On the signal of the video manager, the octogenarian cleared his throat, then started speaking as soon as a red light lit up on the camera facing him.
‘’To all my fellow Martian citizens, good day! We are here, at the Melas Chasma Space Yards, to celebrate the completion of the first spaceship to be fully built on Mars, with components produced on this planet. As such, the M.S.S. DENISE WATTLING represents the ultimate achievement of decades of hard work meant to colonize Mars and make it a second home to Humanity. It also honors the legacy of an extraordinary woman who led the first Human exploration team to walk on Mars, then acted as the commander of our first permanent base, Mars Base One, which we now know as ‘The Nest’. That woman, along with her companions, started building what was then still a dream, with many unknowns and uncertainties facing that dream. Those pioneers, helped with more volunteers from Earth, multiplied along the decades while progressively building our colony and what we now call our home.’’
The old man then had to stop for a second, a big ball forming in his throat and with tears about to burst from his eyes. He however overcame his emotions and continued his speech, his voice becoming stronger in volume and tone.
‘’Denise Wattling was also my mother, a role in which she proved to be as devoted and kind as she had been in her role as our first leader. Now, I, Michel Ponichnikov, as your newly-elected governor, am proud to celebrate her memory and that of her fellow pioneers. I am also proud to be able to proclaim today to all of you and to the people of Earth the achievement of a dream we worked so hard for over eight decades to attain. Today, the United Nations, with the approval and acknowledgement of all the governments on Earth, proclaimed Mars as a self-sufficient colony, where Humanity will be able to expand and live in both peace and harmony. Today, we can proudly call ourselves Martians!’’
BIBLIOGRAPHy
Giles Sparrow, MARS – A new view of the red planet, Quercus, New York, USA, 2015.
Kenneth R. Lang, The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2003.
Bill Yenne, The Atlas of the Solar System, Bison Books, Greenwich (CT), USA, 1987.
Kenneth Gatland, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology, Salamander Books, New York, USA, 1981.
Joel Achenbach, Jean-Pierre Vrignaud (rédacteur en chef), Coloniser Mars, National Geographic Society magazine, novembre 2016.
David Baker, SPACE – Celebrating 50 years of human space flight, Key Publishing Ltd, Stamford, UK, 2011.
Notes
[←1]
RP-1 : A form of refined kerozene fuel that is commonly used by many types of liquid chemical rocket engines, mixed and burned typically with liquid oxygen.
[←2]
MMH : Monomethyl Hydrazine. A common storable chemical rocket fuel.
[←3]
N2O4 : Nitrogen Tetroxide. A common storable chemical rocket oxidizer burned in conjunction with MMH or other rocket fuel types.
[←4]
VASIMR: Variable Specific Impulse Magneto-plasma Rocket. A type of electric plasma engine with very high specific impulse suited for long space trips.
[←5]
Hohmann transfer orbit : Elliptical orbit used to transfer between two circular orbits of different radii in the same plane.
[←6]
ESA : European Space Agency.
[←7]
Geomaticians : Specialists in producing maps.
[←8]
Lidar : Laser radar. A sensor type that uses laser beams (often invisible to the human eye) to scan a space like a radar would. A Lidar has a very high definition but its range would be less than a radar and would be dependent on meteorological conditions.
[←9]
C.E.R.N. : Centre Européen de Recherche Nucléaire. European Nuclear Research Center in French.
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