WE'VE put the Starship Flybrary into orbit around Mars to conduct a battery of standard post-blastoff tests. Meanwhile, us regular passengers have been afforded an a-MAY-zing view of the Red Planet from the Baleen Plates Observatory Deck (BPOD).
I must say that all the panicking I did between Earth & Mars was for naught; the ship sailed smoothly (save a few engine room rumbles & space debris pings that are still waking me up at night) & the payoff of seeing my first non-Earth planet up-close is more than worth it.
I've taken the liberty of checking out a book on Mars from the public library; hopefully I'll remember to return it before its due date this time. I've already racked up $40 in blasted late fees; these Flybrarians don't take any prisoners!!
Anyways, I'm learning all about Mars & I just can't see why we aren't colonizing this bad boy yet. Its rotational period & tilt are similar enough to those of Earth to produce "seasons". It also has a cool mixture of Moon-like & Earth-like features: its impact craters remind me of the Moon's turbulent landscape & I can't help but feel nostalgic for good ol' Earth when I see its volcanoes, valleys, deserts & polar ice caps.
It's atmosphere is admittedly thin, but haven't we proven ourselves capable of atmospheric manipulation back on Earth? I don't see why we can't figure out a way to take excess carbon dioxide out of Earth's atmosphere & use it to strengthen that of Mars. I'm only a travel writer so I don't know much about science, but it seems like we could at least figure out SOME way to trap more heat closer to Mars' surface.
Can't think about it for too long because I have the asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter ahead of me! I don't think I'll be getting any good nights of sleep over the next few days...
Good luck getting through the "belt"! Could be a bumpy ride--did you pack your Dramamine?
ReplyDeleteDANG IT NO I DIDN'T! I forgot my bleeding Sensodyne, too; the freeze-dried ice cream is. killing. me. You told me not to wait until the last minute to pack & I didn't listen! Now look at me! Aargh!
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