THIS JUST IN........... I have delayed writing to tell you of the end to my hopes of a one way Martian journey STOP On Tuesday the 19th of February, a Mars/Telegram arrived informing me that I did not pass the selection process, for the Mars Mission STOP The truth is that I received the news with mixed emotions STOP Dorothy said it best....."There's no place like Home!" STOP So, I will still be in the planetary neighborhood, so to speak, and will soldier on here on urth and here in SOC STOP I will never get to experience the red dust settling on my space suit, and will have to be content to dust off my keyboard STOP Joe
BLOG | August 19, 2022 The Letter Written by Adrian Brown, Deputy Program Scientist at NASA HQ Perseverance's Selfie with Ingenuity: NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover in this image. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Download image › "Sometimes I wonder what the rover does or thinks in the middle of the Martian night. Here is an imagined letter the Perseverance rover might have written to the helicopter Ingenuity had they been more human than we know." Mars Perseverance Sol 45 - Right Mastcam-Z Camera: Image of the Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Right Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. This image was acquired on April 6, 2021 (Sol 45). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU. Download image › A letter to my flying friend: I have missed you, Little One! We once were the best of friends. Better partners than Batman and Robin. Two metallic creatures of Earth, sent to this red wasteland by those tool-bearing monkeys. I protected you in my mechanical belly For more than seven months. I worry that I’ve seen the last of you. And then who will I share selfies with? (read more)
Mars colony isolation trial saw Earth communications wane over time "An isolation experiment that is designed to test the human psychological response in a simulated trip to Mars has revealed significant changes to the way participants communicated with the Earth as the experiment continued." (READ MORE
I recently read an article about why human settlements will never be possible on Mars. It renumerated all the obstacles that will not be possible to overcome. It made me sad. I was hoping to see humans on Mars in my lifetime.
"In The Martian, (self-published in 2011), Andy Weir describes the long, arduous, and lonely journey of Mark Watney and his fight for survival on the vast planet of Mars after he is left by his fellow crewmates following an unexpected dust storm. Watney spends 549 sols, nearly two years, in total isolation while waiting for the Hermes to rescue him. During this time, Watney journals, continues to research, and continuously problem-solves. However, many studies done, and much of scientific research would suggest that Mark Watney could not have survived alone on Mars waiting for the Hermes to rescue him because the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive effects of isolation on an individual are too significant. Despite behavioral psychology and physiological studies done on prolonged space missions, Mark Watney is able to exceed scientific expectations of survival through the use of humor, behavioral activation, and problem-solving, which allowed him to combat and alleviate the daily stress and anxiety he would have encountered on Mars everyday." READ MORE