It was pure happenstance of the universe that I was reading and procrastinating about finishing The Martian Chronicles this week as we conspired to put a new Rover on the surface of Mars. What could be better than that?
I so loved this set of tales about waves of earth people coming over a long period of time to Mars and what happens to them and to earth and to mars. I must have read it long ago, but I remembered several of the stories in detail and then not much of the rest. If that’s a side benefit to getting older, it’s not a bad thing. Reading with new eyes is good!
Meanwhile the team at NASA came to the end of a decade of preparation and sat gathered in JPL while us space geeks joined them via live web feeds. We got the benefit of knowledgeable people asking questions and doing commentary (unlike those Olympics talking heads!) and seeing what was happening in real time. Everything went just as planned, a few seconds off of the simulation countdown clock and when there was a pause and then “we have confirmed landing and we’re in contact with Curiosity” the place and space geeks everywhere exploded with happiness. Why does this story grab us so much? So much more will be written of that story!
This morning I listened to the last couple stories of the Martian Chronicles as I walked into work, got ready to clock in and then just stood there for a few minutes as the story ended. Yes kids, you’re the Martians. I knew it was coming but that’s how we felt watching Curiosity send its first photos.
Hello Mars? We’re here! Anyone home?
