The Life And Legacy Of Astronuat Dr. Ronald E. McNair (1950 - 1986)

Dr. Ronald E. McNair.
(October 21, 1950 - January 28, 1986)

Ronald Erwin McNair was born on Saturday, October 21, 1950 in Lake City, Florence County, South Carolina, one of three children of Mr. Columbus Carl McNair (1923 - 1992) and Mrs. Pearl Helena Montgomery McNair (1926 - 1993).

Even at a very early age, Ronald McNair was fascinated by science and took every opportunity to study it.

Ronald was close with his two brothers, Eric and Carl -- in particular his younger brother, Carl, who was born about 10 months apart from him. The two were practically inseparable their whole lives. Ronald and his brothers were all born during the segregation era in South Carolina; a fact that resulted in one of the more interesting stories of his life.

In late 1959, at the age of nine, Ronald McNair went into the -- then segregated -- Lake City Library because he was looking for more advanced books on science.

Carl accompanied his younger brother and described what happened next in his autobiography: In the Spirit of Ronald E. Mcnair, Astronaut, An American Hero about the life of his brother. He writes:

"So, as he was walking in there, all these folks were staring at him - because they were white folk only, and they were looking at him and saying, you know, 'Who is this Negro?' So, he politely positioned himself in line to check out his books. Well, this old librarian, she says, 'This library is not for coloreds.' He said, 'Well, I would like to check out these books.' She says, 'Young man, if you don't leave this library right now, I'm gonna call the police.' So he just propped himself up on the counter, and sat there, and said, 'I'll wait.'" 

Ronald just sat on the counter until his mother and the police arrived. Upon being told what the disturbance was, the police officer simply asked, "Why don't you just give him the books?" to which the angry lady behind the counter reluctantly did. Ronald politely told the woman, "Thank you, ma'am" after he got the books -- which he returned a week later in the same good condition he checked them out in.

McNair graduated Carver High School in 1967 as valedictorian. Carver High School was incidentally one of the first schools in South Carolina to become integrated following the 1954 Brown Vs. Board of Education of Topeka U.S. Supreme Court case formally outlawing school segregation.

In 1971, Ronald McNair received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics, magna cum laude, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1976, he received a PhD degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), becoming nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics. That same year, McNair won the AAU Karate gold medal and would subsequently win five regional championships and earn a fifth degree black belt in karate. McNair received four honorary doctorates, as well as a score of fellowships and commendations. He became a staff physicist at the Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, California and applied to join the NASA Astronaut Corps. 

McNair was also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and became a member of the Bahá'í Faith. McNair was an accomplished saxophonist.

In January of 1978, McNair was selected as one of 35 applicants from a pool of 10,000 for the NASA astronaut program. He was one of three African-American astronauts recruited by Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols (1932 - 2022) as part of a NASA special projects effort to increase the number of minority and female astronauts. 

After he completed a one year training and evaluation period, Dr. McNair was placed for assignment as mission specialist astronaut on Space Shuttle flight crews. He flew as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger (Mission STS-41-B) from Friday, February 3 - Saturday, February 11, 1984, becoming the second African-American in space as well as the third person of African descent in space, after fellow U.S. Astronaut Guion "Guy" Bluford and Cuban Cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez.

On what would have been Dr. McNair's second space flight, he was again chosen as a mission specialist aboard the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) on Tuesday, January 28, 1986. Ronald McNair, along with six fellow astronauts --  Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Michael Smith, and Richard Scobee -- lost their lives in the violent explosion that destroyed the Challenger nine miles above the North Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral, Florida, just 73 seconds after liftoff.

He was just 35 years old.

Following his tragic death, McNair was initially buried at Rest Lawn Memorial Park in Lake City, South Carolina. In 2004, his remains were disinterred and moved to the Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park, also located in Lake City. 

A variety of public places are named in Dr. Ronald McNair's honor, including a crater on the Moon.

Perhaps in the most fitting legacy honoring his values and dedication to living his life against what was then defined as societal norms, on Saturday, January 29, 2011 -- approximately 25 years following his death -- the building that formally housed the Lake City Public Library where then 9-year-old Ronald was nearly denied books was officially rededicated as the Ronald E. McNair Life History Center, a museum dedicated to his life and memory.

Dr. Ronald E. McNair memorial in his hometown,
Lake City, South Carolina.

The tomb on Dr. Ronald McNair, Lake City, South Carolina.

I urge you today to go forth with the knowledge that you are better than enough; to go forth with the desire to accomplish, with the desire to contribute to our society. Go forth with a willingness to fight and a will to win.
~Inscription on Dr. Ronald E. McNair's tomb.

 

This article is written in respect to the everlasting memory of this son of South Carolina and American space explorer.

Earth Is A Bright Evening "Twin Star" As Seen From Mars

Earth and the Moon as seen in the Martian night sky photographed by NASA's Curiosity rover at Gale Crater
on Friday, January 31, 2014 about 80 minutes after local sunset during its 529th day on the Martian surface.
The Moon is only barely visible just below the bright Earth in close-up.
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL.

Imagine you were a human settler living on the planet Mars, the forth planet in our Solar System, in possibly as few as a couple hundred years from the present day.

You're walking outside the pressurized habitats built by the first and second generations born on Mars -- or possibly even domed terrariums as the first stages of the long process of terraforming the Red Planet are just beginning -- and stand out on the surface looking up at the evening sky.

Its about an hour following the beautiful blue Martian sunset in the crimson sky over the slightly closer horizon of the vast rust-colored desert planet and the first of the brightest objects appear overhead.

First would be the two moons: the larger, potato-shaped Phobos, and the smaller bright Deimos (both of which are also visible during the daylight hours). After these would come the first bright spots low in the evening sky -- our own planet Earth and its faint companion, our bright, beautiful Moon. 

On average the distance between Earth and Mars is about 140 million miles (or 225 million kilometers). From the surface of Mars, a hypothetical Martian would see our Earth the same way that we Earthlings view the planet Venus: as an inner planet, because Earth is in a closer and faster orbit to the Sun. Because of this, Earth, as seen from Mars, appears as a bright morning or evening "star" as Venus does here on Earth.

Also, from the surface of Mars, our lovely Luna (Moon), though appearing very faint, can actually be seen with the naked eye (or more likely through the safety glass plate of a pressure suit).

Because our Moon only averages a distance of about 238,855 miles (or 384,400 kilometers) in its orbit around our Earth, from the surface of Mars looking up into the night sky dome, Earth and the Moon would only appear to be separate by less than a degree (or, roughly just under the length of your pinky finger held at arms length) most of the time. So close together that the two heavenly bodies appear to be constantly in conjunction with one another, appearing to be a "twin star" in the evening and morning Martian skies.

A hypothetical Martian would also be able to see the Moon orbit the Earth, even see both heavenly bodies transit each other (pass in front of, or behind, the other) at certain times of the long Martian year in their orbit.

Thanks to modern science, we are able to view that magnificent sight or our home planet from another world right here from Earth via photographs taken from the surface of Mars by exploration rovers sent by us humans to study the possibility of human exploration (and possible future colonization) of our closest planetary neighbor -- as shown in the photo used for this article.

Through the yes of these robotic explorers we can see our own Earth and its beautiful Moon in a way that early humans looking up at the night sky could never have imagined; that only God, and perhaps maybe non-human intelligence beyond our Solar System, could ever have seen humanity's home before.

All the same, maybe someday soon Earth-born explorers in the coming decades -- and perhaps future generations of Martian-born humans hundreds of years from now -- will see that beautiful sight of our lovely Earth and Moon from the surface of the Red Planet with their own eyes with that same sense of wonder that us night sky observers here on Earth view the other planets in our Solar System? 

In Memory Of The 35th Anniversary Of The Challenger -- A Tribute To The Fallen Pioneers Of Space Travel

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God." 

                                  ~ U.S. President Ronald Reagan addressing the nation on January 28, 1986 

Space shuttle Challenger (OV-099) Mission STS-51-L crew:
(front row left to right) Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair;
(back row left to right) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik.
Photo courtesy of NASA/ 1986.

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the deadly accident that took the lives of the crew of the NASA space shuttle orbiter Challenger (OV-099). 

I was nine years old and home from school on the morning of January 28, 1986. I was playing a game of some sort with my sister in the family living room when my dad came into the room stunned and told everyone present that the space shuttle Challenger exploded on television. 

I remember feeling a little bit of cold in my stomach at the news. My grandparents quickly turned on the television set to the breaking news story. One of the reasons that me and my sister were home that day was school being let out for teachers work day, and the launch of the space shuttle mission -- which was to have included what should have been the first civilian school teacher into orbit. In fact, I recall that we were assigned homework to write a report on the launch. 

My sister, Olivia, was in probably worse shock than I was over the news. She was in complete denial at the time that the crew died in the explosion (later it would be learned that the crew did in fact survive for a short time following the breakup of the shuttle). I will never forget my teary-eyed seven year old sister saying, "No, teachers can't die! They're teachers!" I too was somewhat disillusioned to learn at such a young age that teachers were not invincible. To me educators were tough (and at times grumpy) people, but regardless people who seemed to be above concepts like being moral human beings. 

There were two things other than these moment that stood out for me on that terrible day in American history: the constant replay of the explosion itself, the fireball and smoke trails; and the address to the nation given by President Ronald Reagan. 

Even as a child, the words Reagan spoke about the importance of the space program and the crew of the space shuttle and others before them as the first pioneers into the next great frontier for humanity stuck with me. He spoke of the tragedy, of the dedication of the men and women lost in the disaster, and quoted from the poem High Flight by John Gillespie McGee Jr. He also reaffirmed that mankind would continue to move forward to conquer space.

The loss of the seven crew members was a shock to the nation, and would delay the US space program for several years. Yet just as the past sacrifices of the first great pioneers of space travel inspired those seven brave American men and women; the memory of the sacrifices made by the crew of the Challenger lives on today in the dedication of those who continue to serve as astronauts, technicians and engineers designing the crafts that will someday take humanity beyond our pale blue dot and into the solar system, and possibly beyond in some distant day. 

This blog post is dedicated to the honored memories and sacrifices of those pioneers of humanity's space program tragically killed while helping to advance humanity's scientific knowledge of the universe. Their noble sacrifices to that service will be remembered as human pioneers continue our march into space in the decades, centuries, and possibly the  millennium to come.

In Honored Memory

Valentin Bondarenko (Ukraine, USSR) 

Killed in an altitude trainer accident on March 23, 1961.

Theodore C. "Ted" Freeman (USA) 

Killed in a training jet crash on October 31, 1964. 

Elliott McCay See, Jr.  (USA)

Charles Arthur Bassett II (USA)

Gemini 9 Crew

Killed in a training jet crash on February 28, 1966. 

Virgil "Gus" Grissom (USA)

Edward H. White (USA)

Roger B. Chaffee (USA)

Apollo 1 Crew

Killed in a spacecraft test accident on January 27, 1967. 

Vladimir Komarov (Russia, USSR)

Soyuz 1 Commander

Killed on impact from re-entry parachute deployment failure on April 24, 1967. 

Clifton C. Williams, Jr. (USA) 

Killed in training jet crash on October 5, 1967. 

Michael J. Adams (USA) 

X-15 Flight 3-65-97

Killed in training flight crash on November 15, 1967. 

Robert Lawrence (USA)

Killed in training jet crash on December 8, 1967.

Yuri Gagarin (Russia, USSR)

Vladimir Seryogin (Russia, USSR)

Soyuz 3 Crew

Killed in training jet crash on March 27, 1968. 

Georgi Dobrovolski (Ukraine, USSR) 
Viktor Patsayev (Kazakh, USSR - modern-day Republic of Kazakhstan)

Vladislav Volkov (Russia, USSR)

Soyuz 11 Crew

Killed by decompression in space on June 30, 1971. 

Gregory B. Jarvis (USA)

Ronald McNair (USA) 

Christa McAuliffe (USA)

Ellison Onizuka (USA)

Judith A. Resnik (USA)

Francis R."Dick" Scobee (USA)

Michael J. Smith (USA) 

Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) Crew

Killed during explosion during the mission launch over the Atlantic Ocean on January 28, 1986.

Sergei Vozovikov (Russian Federation)

Killed during water recovery training on July 11, 1993. 
  

Rick D. Husband (USA)

 William C. McCool (USA)

Michael P. Anderson (USA)
David M. Brown (USA)

Kalpana Chawla (USA)

Laurel B. Clark (USA)

Ilan Ramon (Israel)

Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) Crew

Killed in vehicular disintegration upon re-entry of Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003. 

Michael Alsbury (USA) 

Killed in spacecraft flight test crash on October 31, 2014.

You Will Not Be Forgotten!

Robinson Crusoe On Mars And My Childhood Journey To The Red Planet

The opening scene to the science fiction cult classic Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964).
US spaceship Mars Gravity Probe One "Eleanor M" on final approach to Mars. 
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

Robinson Crusoe On Mars
And My Childhood Journey To The Red Planet  

By C.W. Roden 

The planet Mars holds a special interest for the human race. Ancient human civilizations worshiped the Red Planet as a god. In more recent times Mars has been a major inspiration for many science fiction and fantasy writers for over the last century. It is certain to be the first planetary body beyond Earth's moon that human beings will set their first footprints.

As a lifelong science fiction fan I've always held a profound fascination with stories and films about Mars. There have certainly been a number of influences over the years, but it all began sometime around the early part of October 1984 with an old science fiction movie and an old modular jungle gym.

At then eight years old I was completely obsessed with two subjects: dinosaurs and space travel. My overactive imagination and tendency to daydream at off times made me sort of an oddball among my peers -- a fact that I must admit still hasn't changed all that much today. Many times I would find myself sitting alone in one corner of the playground, or classroom, with nothing but my trusty collection of dinosaur toys, a stack of library books, and my imagination to keep my company.

Also unchanged since my youth has been my enjoyment of reading and thirst for knowledge. Whenever I became interested in a subject I would go to my local library and seek out as much information about it as my mind could soak up. These days I get my information mostly through the internet and online sources, although I still manage to find my way to the local library that I practically grew up in. In my humble opinion nothing can replace the actual weight and feel of a good book in your hands, or the smell of the ink and glue binding, or the feel of the paper at your fingertips. Screw Kindles!

My obsession with the Red Planet came about sometime in the summer of 1984 when I was first introduced to the ridiculously titled cult classic science fiction film Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964) directed by the legendary Byron Haskin, the genius behind the 1953 film version of H.G. Wells' 1898 science fiction novel War of the Worlds. The screenplay for the film, written by screenwriters Ib Melchior and John C. Higgs, is based on source material from Daniel Defoe's 1719 classic novel Robinson Crusoe. The film was independently made and distributed by Paramount Pictures. 

The robinsonade film follows the adventures of Commander Christopher "Kit" Draper, USN, (actor Paul Mantee) -- astronaut and copilot of the US spaceship Mars Gravity Probe One (MGP-1) "Eleanor M". Draper and his commanding officer, Colonel Dan "Mac" McReady, USAF,  (actor Adam West -- before he put on the Batsuit) and a female monkey named Mona (actually a male monkey named Barney, though the credits simply refer to him as "The Woolly Monkey") are the first human explorers from Earth sent to the Red Planet.

Commander Christopher "Kit" Draper (Paul Mantee) and
Colonel Dan "Mac" McReady (Adam West) aboard
Mars Gravity Probe One "Eleanor M" examining the
surface of the Red Planet.
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

In orbit observing Mars, they encounter a large meteor that forces a course correction that sends the trio into a the lower orbit of the Red Planet and uses up their propulsion fuel. With no means of leaving the planetary orbit, the two astronauts and monkey are forced to use a pair of attached landing vehicles to make an emergency landing on Mars and take refuge.

Draper's lander crashes into rocks, leaving him stranded in the middle of what appears to be a fire-covered planet with roaming fireballs. With a limited supply of air and emergency supplies, Draper sets off across the barren and apparently lifeless planet in search of shelter until he can make contact with McReady, who landed nearby.

After encountering some strange yellow rocks that appear to be like some form of coal and the source of the fires, Draper finds a shelter cave. Using a handy device called an Omnicomp (a form of computer, recorder, transmitter and receiver) Draper chronicles his time on Mars, which he admits will be brief. He realizes that the air of the planet is much too thin for humans to breathe for very long, and once his air supply runs out, he will not survive, unless he can make contact with McReady.

Kit Draper discovers the possible source of the fires.
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

The next day he goes off in search of McReady's lander over a group of mountains (the film was shot at picturesque Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park, California, USA) and eventually finds -- to his disappointment -- both Colonel McReady's crashed lander and McReady's dead body. He also discovers that Mona has survived the crash and can tolerate the thin air of the planet.
 

Rest in peace, Mac.
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

 
Upon returning to the shelter cave, Draper's air runs out and he accepts his inevitable death, collapsing beside the yellow rocks he'd gathered for his fire. To his amazement, he wakes still alive to find that the yellow rocks somehow produce oxygen, possibly the source of the planet's oxygen since there is no vegetation on the planet. Draper manages to learn how to harvest breathable air from the rocks and rig up a breathing apparatus, and conserve air through moderate exertion.

Kit Draper refilling his air tanks.
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

   
His biggest problems are now food and water. The spaceship Eleanor M continues to orbit low in the planet's atmosphere, but all attempts to contact the computer and order it to land fail. The ship has no fuel to land or maneuver, and all of the supplies for the journey to Mars remain aboard. Draper himself has only enough supplies of both to last barely two weeks through strict rationing. Mona however doesn't seem to need water much, which puzzles Draper until he follows her and discovers that she has found a pool of water. Draper also finds some form of sea pods growing in the water, that contains edible sausage-like protein.

Kit Draper (Mantee) and Mona (Barney The Woolly Monkey).
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

As the film progresses, Kit Draper encounters the same problem that Crusoe did in Defoe's novel: isolation. With only a woolly monkey for company, Draper argues with an echo of his own voice, and then later begins to hallucinate about his dead friend Colonel McReady visiting him one night after becoming sick from the cooked sausages. 

Despite the dread of being without human company, Draper makes the most of his time on Mars, building a bunch of Robinson Crusoe-type inventions, including a primitive alarm clock in order for him to wake every hour to take in boosters of air from his breather. Another interesting gadget is a primitive bagpipe that he plays Dixie on -- another nice touch this Southern boy thought. He even announces his intentions to Mona that they are going to explore this new world of theirs, since their mission to Mars was for that endeavor.

"Oh I wish I was on Mars, hurray hurray..."
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

It is during one of these exploration trips that Kit Draper discovers a grave and the skeleton of what appears to be a human with a hole in the middle of his forehead, indicating that he was murdered. Realizing he might not be as alone as he thought, and dreading the people who might have done this, Draper removes all outside evidence that he is there, including ordering the crippled Eleanor M to self-destruct.

A short time later, Draper witnesses what appears to be a spaceship landing nearby. Believing them to be a rescue party from Earth, he rushes out to find them, only to see that the ships are not from Earth, but rather some type of alien ship -- the same ones used for the Martian invaders in Byron Haskin's War of the Worlds (1953)....another personal favorite classic of this writer.

Hey those ships look kinda familiar!
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

While observing the strange visitors, Kit Draper encounters an escaped slave (actor Victor Lundin -- best known as the first onscreen Klingon from the original Star Trek series: Errand of Mercy, Season 1, episode 26) whom Draper takes back to his cave and names Friday -- another nod at the film's source material.

Meeting Friday (Victor Lundin).
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

As the movie progresses, we see Draper's attitude towards Friday go from one of mistrust where Draper has Friday do manual labor for him (a fact that bothered me more than a little as a kid, and apparently didn't sit well with actor Paul Mantee either) to one of sympathy when they discover that the alien slave masters slaughtered Friday's fellow slaves and friends before departing with the mined ore. Then when a falling meteor nearly kills Draper, Friday saves his life by pulling him from the choking ashes and giving him a breath pill -- which apparently helps make oxygen in the lungs and bloodstream. This act ultimately causes Draper to trust Friday more and the two walk back to the cave arm in arm, with Kit reciting from the Twenty-Third Psalm.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..."
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

Speaking of faith, the movie has an interesting scene later on when Draper and Friday are on the run from the alien slave masters and find water. There is a discussion between the two of them about God and the nature of divine order, something that is rarely done in science fiction films these days, except maybe as a way to mock or debunk Christian faith. The scene is well done and shows a dynamic between the two characters and their growing friendship.

Eventually, Kit is able to remove the slave bracelets the alien slave masters use to track Friday and they arrive at one of the polar ice caps of Mars. There after surviving yet another large meteor strike that buries them in an avalanche, the Omnicomp picks up a radio message from an Earth rescue ship. Kit and Friday cheer as they respond to the message, and are greeted by the surprised exclamation: "My god, a voice from Mars!" (the voice provided by director Byron Haskins himself). 

The movie ends with Draper, Friday and Mona rescued and Mars receding into the darkness of space as they return to Earth. 

Kit Draper, Friday and Mona being rescued by an Earth landing craft that apparently doesn't cast
a reflection in the water.
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)

Thanks to the adventures of Commander Kit Draper, Friday, and Mona -- as well as the creative vision of director Byron Haskins and the people who put together Robinson Crusoe On Mars -- I developed a young boy's fascination with the solar system, particularly with Earth's small red neighbor. The idea of astronauts landing on and actually exploring Mars had the most profound impact on me. The visionary effects in the film (at least for 1964 Hollywood) including the landing craft used by the movie's main character (visionary for its time since it was portrayed several years before the famous Apollo Lunar Module was even off the drawing board) inspired me to read up on the Apollo Moon Landings and space travel theories in general.

As a result of this film, I gathered up every library book about Mars in the junior and adult non-fiction section of my local library and soaked up every little detail about the Red Planet that I could find. After that I found the fiction stories like: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, and certainly A Princess of Mars by Edgar RiceBurroughs. By the time summer vacation ended, I was a regular Martian expert - well, at least I thought so at the time.

The movie -- which I recorded from television back the days when VHS tapes were beginning to come into wide use -- became a favorite of mine. That summer I watched it until I had the dialogue memorized word for word. Even today there's a DVD copy of Robinson Crusoe On Mars from the Criterion Collection complete with extras and commentary from the actors, writers, and director that holds a special place of honor in my movie collection.

Now obviously the entire premise of a man surviving any length of time on Mars without a pressure suit, let alone finding standing water or plant life is ridiculous. Mars as we know it in today has next to no air and no atmospheric pressure tolerable for human life. The images the NASA Mariner 1 and Mariner 2 Probes sent back to Earth in 1965 showed the cratered, moon-like Martian surface devoid of the so-called canals, or ancient cities that astronomers like Lowell and Schiaparelli "discovered" around the end of the 19th century - which also inspired classic science fiction writers like H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs to create amazing stories about life and civilizations on the Red Planet. A decade later in June of 1976 (same month and year I was born) NASA's Viking 1 and Viking 2 probes showed just a cold, dry desert landscape with violent dust storms, rock, and lots and lots of red sand dunes. No ancient city ruins, no vast canal systems artificial or otherwise, no "little green men" or large, four-armed giants, and no nearly naked red-skinned princesses clad only in jewels (damn it!). No surface life of any kind at all.

Of course none of that mattered at all to an eight year old small town Southern boy with a huge imagination and a tendency to daydream constantly during math classes. To that youngster, Mars was the next great frontier.

One of my favorite places at elementary school was an ancient modular jungle gym set between the playground and a dusty red activity field where outdoor P.E. classes were sometimes held. The jungle gym was the exact shape of how my imagination envisioned a Mars Landing Module complete with cockpit and airlock. The red dirt and virtually weed free activity field looked almost exactly like the surface of Mars from the Viking landing probe photos -- minus the pine trees in the background and the blue sky.

So thanks to a (then) twenty year old science fiction movie and my active imagination, on a moderately cool, but slightly sunny day in October of 1984, eight year old NASA Major Carl "Beau" Roden from South Carolina, USA, became the first human being from Earth to set foot on and explore the planet Mars in my unbuttoned light weather jacket, planting humanity's first footprints on the Martian surface in my worn and dirty sneakers.

For the next couple of months, or so, while my other male classmates were into contact team sports, or the popular classic G.I. Joe and Transformers action figures, I was an astronaut/space explorer; a combination of Kit Draper, Neil Armstrong, and James T. Kirk, making huge scientific discoveries by collecting rock, soil and plant samples in my empty lunch containers. I even got to discover (with the help of my trusty dinosaur toy collection) the existence of miniature dinosaurs on Mars! At other times I pretended to be a castaway who crashed on Mars, writing out S-O-S in huge letters in the red dirt, or with lined up rocks big enough for rescue ships to see. Every once in awhile a couple of classmates would act as my crew members, at least for a few days before getting bored and again leaving me marooned all alone on the "Martian" surface.

The gears of a young boy's mind turn very quickly though. By the time spring arrived "Mars" was again an activity field and taken over by the rest of my third grade class. I would soon be joining my classmates in group soccer games, where I had the distinction (usually against my will) to be goalie and collecting bumps and bruises when I was not daydreaming between goal attempts. Mars and my adventures there were soon replaced by my next big obsession, namely trying to -- and usually failing -- to be a good goalkeeper. 

Soon other obsessions and short-term life goals took higher priority in my life, not least of which was later surviving the urban jungles of Middle School and High School -- not an easy task for a tall, skinny kid who was shy, socially inept and possessed zero athletic ability to speak of outside being fairly average at kickball. 

Even so I've never quite forgotten my boyhood dreams of Mars, dreams kept alive thanks to great science fiction writers like Kim Stanley Robinson, and others. Those dreams continue to be kept alive with the growing popularity of ideas like Robert Zubrin's Mars Direct and great movies like The Martian (2015) based on an excellent robinsonade book by Andy Weir. 

Mars continues to invite us through fiction and science to explore its many mysteries. We know that liquid water once existed on the surface of Mars. Did life exist there, and does it still do so under the surface? If we find fossilized microorganisms there, and those organisms appear like similar ones here on Earth, then what does it say about the origins of life in our solar system and the universe? And finally the ultimate goal of human expansion into the solar system and possibly beyond. Could we build a successful colony on Mars? Build terrariums in the craters and smaller valleys of Mars and create Earth-like biospheres? Could we even develop the technology in a few hundred years to successfully terraform the planet and make it Earth-like on the surface with an atmosphere that can sustain human life? Could the Red Planet someday be a second home for humanity?

It is possibly we will actually see human exploration of Mars within the next 30 years. If so I also wonder if someone will be stranded there by some accident, like Commander Kit Draper and my highly imaginative eight year old self, and if they could find a way to survive through good ole human ingenuity.

Alone on Mars.
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures & The Criterion Collection)