David Sharp, an engineer with Lockheed Martin, displays the “Samurai Flyer”, an aviation design inspired by the maple seed, during the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Conference August 16, 2011 in Washington, DC. Lockheed Martin unveiled the new design and demonstrated vertical takeoff and landing, stable hover, and on-board video streaming of the aircraft during their demonstration. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Competitors in action during a qualifying heat for the 12 hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, 2011 in Billingshurst, England. First started in 1973 as a motorsport that would be accessible to as many as possible, there is little commercialism or sponsorship, no cash prizes and no modifying of engines. The trophies are donated from various sources with famous names such as Sir Stirling Moss found engraved on the plaques from previous races. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

A genetically engineered featherless rooster struts around the campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Department of Agriculture May 22, 2002 in Rehovot, Israeli. After two years of research, departmental scientists announced the naked chicken, as it has been dubbed, as a low calorie bird because the lack of feathers means the chicken has less fat. It also matures earlier than its feathered counterparts. (Photo by Moshe Milner/GPO/Getty Images)

An engineer begins the process of conducting a block-by-block inspection of the exterior of the Washington Monument while suspended by ropes September 27, 2011 in Washington, DC. The National Park Service has closed the landmark in the nation's capital indefinitely due to damage caused by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in August. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Engineer Thomas Dwyer stands with the new Bionic Exoskeleton next to Amanda Boxtel during its launch at the Excel centre on October 21, 2011 in London, England. The bionic device developed by Ekso Bionics is a wearable, battery-powered, robotic exoskeleton, designed to aid wheelchair users and those who have suffered from spinal chord injuries to stand and walk. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Born in Los Angeles in 1980 to an engineer and an artist, Mac has been creating and studying art independently since childhood. He was inspired at a young age by classic European painters such as Caravaggio, and Vermeer and Art Nouveau symbolists such as Klimt and Mucha. This was mixed with the more contemporary influences of graffiti and photorealism, as well as as the Chicano & Mexican culture he grew up around.

China has sent its first woman into space on a mission to dock with an orbiting station, the latest step in an ambitious programme to go to the moon and on to Mars.

Photo: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, waves during a sending off ceremony before she departs for the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, Saturday, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman and two other astronauts into space Saturday to work on a temporary space station for about a week, in a key step toward becoming only the third nation to set up a permanent base in orbit. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21 mission began on July 21 as an international crew of aquanauts splashed down to the undersea Aquarius Reef Base, located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The NEEMO 21 crew will perform research both inside and outside the habitat during a 16-day simulated space mission. During simulated spacewalks carried out underwater, they will evaluate tools and mission operation techniques that could be used in future space missions, including journeys to Mars. (Photo by Karl Shreeves/NASA)