Category: Blog

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Underground

The classroom was in a cavern underground. The classroom, and the entire colony, were in a sealed habitat that kept the air breathable and pressurized to the amount required for human survival. Any sudden change in that pressure was serious and could indicate a breach (a hole) in the habitat. Pressure doors were scattered throughout the colony that could seal an effected area off from the rest if necessary.
 
Air: Generation Mars, Book One
 
Coming in October
 
(image: Luis Peres Children’s Books Illustrator)
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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!

- YouTube
- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

 

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 Space
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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.