating this wonderful hand-sketched infographic for NASA's Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) for the Orion spacecraft.

"Being very interested in the follow-on program to the Shuttle, I wanted to pay close attention to exactly what was going to happen during the Orion launch from liftoff to splashdown," Schroeder told Universe Today. "Drawing on my experience in sketchnoting (the practice of taking notes using both words and drawings), I thought an infographic-style sketchnote of EFT-1 would be fun to make. I made one study sketch in the morning based on some quick internet research, let it percolate in my head during the day, and came home after work to render a final version."

Schroeder created the original artwork in pencil, then scanned it and colorized it in Photoshop.

He uploaded it to Flickr just yesterday and it already has nearly 14,000 views. "It's been exciting for me to see so much interest in this drawing," he said.

This just proves that sometimes a little bit of 'throwback' goes great with technology!