So here’s the thing: I want to travel in space.
I watched Star Wars, Superman (with Christopher Reeves), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind around the same time – and just like that, my world cracked wide open. My mind leapt from mundane considerations of school and home life, into heights of celestial proportions. There were places to explore in deep space, alien species to befriend, and more than that, I felt something within me had been validated by these movies.
I instinctively knew there was more than one world to inhabit (read more about that story here). And so, my study of the universe began.
Next came Blade Runner, the movie based on the Philip K Dick’s book, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. This movie provided a complex, textured view of the future – one with video phones, bioengineered beings, and people living on “off world colonies”.
After that, I dove into authors like Frank Herbert (Dune series), Iain M Banks (Consider Phlebas), and William Gibson (Neuromancer), among many others.
Robert Heinlein’s novel “Stranger in a Strange Land” was handed to me in my twenties by a soul friend who wanted to “share water” and “drink deep” – as the novel describes. This classic novel features a human child who is born on Mars, raised by Martians, and then returns to Earth as Michael Valentine Smith.
I fell in love with Michael Valentine Smith, the human Martian. I could “grok” him (a term from the book, meaning to understand profoundly through intuition or empathy).
A running theme in my journey, as you can see, has been space travel, and the desire to connect to life more deeply through the inclusion of our galactic neighbors. I was born hungry to be a part of a bigger universe.
And then, one day very recently, my husband, brought this to my attention.
Mars One will establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.
We invite you to participate by sharing our vision with your friends, and,
perhaps, by becoming the next Mars astronaut yourself.
People are sending in video applications from all over the world. You can view these applicants, and vote for the ones you want to see go on the MARS ONE mission. Those selected will remain on Mars for the rest of their lives!
This is going to be such an exciting and exhilarating adventure.
Should I do it?
Would you?
It’s a massive decision to make. When you imagine yourself as a pioneer in a fledgling interstellar community… what comes up for you?
Come join the discussion on my Facebook page.
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Let’s go along with this theme, and let ourselves imagine the above is happening.
Picture the astronauts being chosen, readying themselves for their departure to Mars.
Here is the perfect soundtrack for that moment. This piece is called Mythodea by Vangelis, composed for the NASA Mission Mars Odyssey 2001.
SUPERB!