News Archive

Thursday, July 28, 2005 New Article: Reality - Mars Style Real people. Credit: Cooperative Bank Frank Stratford has submitted an article entitled Reality- Mars Style. His very moderate views on colonizing Mars, and the thoughtful realism he exhibits in all he does, shine here in this work dedicated to the everyday people who, despite the Mars community's best efforts, cannot understand why Mars (and space) is so important. Here's a snippet: Why should we go? Many arguments of the past have referred to a "because it's there" or a pioneering tradition we must somehow maintain for the future of humanity, but let's think about it for a minute. Do the average public see what the space advocacy community sees? We try so hard to raise awareness and interest but it always seems to miss the mark. Where we see unlimited potential for all of humanity, they see nothing but where their next paycheck is coming from and how they are going to pay the bills. What do we want Mars to be? (Not what could it be based on past examples.) This vision is yet to be created. That vision will be the new meaning of space colonization. We now need to decide what we want space and Mars settlement to look like and present that as an inspiring and all-inclusive picture of our future in space. People will want to know- "What will I be doing on Mars?" "What will it mean for us here on earth?" Grandiose schemes and utopian ideals are out. What people need now is reality, Mars style. He suggests developing new fiction and raising awareness of the tangible benefits of Mars in the media, an echo of the mission of MarsDrive. @ 00:01 EST