|
 |
 advertisement
| |
|
|
|
|
|
What Do We *Say* When We Get to Mars? Offer Your Ideas
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 03:12 pm ET
08 October 2002
|
Headline: What do We Say When We Get to Mars One small sentence for Mankind: "This time, let's do it right." Those are the words fantasy author Terry Pratchett thinks should be the first spoken on Mars when and if humans finally go there. "I do not stand on this landscape of iron, this red desert, alone, but with all mankind and all who gazed at this Sphere of Fixed Stars and dreamed one day of touching it." That mouthful belongs to British Member of Parliament Lembit Öpik, who offers the words up for the same public purpose. The suggestions are part of a competition being staged by the Mars Society, an advocacy group, to suggest what ought to be spoken when the first people set foot on the Red Planet. No firm plans for sending humans to the Mars have been outlined by NASA, though the agency recently revealed early ideas that suggest some earnest planning may be in the wings. The contest, called First Words, is designed to raise awareness of a possible crewed mission. "First Words offers people around the world a chance to have fun and think about what will be said when a human first sets foot on the surface of Mars, said Adrian Hon, an undergraduate at Cambridge University who organized the effort. "The first words spoken on the Moon echoed for centuries and inspired billions. What will the first words on Mars be?" Not all the entries so far are as weighty as those spoken by Neil Armstrong when he first stretched his legs on the Moon. "I gotta pee!" is one suggestion archived on First Words web site, where entries can be read or submitted. Another: "Mork calling Orson...over." (If you don't get this one, then you're young enough to stand a chance of actually being the person to speak the words.)Five categories -- Most Historic, Most Humorous, Most Original, In Five Words, and Out of Context -- each offer prizes of more than $300.
|
|
|
|
|
