To Mars

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November 17, 2014 by bck1402

Several things happening at once and sometimes, an idea about what to write about might just pop in, right?

A rocket exploded. A space plane crashed. Rosetta chased down a comet for 10 years and then ejected a little probe, Philae, that landed on the comet. Interstellar opened in the cinemas around the world. And we’re still looking at Mars, with thoughts of terraforming.

Space exploration is something I poke around in, and that includes having something to say about it in The Syndi-Jean Journal. I can understand Mars One’s intention to set up the colony on Mars, and if we are to leave Earth, Mars is the most viable port of call before heading beyond. They also make it clear to whoever intends to participate that it’s going to be a one-way journey.

Of course, it has to be.
It’s too far away to simply send a small handful of people to spend a day or so and then bring them back again.

In The Journal, Jeannie writes about taking a field trip to a colony at the base of Mount Olympus (not the one in Greece). It is a veiled account of encountering an already established colony on Mars. The idea that it was a one-way trip for the colonists is not hidden either, as she is told that they took apart their ship, using the parts to build and furnish habitats. Instead of the Mars One vision of having pods on the surface, this colony was different.

Instead of the pods, they had something akin to a bio-dome, situated within a small crater at the base of that massive volcano. Being in the crater protected the dome from the wind storms on the surface, but that’s my bit of speculation. What Jeannie relates is what she is told, so not all of the science may be relevant nor as accurate as it could be. As much as we know about something, it’s not until we’re actually there to experience it would we truly know anything.

Jeannie’s connection with the colony continues over the next couple of books (yes, they will come out) and the progress of the colony is also charted.

On my end, I think that any colonists on Mars at this time may not survive for very long. And that’s not to say it can’t or shouldn’t be done. Given the chance, I really wouldn’t mind being a part of that. That video above is right, there are loads of dangers out there that can kill us in an instant.

Getting there is one thing. Surviving there is a whole other matter. There will be a lack of resources and everything is experimental. Colonists arriving there should consider procreation as early as possible. While I don’t think the colonists will last, the children may. They are the ones who will adapt to the conditions of the planet. More colonists will migrate from Earth over and over, even in the face of a shortened life and they are the ones who will be the caretakers of the children ~the Martians ~ born there.

The children won’t be the only issue. Every other experiment or plan will involve slowly changing the planet. Gasses will be released to add oxygen and ozone, and it sill be centuries perhaps, before any normal human being will be able to step onto Martian soil without protective gear. The children will adapt faster, having been born and raised on that planet. They are more likely never to set foot on Earth.

Mars will transform us faster than we will terraform the planet itself.
In either case, it will take generations and it should start now.


Amazon (US) / Barnes and Noble / Lybrary / Blackwell’s (UK) / Powell’s Books (Oregon US) / Amazon (Ca) / Amazon (UK) / Amazon (Jp) / aLibris Book Depository / Best Deals (




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