Vasvi declared that she wanted to go to Mars, and I had to decode a lot of things for her to explain the differences between San Francisco and where she wants to go. The best way to overcome challenges is to face them and start thinking about how this generation needs to prepare.
| Feature | Simple Speak |
| Gravity (3.71 m/s2) | You’ll walk as if you’re light-hopping, you’ll weigh only 1/3rd; Jumping from a rock will feel slow motion (you’ll take about thrice as more time to fall) |
| Diameter (6794 km) | Will take half the time to get around Mars, map scales will be larger |
| Sun’s luminosity (40%) | Brightest days will look like very early mornings |
| Atmospheric Pressure (600 Pa) | Water will boil at about 0 degrees C, right where it freezes here on Earth (see this table) |
| Temperature (-60C) | Really cold as compared to most of earth |
| Two Moons | As fascinating as this sounds, these are really very small rocks around Mars, as compared to our moon and have minimal effect on Mars. In reality, you can’t see a large moon on Mars (its pretty empty). |
| Orbital Period (687 Days) | Summers will last about 6 months, and every other season will be longer than here. Calendars will have longer months and longer years there. |
| Life (unknown) | There are no trees, no bees, no butterflies, no birds and no flowers. Its pretty empty from a living creature perspective. |
To a child’s mind, the differences are not as extraordinary as it is to adults. They are still linking to what is supposedly normal.
Getting There
It was not funny for me any more after Vasvi repeated that she is going to Mars, and will on the way stop on Moon and Venus. I asked her what challenges will she have to overcome to get there. She had no idea. I decided to document some challenges in simple speak for a Vasvian brain.
| What | Simple Speak |
| Distance (60 to 400 million km) | Mars and earth are constantly moving around. It would be best to start when Mars is closer to Earth. If I call you when you’re around Mars, my “hello” will take anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes to reach you. It is that far. |
| Launch Window | About every two years, Mars and Earth are somewhere close that it will be fastest to get there. Our next launch window is Mar/2016. (cosmic schedule) |
| Packing | Food, water, recycle gadgets (to convert gases and liquids back to being usable), space suits, solar panels/batteries, a telephone, an exercise machine and your favorite Alouette.. |
| Delta-v Budget | How much money we will spend? This will depend on how much “gas” (propellent) is required, and how fast we can go. We’ll have to use the gravity (or the pull force) of other planetary bodies to gain speed (gravity assist), helping reduce the money we have to spend. |
| Spacecarft | A big giant car, with lots of buttons inside. This is where you will live for about 7-8 months, so it should be nice inside. |
| Radiation | Like very bright sunlight bothers, there are other types of “lights” that are dangerous and can be harmful. Sunscreen lotions can’t protect, so your spacecraft will need to have special outer coatings to protect from this radiation. Otherwise, it can be similar to you being inside a microwave |
| On the way | It will be dark outside, and the sun would be suddenly very bright. Lots of stars to see, the moon will show itself on the way, and depending on when the launch date, Venus could be seen from close enough. Earth will look like a blue ball, that gets smaller and smaller, every time there’s actually a chance to see it. Lots of exercise will be needed on the way so that bones and muscles stay strong. |
| Mars Orbit | Go around Mars, round and round, instead of landing down. Mars’ air and atmosphere will help a slow down to stay above it. Going around the planet, mornings and nighs may be shorter – ranging from a few to many many hours of day and night. Going around will be strange, since it will be elliptical – very close and then very far. Two not so big rocks will be seen, one very close (Phobos) to Mars and another one further away (Deimos). Earth won’t be seen as it used to be seen. |
Landing
At this time, exhausted with the information overload, the decision was not to land on this trip. We’ll land some other time, time to come back.
Coming Back
This is another complex task that I couldn’t get any reliable data for, at least as of this writing. Challenges of coming back had to be simple-spoken.
| Homeward | Simple Speak |
| Distance (60 to 400 million km) | The same distance needs to be covered as earlier. At best, the journey can start only about a year after it was accomplished, since launch windows occur every two years, remember? |
| Launch Window | The next launch window from Mars will be in Feb/2018 – about 15 months after reaching there. This will mean a lot of waiting while going around the planet. |
| What to pack | Just eat very slowly, don’t waste any chocolate bars and keep calm. |
| Delta-v Budget | Significantly higher amount of money is needed to pack double the fuel for getting back (to achieve the same speeds). Multiply everything you want to get there by 2. This may not be completely true if you are above Mars. |
| Spacecraft | Much bigger spacecraft, since you will be taller and supposedly heavier, you need more playground. This increases the delta-v budget, meaning more money. |
| Psychological Impact | Again, it will be very dark outside. Time will seem like it will never end. Feelings of “no one cares” will develop. Alouette, of everyone else, may suddenly seem like the only one who cares and loves. This will be hard. |
| Close to Blue | Being back on Earth doesn’t look any further. Sitting in a space capsule to fall into an ocean sounds easy, but an additional space capsule in the craft is needed. More delta-v. Alternatively, achieve a low earth orbit and then someone comes to pick up. Super-alternatively, somehow attach to the International Space Station – though no one would like the possibility of destroying a $100 billion thing if something went wrong. |
Will we get there?
This was the big question. After all this explaining over a few days, this question always rang with a super-optimistic spin at the end – “Yes?” I am just as optimistic as the little one. Yes, we’ll get there, and possibly, some would make it back.