Would You Go To Mars?

Thoughts on Martian travel from Jodi Taylor

This week we have:

• Jodi Taylor writes about going to Mars

• Enjoy an extract read by Jodi Taylor from And Now For Something Completely Different

• This week’s History Briefing is about The Mars Effect: Unravelling the Mystery of Lost Martian Spacecraft

• A joke from the Silly Sunday thread in the Fans & Readers Facebook group

• Pre-order is now available for Out of Time

• Website news

  There’s plenty to read this week and you can see everything new on the blog too. CLICK HERE for the blog.

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This week, we’re featuring And Now For Something Completely Different and I’ve been asked to write what inspired me to write it.

But you very nearly didn’t get this article…

I was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force – or Paddington in Peru as the rest of the world is calling it. Yes, far from spending my afternoon crouched over a smoking laptop, I abandoned my post and braved the snow and icy temperatures. Even worse – it wasn’t just a visit to the cinema – there were margaritas and spicy chicken wings and cheese croquettes with cranberry sauce to follow. Which were very nice. And then – obviously – there were more margaritas. I always say – if you’re going to topple off the rails then make sure you do it properly. Really put your back into it. So I did.

Actually, while I was at the cinema I saw the adverts for Conclave by Robert Harris. One of my favourite books. I don’t know why – I’m not Catholic. I’m not even particularly religious but Conclave has turned out to be one of my comfort books – one to which I return time and time again. I shall be interested to see how closely the film follows the book. Calvin Cutter doesn’t appear to be involved so it will probably be very good.

Anyway, after that major meander into my transgressions yesterday, I’m now commanded to turn my attention to this week’s featured short story – And Now For Something Completely Different – and why I felt compelled to write something so History unrelated.

The idea of taking St Mary’s to Mars had been with me since the beginning. That’s why I took good care to keep mentioning the Space Programme in the earlier books. Just to keep the idea bubbling in people’s minds. I mean, it stands to reason, doesn’t it – if you can move a pod from London today to a different geographic location – Ancient Rome, perhaps – then there’s no reason why you couldn’t also take that pod to the moon. Or Mars. Or Jupiter. Or anywhere. The movement of the earth means that pods are moving through time and space already.

And here’s an interesting thought – which is further away – one hundred and forty million miles to Mars, or sixty-five million years back to the Cretaceous Period? And which jump would take longer? Answers on a postcard please …

The research was fascinating and great fun. I promise you that urine is an excellent protection against cosmic radiation and everything I wrote about lagging the pod with people’s contributions is feasible, And yes, the urine-encased bio suits are a definite thing, too.

And naming the crew of the first manned mission to Mars with the surnames of people who had a connection with Mars. I only wish I’d thought to name the Mars Expedition Vehicle the Matt Damon. What a wasted opportunity.

The story was also a great chance to discuss the pros and cons of planetary exploration. Should we do it? Or, given that we’re rapidly making this planet uninhabitable – do we have any choice if we want to survive? And then, of course, what happens if, at some point in the future, we discover life on Mars? Even if it’s only a very primitive bacteria – it’s their planet. Should we back off and leave them to evolve as nature intended? Or – and I can see this happening – do our good resolutions last only until we need the resources of that planet for ourselves and then it’s, ‘Bye-bye, bacteria,’ as we move in and take what we need.

And what about the underground sea on Europa? They’re talking about exploring its depths because of the possibility of life there. But we’d have to be super-duper certain there were no Earth microbes anywhere on the exploration vehicle, otherwise we contaminate the sea and the opportunity to examine a pristine environment is gone forever. To say nothing of vicious little Earth microbes consuming all the unsuspecting Europa microbes and two billion years later – more humans! Probably not what the Solar System needs.

I hope everyone enjoyed the And Now For Something Completely Different storyline. Obviously I made things difficult for myself by using dialogue to explain what had happened up until that point but that enabled Commander Hay and Director Pinkerton to get in some splendid digs at each other. A bit of a clash of the Titans there. Perhaps they’ll meet again in the future.

It would be interesting to take St Mary’s back to Mars one day. How is the manned Mars base I described in the story progressing? Or are they all dead? Researching the habs and how people could survive on Mars was really fascinating and I’d enjoy catching up on the latest research. I must give it some thought.

I think it was while writing this story that the precise relationship of Commander Hay and Captain Farenden sorted itself out in my head and became the basis for future their conversations and his ‘humorous anecdotes’, as he seeks to divert her mind from whatever crisis is looming at the time. Charlie Farenden has actually become one of my favourite characters. I think something nice will have to happen to him soon.

I shall end by making my standard plea to the Space X people.

I’m not getting any younger and if things don’t get a move on I’m not going to live long enough to see the first astronauts land on Mars. So – once again, Elon – stop messing about with X and politics and all the other unimportant stuff and get your arse to Mars.

And one final thought – if they can crack it – if they can solve all the problems – if they can finally make it possible – and you were offered the opportunity – would you go to Mars?

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Enjoy an extract from And Now For Something Completely Different read by Jodi Taylor. CLICK HERE

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History and Happenings - click here to view more posts

The Mars Effect: Unravelling the Mystery of Lost Martian Spacecraft

In "And Now For Something Completely Different" by Jodi Taylor the team from St Mary's travel to Mars. In this history briefing, we explore the mystery of lost Martian spacecraft.

Mars, the enigmatic Red Planet, has captivated the imagination of scientists, astronomers, and the public for centuries. As our closest planetary neighbour in the solar system with the highest potential for past or present life beyond Earth, Mars has become the target of numerous space missions since the dawn of space exploration. Yet, despite humanity’s technological advancements, a perplexing pattern has emerged: an unusual number of missions to Mars have ended in failure, with spacecraft mysteriously going silent or disappearing entirely. This curious phenomenon has become widely known as "The Mars Effect". This is not a scientific designation but rather a phrase coined to describe the strange frequency with which space missions to Mars encounter difficulties. It has haunted both robotic explorers and satellites, raising eyebrows and sparking speculation among the scientific community and the general public alike. Historically, Mars missions have suffered a disproportionately high failure rate compared to missions to other celestial bodies, such as the Moon or Venus. The failures have been documented since the early days of Mars exploration, beginning with the USSR’s Marsnik 1 in 1960, which failed to leave Earth’s orbit.

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Enjoy a joke from the Silly Sunday thread from the Facebook Fans and Readers group.

Thanks to Marti King Young for this one…

Did you know deer can jump higher than the average house? It’s because of their powerful hind legs and the fact that the average house can’t jump.

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The nail-bitingly tense, rib-crackingly funny new TIME POLICE mission from the million-copy bestselling author of THE CHRONICLES OF ST MARY'S.

The Time Police are accustomed to jumping to the past. This time, however, the past has come to them.

What connects a dead dinosaur with Romulus the founder of Rome, a shocking cover-up at TPHQ and a plot to murder the Princes in the Tower?

The Time Police are determined to find out, helped - and occasionally hindered - by a wayward member of St Mary's and a recently reunited Team 236. Each in their own unique way, obviously.

As if all that wasn't enough - something somewhere in the Timeline is wrong. Very, very wrong. What is the Time Map trying to tell them?

Can the Time Police find the answers before Time runs out?

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The current Jodi Taylor website will be closing on December 31st. Jodi will continue to write on her Substack blog and send the weekly Friday email.

Karin Mallion who runs Jodiworld will be launching a new merchandise site next year before the Jodiworld Convention. I'll be working closely with Karin to help her develop the new site and we will transfer over any pre-orders for Bad Moon. Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions on hazel@rushford.ltd. Many thanks, Hazel

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The Reading Companion and History Briefings eBook for Just One Damned Thing After Another. The eBook is 99p or FREE for subscribers.

It contains:

• A foreword by Jodi Taylor

• Background information on the characters

• History Briefings giving information on the four main jumps in the book

• Floor plans of St Mary’s Institute for Historical Research

• A list of British idioms and expressions

• How to make tea like a Brit

• A recipe for Toad in the Hole

• A full series guide and reading order for The Chronicles of St Mary’s series

Available in both epub and PDF formats. You can also download full-size images of the floor plans.

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