Blogtrek

Mars Bound

We are headed to Mars again. Once again a rocket has taken off, carrying with it a probe to plunk down a Martian golf cart on the planet and rover all over the place observing and testing, with the objective of finding water, and maybe life itself, if they exist on the Red Planet. I saw this launch today. I came to a hard point in my work today so I went downstairs to the cafeteria to get a snack. On the way I saw the TV screen and a rocket on it, and I heard 15, 14, 13, 12, … . Whaaa?? I thought this may have been a recording. But it said "LIVE". This was the real thing. The launch that had been postponed because of bad weather. I realized that that is indeed what I heard. I heard "15, 14, 13, 12, … . Not only that, but I heard "11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Ignition, and we have liftoff". It really happened, at exactly 1400 (2 pm) today, 2003 June 10. I next saw a camera on the spacecraft video behind, and I saw the ground receding. This was exciting. It was just like the movielet "Powers of Ten". First the landing strip appeared. Then the coastline. Then the vast expanse of ocean and a cloak of clouds, and finally the curve of our planet itself. It no longer was a scene in central Florida. It was a view of our planet, our blue marble, from space. It was the world this probe was leaving behind, going out and finding out if indeed there is water, or life, on one of our neighboring worlds, Mars, in the Great Year of Mars, when the planet is closer to us than at any time in the past 50,000 years. Because of this it will take only 7 months to reach its destination on 2004 January 4. Maybe then, in the fourth year of this Millennium, if we are lucky, we may find out if indeed, we are truly alone. I am looking forward to it and hope they succeed this time.