Read Flying to the Moon Online
Authors: Michael Collins
Flying to the Moon (17 page)
Two very important elements in our lives on earth are carbon and nitrogen, and we would also need them on Libra. They are found in all living plants and animals. Carbon joins with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which plants need to live, and nitrogen is in the air we breathe and the fertilizer we need to grow crops. Unfortunately,
neither nitrogen nor carbon is plentiful on the moon, so Libra's supply would have to come from the earth or some other place. Perhaps a trip from Libra to one of the asteroids would bring back materials rich in carbon and nitrogen.
neither nitrogen nor carbon is plentiful on the moon, so Libra's supply would have to come from the earth or some other place. Perhaps a trip from Libra to one of the asteroids would bring back materials rich in carbon and nitrogen.
Life on Libra could be as interesting and varied as life on earth. Rotating slowly in eternal sunshine, Libra would have abundant solar energy, so much, in fact, that some could be converted into microwaves and beamed back to earth. Libra not only could help earth by providing clean solar energy, but could also relieve overcrowding on earth by giving people someplace else to live. At first, Librans would consider themselves earth people, but after a while they would probably begin to think of themselves as slightly different. In time, they would truly become different, as their bodies adapted to their new environment. In the reduced gravity of Libra, they would not need the heavy muscles of earth people, so children growing up on Libra would tend to be slimmer, (especially in the legs) than if they had been living on earth. Their bodies would also become less tolerant of heat and cold, for Libra would not experience the extremes of temperature that we find in Alaskan winters or Arizona summers. If they visited earth, Librans would also find windstorms most startling and unpleasant, compared to the gentle air currents they knew. As a matter of fact, they would probably find the raw uncontrolled conditions on earth too primitive for their taste. (“A nice place to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to
live
there!”) Since harmful organisms (poison-ivy plants, jellyfish, measles, certain germs, etc.) would have been
prevented from entering Libra, a trip to earth for Librans could be dangerous indeed, because their bodies would be more susceptible to earth diseases. Librans would have to worry about dying from earth diseases, or carrying them back to Libra and infecting others. It might be necessary for visiting Librans to wear germ-tight space suits, just as we Apollo astronauts did.
live
there!”) Since harmful organisms (poison-ivy plants, jellyfish, measles, certain germs, etc.) would have been
prevented from entering Libra, a trip to earth for Librans could be dangerous indeed, because their bodies would be more susceptible to earth diseases. Librans would have to worry about dying from earth diseases, or carrying them back to Libra and infecting others. It might be necessary for visiting Librans to wear germ-tight space suits, just as we Apollo astronauts did.
Apollo set a precedent for the future in another interesting way. It was probably the only major human expedition in which no weapons were carried. In similar fashion, no weapons would be permitted on Libra, and Librans simply would not be able to understand why earth people continued to shoot one another. On Libra, if people felt hostile, they would be urged to put their energies into athletic contests or other competitive events, or simply to let off steam by going flying. Libran sports flying machines would be powered by muscles. On earth, a few people have been able to build muscle-powered airplanes which can overcome our heavy gravity for a short time, but on Libra it would be possible for a muscle-powered machine to stay aloft indefinitely. The machines would be a cross between a bicycle and a glider, a winged bicycle with a propeller. The flier's legs would provide the power to keep the propeller turning, while his hands would control elevators, ailerons, and rudders. With a little practice, a Libran could learn to soar and to wheel to his heart's content, both for recreation and as a practical method of traveling across his miniature country. Life on Libra would be pleasant.
Life could also be pleasant on the moon. With one sixth earth's gravity, the moon would be a comfortable place to
live. Just as with Libra, a colony on the moon would have to be sealed to keep its atmosphere from escaping into the vacuum of space. But a colony could easily be built underneath a dome. Probably most of it would be underground, to protect people from radiation. The back side of the moonâthe side away from earthâwould be a great spot for an observatory. On earth, astronomers are hindered by electric lights and radio signals that pollute the night sky, but on the back side of the moon astronomers could view the universe without interference.
live. Just as with Libra, a colony on the moon would have to be sealed to keep its atmosphere from escaping into the vacuum of space. But a colony could easily be built underneath a dome. Probably most of it would be underground, to protect people from radiation. The back side of the moonâthe side away from earthâwould be a great spot for an observatory. On earth, astronomers are hindered by electric lights and radio signals that pollute the night sky, but on the back side of the moon astronomers could view the universe without interference.
Venturing beyond the moon, we can travel toward the sun or away from it. Two planets are nearer to the sun than earth, but neither Mercury nor Venus is fit for humans. Both are way too hot. Mercury has almost no atmosphere and a daytime surface temperature that would melt lead. Venus has a very dense but unbreathable atmosphere, and a human on its surface would be crushed by the pressure.
As we move out away from the sun, our nearest neighbor is Mars. It, not the moon, is the place I wanted to go as a child, and I have never lost my interest in it.
Mars is in an almost circular orbit around the sun, at a distance of about 142 million miles. The earth's orbit is closer to the sun, at approximately 93 million miles.
Since the earth and Mars orbit the sun independent of each other, there are times when the two are as close together as 49 million miles (142 minus 93) or as far away as 235 million miles (142 plus 93).
Because the orbits of both the earth and Mars are slightly lopsided, these numbers aren't exact (once in a dozen years or so, earth and Mars actually get within
35 million miles of each other). To travel from earth to Mars, you must aim not at Mars but at the point in the sky where Mars will be on your arrival. We did the same thing with the moon on Apollo, but in that case we had to lead the moon only by three days' worth. In the case of Mars, the trip can take as long as nine months, following a curving arc approximately 460 million miles long. The situation might look like this:
35 million miles of each other). To travel from earth to Mars, you must aim not at Mars but at the point in the sky where Mars will be on your arrival. We did the same thing with the moon on Apollo, but in that case we had to lead the moon only by three days' worth. In the case of Mars, the trip can take as long as nine months, following a curving arc approximately 460 million miles long. The situation might look like this:
The dotted line represents the 460-million-mile journey. To travel a shorter are requires less time but more fuel. Upon our arrival at Mars, the earth would be approximately 200 million miles away, which means that radio signals (traveling at the speed of light) would take nearly twenty minutes to make the trip, one way. Therefore, it would take our Mars astronauts forty minutes to ask for,
and receive, any advice from earth. That means they had better be able to solve most problems themselves, especially problems involving the Mars landing itself, where the situation might change drastically, minute by minute. On the other hand, just as in the Apollo program, the big earth-based computers would be helpful in keeping our Mars spacecraft on course, and avoiding obstacles along the way, such as Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
and receive, any advice from earth. That means they had better be able to solve most problems themselves, especially problems involving the Mars landing itself, where the situation might change drastically, minute by minute. On the other hand, just as in the Apollo program, the big earth-based computers would be helpful in keeping our Mars spacecraft on course, and avoiding obstacles along the way, such as Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Once safely on the surface of Mars, what would our astronauts find? No one can say for sure, and that is part of the reason for going. Mars has fascinated people for centuries, and they have made countless wild guesses about it. Called the Red Planet by early astronomers, Mars is actually sandy orange in color. Its diameter is about half the earth's, its surface desert-like, marked by huge mountains and deep canyons. One mountain, a volcano called Olympus Mons, is fifteen miles high and three hundred miles across. A canyon named Valles Marineris is 20,000 feet deepâthree times as deep as Arizona's Grand Canyon. Mars has days and nights of about the same length as ours, and seasons which last twice as long. At night the temperature is bitter cold, as much as two hundred degrees below zero, but at noontime near the equator it can reach a comfortable sixty-five degrees. Mars has an atmosphere, but a very thin one, and it is composed mostly of carbon dioxide, so astronauts would have to bring their own oxygen to breathe. Very high winds have been recorded on the surface of Mars, and sometimes nearly the entire surface of the planet is obscured by blowing dust. However, the atmosphere is so thin that an astronaut would not have to worry about
being blown over: a fierce hurricane on Mars would push against him with about the same force as a gentle breeze on earth. Because Mars is smaller than earth, Mars' gravity is not as strong. In fact, it is only one third that of earth, so that a typical male astronaut would weigh around sixty pounds and a female astronaut forty pounds. That might be a good argument for an all-female crew. It wouldn't take as much fuel to lift the lighter person from the surface, and besides, during the voyage a small woman probably wouldn't eat as much food, drink as much water, or breathe as much oxygen as a large man.
being blown over: a fierce hurricane on Mars would push against him with about the same force as a gentle breeze on earth. Because Mars is smaller than earth, Mars' gravity is not as strong. In fact, it is only one third that of earth, so that a typical male astronaut would weigh around sixty pounds and a female astronaut forty pounds. That might be a good argument for an all-female crew. It wouldn't take as much fuel to lift the lighter person from the surface, and besides, during the voyage a small woman probably wouldn't eat as much food, drink as much water, or breathe as much oxygen as a large man.
Of course, the most fascinating question of all is: could there be life on Mars? There definitely could be, although not animal life as we know it on earth. There is no free water now on the surface of Mars, but there is evidence that there once was, and it is possible that there still is moisture trapped below the surface. Therefore, at one time there might have been a different kind of life than could exist today, and even now there might be primitive life somewhere below the surface. Some life-forms on earth can survive a long time under the harshest conditions: animal eggs hatch after many years and plant seeds sprout after centuries. Perhaps such dormant life exists on Mars. Another possibility is that the rocks there contain fossils of extinct animals and plants. It would certainly be fascinating to see what life, if any, really is on Mars. I'd certainly be willing to spend eighteen months of my life on a trip to find out.
And Mars is just the beginning, an obvious place to start because it happens to be close at hand.
Beyond Mars is a zone, or belt, of asteroids, and then
the outer planets: Jupiter, the gas giant, the largest planet in our solar system; Saturn, with its weird, complex rings; blue-green Uranus; Neptune and its huge moon Triton; and obscure Pluto, its orbit tilted at an angle from all the rest.
the outer planets: Jupiter, the gas giant, the largest planet in our solar system; Saturn, with its weird, complex rings; blue-green Uranus; Neptune and its huge moon Triton; and obscure Pluto, its orbit tilted at an angle from all the rest.
Titan, one of Saturn's moons, has an atmosphere about as dense as our own. We believe that Titan has a hot core and a surface of frozen liquids. If that is the case, beneath its surface ice Titan probably has oceans at various temperatures, including those that nurture life deep in the earth's oceans. Who knows what surprises Titan might have in store for us?
Our entire solar system is an insignificantly small part of the universe, a grain of sand in an endless desert. Our sun is but a tiny speck in our home galaxy, the Milky Way, which in turn is lost among countless other galaxies. With so many galaxies and therefore so many stars, it is inevitable that there are more planets than our minds can imagine. If we assume that nearly all of them, for one reason or another, are unfit for humans, we still have a number of habitable planets that is bigger than any number I was ever taught in school. Astronomers believe that there are
at least
1,000,000,000,000 planets in the universe capable of supporting our kind of life.
at least
1,000,000,000,000 planets in the universe capable of supporting our kind of life.
If this is true, is it reasonable to suppose that our one little peanut of a planet (a character in one of Mark Twain's stories referred to it as The Wart) is the
only
one which has produced intelligent life? I don't think so. I think it's the height of conceit for us Wartians to decide that our planet is better than all the other 999,999,999,999. A more reasonable assumption might be that we are in the
middle, which would make us stupid indeed, compared to life on some of the more advanced planets out there. A man who may have been the most intelligent Wartian who ever lived, Albert Einstein, developed a Theory of Relativity which says (among other things) that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. If this theory is correct, and we have discovered no reason so far to doubt it, then visiting other planets with intelligent life won't be an easy thing to do. The nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is over four light-years away, meaning that it would take over eight years to make a round trip, traveling the entire time at the speed of light, which is not something we know how to do yet. People wanting to visit more distant solar systems would have to set out with the understanding that they would most certainly die en route, hoping that their descendants would someday reach their destination safely.
only
one which has produced intelligent life? I don't think so. I think it's the height of conceit for us Wartians to decide that our planet is better than all the other 999,999,999,999. A more reasonable assumption might be that we are in the
middle, which would make us stupid indeed, compared to life on some of the more advanced planets out there. A man who may have been the most intelligent Wartian who ever lived, Albert Einstein, developed a Theory of Relativity which says (among other things) that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. If this theory is correct, and we have discovered no reason so far to doubt it, then visiting other planets with intelligent life won't be an easy thing to do. The nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is over four light-years away, meaning that it would take over eight years to make a round trip, traveling the entire time at the speed of light, which is not something we know how to do yet. People wanting to visit more distant solar systems would have to set out with the understanding that they would most certainly die en route, hoping that their descendants would someday reach their destination safely.
This may sound like an outlandish idea, but I really don't think so. I believe that a lot of people, especially young people, would volunteer tomorrow for such a flight. A starship could be very large, and therefore very comfortable. The crew would be huge, and you'd meet some very interesting people on board. After all, the earth itself has been called a spaceship, and the only major difference between it and a starship is the fact that the earth's passengers ride on the outside, instead of the inside. Compensating for this possible disadvantage, and its smaller size, the starship would provide one important feature the earth cannot. Instead of being locked into a monotonous, 365¼-day orbit around the sun, starship passengers would always find the view out their windows
slightly different from anything they had ever seen before.
slightly different from anything they had ever seen before.
Will mankind do this? Will it decide to create Libra, live on Mars, visit Titan, and venture beyond? I don't know. I only know that in my short lifetime I have done things which would have been considered clearly impossible in the year of my birth. I expect the same thing will be true of coming generations (even more so), because the pace of human achievements seems to be quickening. Just think, it was only sixty-six years from the Wright brothers' first flight to Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon.
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