Author: Generation Mars

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There will come a time

“There will come a time,” said Sally, “when things will go wrong.” Her face was serious but kind. “Comms might go down. Your suit might get damaged. Your nose might itch.” Everybody smiled. And then everybody’s nose itched. “Things will go wrong,” Sally repeated, “often many things at once. It’s very easy to lose your cool when they do, and that’s guaranteed to make things worse. But if you keep calm and deal with each problem as it comes, there is always a way to make things better.”

Air: Generation Mars, Book One

Coming in October

 

image: NASA/JPL/MSSS; processing and mosaic: Olivier de Goursac (fr), 2014

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Air: Generation Mars, Book One

There was a sudden roar, louder than any noise Ori had ever heard. She sank to the floor, pulled her knees to her chin, closed her eyes, and cowered against the closed door. She had never felt wind before, only slight movements of air from the distribution system in the colony. But now she felt a terrifying rush of air over her. There were crashes and groans all around, and she opened her eyes to see the content of the dome—tables, chairs, lab equipment, plants, all—falling and shifting in the direction of the wind. She closed her eyes and screamed.

Air: Generation Mars, Book One

Coming in October

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Getting real

Just assigned ISBNs and requested Library of Congress numbers for the paperback and ebook versions of the forthcoming book. Things are finally getting real.

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Illustration for next book

Illustration for the next Generation Mars book is coming along nicely. Here’s a sample.

This is what Cas sees from inside her helmet as she walks through a dust storm. Note the cool head-up display. (great work by Luis Peres)

 

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Areography

Atlas Pro has created a really cool video on areography–the “geography” of Mars. It’s a brief but thorough survey of the surface of Mars and well worth a watch.

I really want a print of the map presented at 3:00.

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Lots of space stuff going on!

I’ve been a little caught up in day-to-day living and not posted anything about all the cool stuff going on in space right now.

Mars is getting new robots!

3 New Missions Just Left for Mars! | SciShow News
3 New Missions Just Left for Mars! | SciShow News

A launch window that only happens every 26 months means it’s the perfect time to head to Mars! The United Arab Emirates, China, and the United States all too...
YouTube YouTube

 

And Endeavour is bringing Bob and Doug home this weekend!

SpaceX Crew Dragon carrying NASA astronauts to depart space station today. Here's how to watch it live.
SpaceX Crew Dragon carrying NASA astronauts to depart space station today. Here's how to watch it live.

It's time to come home, Bob and Doug.
Space.com Space.com
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Audiobook available!

At long last, the audiobook version of Scratching the Surface has been approved and is now available. Read by Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor and Solar System Specialist for The Planetary Society, the audiobook includes a downloadable pdf containing illustrations and background material.

https://www.amazon.com/Scratching-Surface-Generation-Mars-Prelude/dp/B08CDVG5NR

https://www.audible.com/pd/Scratching-the-Surface-Audiobook/B08CDW2BLN

Also available from iTunes!

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Fire from space

The Bighorn Fire has been burning in the mountains near Generation Mars HQ for almost a month. You can see the edge of the city along the bottom and left sides of this image.

It’s an interesting experience to watch a DC-10, flown like a crop duster, painting orange stripes across your mountains, as smoke from the fireline advances toward your city. This satellite image really brings home just how massive this fire is.

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How many people?

This is an interesting paper estimating the minimum number of people required for a self-sufficient colony on Mars. Using a mathematical model to estimate work time requirements vs. work time capacity, the researchers come up with a surprisingly low number: 110.

In the forthcoming second book of the Generation Mars series, I peg the colony population at around 5000, so I think I’m good there.

Minimum Number of Settlers for Survival on Another Planet - Scientific Reports
Minimum Number of Settlers for Survival on Another Planet - Scientific Reports

What is the feasibility of survival on another planet and being self-sustaining? This question is of particular importance for the future of the space conquest and perhaps also for the future of humanity in general [1,2]. The use of in situ resources and different social organizations have been proposed [3–6,12–19] but there is still a…
Nature Nature