Mars

Not far from us, mentally or physically, there is a whole new world. It has long been a subject of science, mythology, fiction, and hope. Its desert landscape has inspired plans for engineering on a scale that would give pause to his namesake deity. Its red sands have fueled countless books about adventures and romance. Today we have more detailed maps of its surface than of the bottom of our oceans. Aside from capturing the imagination of scientists and dreamers, it has inspired works of fiction where words like human, alien, or Martian, have their meanings reversed. Yet in spite of being so present in our culture, we don't know what it will be like once we begin to make it our second home. No doubt it will be a test of character and skill for our civilization -and an opportunity: perhaps the biggest we've ever had-to see how much we have learned from the bitter lessons of history; to leave behind the obsolete concept of nationality and tribalism; to build a truly enlightened society where our differences and diversity make up the texture of our culture, rather than creating fear and conflict. I wonder if this new world will transform us as a society, as we transform its surface into a sheltering biosphere.I wondder how many generations will pass, before our descendants sail the seas of Mars -and will they regard the wars and petty conflicts of our time as a part of history to be studied in books, but difficult to imagine.

I hope so.