Sunsets On Mars

It looks like a scene set on the fictional world of Tatooine, but this shot is of the sun setting on the empty, desolate planet of Mars.

In the whole of our history, we are the first human beings to witness a Martian sunset. Just think about that. We can see from the vantage point of an island that we as a species should never have reached.

I’ve said it before-this is a place where the silence has never been broken by spoken word.

One day it will. I wonder what that first word will be?

I say ‘silence’, but if you do a search you can discover an audio video that enables you to listen to the sound of this far-flung place. A place with few natural sounds except the wind.

I find things like this awe-inspiring. And there’s now lots of images to keep me going for some time yet. Rocky landscapes beneath a salmon sky.

I hope they instil in you the same sense of wonder that they do me. But if you are looking for a photo credit, though – I’m sorry, I didn’t take them.

A Bit Of The Wife’s Perspective

It was one of those historic moments.

I sat watching it live-the landing of the Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars. Any of a number of things could have gone wrong, you couldn’t take anything for granted.

And I didn’t. As I waited I thought of our evolutionary journey and how we were landing upon an island we should never have been able to reach, navigating a vast ocean which we should never have been able to cross.

And I witnessed it all on my iPad with a brew:

We’re going in.

After a few moments of palpable tension, confirmation was given that the mission had been a success and Perseverance was on the red planet. In the control room there were cheers and fist pumps and congratulatory relief.

Then the first eagerly awaited images reached us, after travelling 205.62 million km, due solely to decades of man’s ingenuity.

Jen: “It looks like my cheesecake.”

Happy New Year To All Martians

It’s New Year’s Day today on Mars. I bet their pubs weren’t closed last night.

Claws For The Weekend:Perspective

The next time I am feeling all self-absorbed and caught up in my own self-importance, revelling  in a world that revolves around me, I shall think of this photograph.

Purported to be an actual image taken from the Martian surface by NASA’s Rover, I have been persuaded that this is actually fake. But still, you get a sense of scale, along with a healthy dose of perspective.

In space, no one can hear you preen.

Have a great weekend, whatever planet you are on.

See you on the flipside.