Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Between the Curiosity rover’s landing on Mars in 2012 and the recent theatrical release
of the movie The Martian, a human journey to Mars is back on everyone’s radar. But
while people might be excited about the idea of humans walking on Mars, we don’t have
the same experience with the red planet as we do with our Moon. Which makes me wonder:
will a manned Mars landing resonate with us the same way the Apollo Moon landings did?
We all know the Moon. Aside from when it’s new and unlit from our Earthly perspective,
we see it every day, and it gives us the sense that we are home looking out into space. Between
1968 and 1972, twenty-four men traveled from the Earth to the Moon, twelve walked on its
surface, and three made the journey twice. And they all came back with a similar takeaway
message: we went to explore the Moon but ended up discovering the Earth. Many Apollo astronauts
have since remarked on how small the Earth looks from a quarter of a million miles away.
With one arm out straight, they could block out the whole planet with the tip of their
thumb. And the images they took show the planet in a way it had never been seen. The iconic
Earthrise pictures show our home without borders or obvious people. We see no roads, no shining
lights, no wars, no conflicts, just a tiny fragile oasis suspended in space. But we still
recognize our home planet, and recognize it going through phases, can see the similarities
of it hanging in the lunar sky like the Moon does in the Earth’s sky. Even if you don’t
have a detailed knowledge of space race history, these Apollo images can be beautifully evocative
and feel almost personal. We don’t have the same experience with Mars. Mars is a slightly
reddish point of light in the sky that most people can’t find; if you don’t know where
to look, you probably wouldn’t see it. And the Earth looks like the same dot in the sky
as seen from Mars. Mars is not an iconic object in the sky. There’s no “man on Mars”
like there is a “Man in the Moon” that we learn to pick out as children. When humans
eventually go to Mars, the pictures of boot prints and high-fives on the Martian surface
will of course resonate with us. It will be a massive human achievement, and we will all
be able to see ourselves reflected in the spacesuited astronauts. But will it have the
same effect on each and every one of us as the Moon landing? Or will it be different
because we won’t be able to fold it into our everyday experiences of ourselves in the
same way? As a spaceflight historian, I am steeped in this history and am coming at this
from a very different place. Tell me how you guys think a manned mission to Mars will resonate
with you in the comments below. And if you want to learn more about the Apollo program
and spaceflight history, be sure to check out my own channel, Vintage Space. That’s
where I dig into all kinds of lesser known fun aspects of Apollo era spaceflight. Thanks
for watching, and don't’ forget to subscribe!