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Introduction We will one day reach other worlds, And perhaps even the stars All in the name of humanity. But it is not any such arrival that will define humanity in the final equation. As the heights of humanity can only be defined By the challenges we accept The trials we endure And the endeavors in which we persevere R R Jackson |
The Mars Transmission was started in late November of 1996, but conceived in the mid 80s, when I recognized what I considered to be a lack of public support for a manned Mars mission, combined with a lack of an aggressive mission plan from NASA. With the Pathfinder Mission now a part of history, and the resulting onslaught of new media interest as a direct result of a rekindled fascination with Mars, I have come to realize that public support for a human to Mars Mission is actually fairly strong, but no one has presented a realistic plan that effectively shows the true value of such a mission to the general tax paying public, as of this writing. Instead, we (the public) have seen bureaucratic debates on how and why we can and can't go to Mars in the near future, and the ideas tend to become so twisted and confusing, not to mention outrageously expensive, that we don't know what to believe about our actual capability to send humans to the new world. I had the opportunity to participate in research and development of products for a company that patented and produced several cutting edge "first" in the world products and materials. Consequently, I developed a certain amount of personal understanding of how such programs and projects can work and fail. Even within an organization, where all are supposedly focused on the same overall goal, there is often fierce under the table competition, and the winner is not always the person or group with the best idea or the most ambitious and innovative workable plan. While the public funded space program certainly should not be micro-managed from external sources, it should be challenged to accomplish goals that are important to those of us who fund it. This is how humans reached the Moon, and most likely how we will reach Mars. From an outsider's point of view, the issue of getting humans to Mars seemed to have been focused on acquiring and maintaining long term massive budgets, and more about who gets "their" projects funded, than about an all out determined plan to get humans to Mars. It is not really my intent to point fingers of blame here, and I especially do NOT want to devalue the space program. I just want to make a statement and urge the public to say, "enough is enough!" "Take us to Mars ASAP!" (2012). We the people can, and have a right to, challenge our space program to make this happen. But, if we continue to receive replies of outrageous self defeating budget requests, or complex theoretical reasons why we can't, we should replace the expert bureaucratic "problem finders" with "problem solvers," because it CAN be done! Expect our space program to once again dazzle us with brilliance, not ...(you can fill in the rest). But we must also understand, if we present this challenge, we need to become much more fault tolerant than in the past. Much of the bureaucracy that has really kept us from reaching Mars is in part the result self protection from and an eager to criticize sector of the public. Things WILL go wrong in development of the humans to Mars mission, and on the mission. In some ways, overcoming these challenges can be more beneficial than the mission itself.
The concept behind ‘The Mars Transmission’ was to invent a strong fictional motivation for a manned Mars mission, and then use this motivation to show the public how a more ambitious mission plan (A PLAN GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS 'MARS DIRECT') could be achieved within an entertaining sci-fi format. The science aspect was very thoroughly researched to depict how a NASA managed mission might actually reach Mars in the very near future, if we were properly motivated. Actually, from what I have learned, I am certain (as of this writing) 2012 is a genuinely feasible date to launch a first manned Mars mission. There are still some differing opinions on how and when humans could travel to Mars. There are also a number of different suggested reasons why humans should go to Mars. My novel’s title suggests one reason in a metaphorical sense, in that I believe there is a critical message on Mars about Earth's future. I believe Mars once had a "living" environment, or at the very least, was capable of supporting life, and that we should study the planet to see what caused its life sustaining properties to collapse. While it is a certainty that life on Earth's surface will one day perish, most of the reasons why and how remain theoretical. We are already spending billions to save our planet, when Mars might be able to teach us exactly what we really need to focus on, as we may discover the most impending danger is being completely over looked or pushed aside. This reason makes a manned Mars mission not just for Scientists, or Mars enthusiasts, but for the rest of us, who will want to live out our lives on Earth, and see a secure future for our children and their children and beyond. Although scientific data from Mars tends to, thus far, create almost as many new questions as it answers, I maintain a strong belief that Mars has a very important and urgent message for Earth somewhere beneath the rust colored dust, that only a team of Scientists (colonist) sent there can find with certainty. What happened to Mars? Could it happen to Earth? Scientists can theorize how a planet loses vast oceans of water and its dense warm atmosphere, but it would be better to "know" such things, particularly as we see our own environment changing in frightening ways. The data is within our reach now, perhaps at a time when it is most needed.
There are many other benefits such a mission could bring to the public, that most won't realize until we commit and make the move toward Mars. While privatization of the space program is a positive thing, I feel it is very important that we as a society produce the first human mission to reach a new world that is globally supported in a joint venture, so that virtually the entire world can feel the same joint sense of accomplishment that we in the United States felt when the first steps were taken on the moon. This is particularly important as we start the next millennium, as so many have doubts about where the human race is going. Such an incredible mission would act as a strong reminder that we can overcome any challenge that may lie ahead of us, if we have the courage and determination to do so.
Ron Jackson
Monday, August 23, 1999