Welcome to Mars

3, 2, 1 . . . Blast off!

You’re strapped into your seat as your rocket shoots into the air. You race toward the stars at 25,000 miles per hour. Faster, faster, faster. The skin on your face feels like it’s going to rip away from your skull. Your whole body shakes. You squeeze your eyes shut, hoping the rocket doesn’t explode.

Finally, you make it into space! But you’re not there yet. Not even close. Mars is tens of millions of miles away. It will take about nine months to get there.

3, 2, 1 . . . Blast off!

You’re in your seat. Your rocket shoots into the air. You race toward the stars at 25,000 miles per hour. Faster, faster, faster. Your skin feels like it’s going to pull away from your face. Your whole body shakes. You close your eyes. Hopefully, the rocket won’t explode!

You make it safely into space. But you haven’t arrived yet. Not even close. Mars is millions of miles away. It will take about nine months to get there.

When you finally arrive, you can’t just hop out of your spaceship. You need a special spacesuit to protect you. The air on Mars is toxic. You’ll need an oxygen tank at all times.

You step outside and look around in shock. You’re standing in a huge, empty desert covered in red dust. There’s not another living thing in sight. No plants. No animals. No oceans or lakes.

You finally arrive. But you can’t just hop out of your spaceship. You need a spacesuit to protect you. The air on Mars is toxic. You’ll need an oxygen tank at all times. You look around. You’re in a big desert covered in red dust. There’s not another living thing in sight. No plants. No animals. No water.

In the distance, a giant volcano rises up from the rocky ground—Olympus Mons. It’s three times taller than Earth’s highest mountain, Mount Everest.

You shiver in your spacesuit. Mars is much colder than Earth—as cold as 140 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Your blood would freeze in minutes. You wonder: What am I doing here?

A giant volcano is in the distance. It’s three times taller than Earth’s highest mountain. You shiver. Mars is much colder than Earth. It gets as cold as 140 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Your blood would freeze in minutes without a spacesuit. You wonder: What am I doing here?

And then you remind yourself that you are part of history! No humans have ever lived on another planet before. Only 12 people have walked on Earth’s moon. You’ll be helping to build a new world for humans to live on.

Not that it will be easy. You’ll be a part of a tiny community of humans living in a giant dome. You’ll need to grow your own fruits and vegetables. Most of your time will be spent inside the dome.

Still, Mars and Earth have a lot in common. Mars is about half the size of Earth. But both planets have the same amount of land. (Mars has no water on its surface.) Mars even looks similar to some places on Earth, like the red deserts of Utah.

Scientists plan to send the first humans to Mars in the 2030s. So what do you think . . . would you want to live there one day? 

And then you remember that you’re part of history! No humans have lived on another planet before. Only 12 people have walked on Earth’s moon. You’ll be helping to build a place for humans to live. It won’t be easy. You’ll be a part of a tiny group of humans living in a giant dome. You’ll need to grow your own food. Most of your time will be spent inside the dome.

Still, Mars and Earth have a lot in common. Mars is about half the size of Earth. But both planets have the same amount of land. (Mars has no water on its surface.) Mars even looks like some places on Earth, like the red deserts of Utah.

Scientists plan to send the first humans to Mars in the 2030s. What do you think? Would you want to live there one day?