~ What I See On Mars ~

Ever since this jaw-dropping panoramic view from Curiosity became available last month, I have been exploring it at least once a day.

http://www.panoramas.dk/mars/greeley-haven.html
(Copyright: Hans Nyberg, panoramas.dk)

And still, I see something new each time I look at it. 

I see a stunning landscape, on another planet, alien, yet hauntingly familiar.

I see a robot from Earth, a marvel of human accomplishment and ambition, an electronic ambassador to a planet that will have a human presence in most of our lifetimes.

I see a vista of Mars that no human eyes have ever taken in before. 

I see colonies, settlements, domes, tented canyons, rovers, landers, power plants, space elevators, greenhouses and playgrounds.

I see humans from Earth utilizing the sum total of human scientific and technological advancements to build new lives on Mars, to begin again in ways we cannot on Earth.

I see communities, villages, cities, centers of commerce, with names such as Bradbury Landing, Endeavour, Heinlein Station, B5, Tatooine, Elysium, Roddenberry Center, Chandor Chasma, Mars Prime, Argyre, Chryse and Noctis Labyrinthus Overlook.

I see Olympus Mons, a volcano of a size and scale almost beyond the comprehension of human dimensions.

I see two moons in the sky at night, and the same sun as on Earth, but dimmer, fainter, much, much colder.

I see Mars populated by millions of humans - not nearly enough to create much of a crowd on a planet with so much land and no oceans.

I see generations of Martian-born humans, clearly descendants of Earth, yet separate and distinct as they evolve and adapt to live in a Martian environment, Martian atmosphere, Martian climate, a true Martian culture.

I see that culture reach out and travel beyond Mars, to the asteroid belt, to Titan, Io, Europa, and on. 

I see the day when we find a way to travel or project ourselves through interstellar space with billions of galaxies to explore.

And it all begins on Mars.

For we are human. 

We are explorers. 

We are curious, and we will go.

What do you see?