Brigadoon Weekend = Global Street Smarts
February 6, 2021
Mars
This edition of Brigadoon Weekend is Mars.
If all goes to plan, there will be the roar of Mars excitement in early 2021, when new missions to the Red Planet reach their target and begin sending data back home.
Mars, the planet most like ours, has been an alluring dream across the centuries. The Ancient Egyptians called Mars "Har dècher," which means "the red one," establishing the planet as a generational foundation of legends, gods, and mystery.
Unlike the cold silent world of the Moon, the Martian landscape is filled with possibility, but to make humans a multi-planetary species, we must be able to survive there.
But how?
There are no rivers, no lakes, no oceans. Accessible oxygen we enjoy on Earth would need to be chemically produced.
Also, the environment is no Côte d'Azur.
Mars is known for its red dust and the terrain is bewilderingly empty - think Bullhead City, Arizona planet-wide. Plus, Mars suffers from frequent seismic activity, with tremors shaking the ground about once a day, suggesting a long-term cooling planet.
Regardless of the life thriving challenges, culturally, Mars is so important to us as humans, when Matt Damon started in the 2015 film The Martian, it generated over $100 million in box office revenue and received 7 Oscar nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year.
Even today, when entrepreneurs and explorers face herculean challenges, they are inspired by Damon's character in the film.
Stranded on Mars and knowing that no one is coming to rescue him any time soon, he declares: "'In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option. I'm going to have to science the shit out of this.'"
This can-do spirit is on full display today as public and private explorers make the possibility of Mars more possible.
From the United Arab Emirates to Elon Musk, resources, energy, and dreams are being poured into the landing and ultimately thriving on Mars.
These Mars dreams are possibly best captured by Sarah al-Amiri.
When she saw the Andromeda Galaxy image at the age of 12, the image pushed her to learn as much as she could about space.
Today at age 33, she is the deputy project manager and science lead of the UAE's Mars mission, dubbed Amal — Arabic for hope.
In a region defined by turmoil, she never thought she would lead her country beyond Earth's stratosphere and toward Mars.
"We're a new country that is late to the competition in the global perspective," al-Amiri told the British scientific journal Nature. "It's natural for people to think this was crazy," she added, referring to the UAE's Mars mission.
Crazy good.
MARS DEEP DIVE
The case for space: John Loftus writes, what good can aiming for Mars do at a time like this? Quite a lot, actually.
How a small Arab nation built a Mars mission from scratch in six years: Elizabeth Gibney in Nature magazine writes, the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter is the Arab world’s first interplanetary spacecraft — and has jump-started science in the country. Will the momentum last?
"We're a new country that is late to the competition in the global perspective," al-Amiri told the British scientific journal Nature. "It's natural for people to think this was crazy," she added, referring to the UAE's Mars mission.
Life on Mars: Why the race to the red planet is back on: Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock on the flurry of missions that have blasted off for Mars.
If all goes to plan there will be a roar of Mars excitement in early 2021, when missions to the Red Planet reach their target and begin sending data back home.
Mars suffers frequent seismic tremors, Nasa mission finds: FT reports, the level of activity is higher than on the Moon but less than on Earth, scientists say.
The race for Mars takes China-US tensions Into outer space: Bruce Einhorn writes, both countries plan to visit the red planet, the moon, and more.
