The Extent of My Extra-Terrestrial Travel
By Jeff Salter
This week we’re asked whether we’d travel in space (assuming we could safely return). The question focused on Mars and the Moon, though I don’t think they’re necessarily the most charming of the possible destinations. I mean, according to many of the 1950s Sci-Fic movies (I saw as a kid), the place with all the hot chicks was Venus!
Anyway… as I said in reply to one of the columns by a colleague Fox this week, I wouldn’t so much dislike VISITING another planet… but I’d hate the tediously long voyage to get there.
But before we leave the topic of Mars, let me say that one of my very first stories – written at some point during elementary school years – was titled “Trip to Mars.” It was terribly lame, terribly juvenile, and terribly derivative of those goofy 1950s Sci-Fic films mentioned above. But apparently it represented some innate desire of mine to SEE something other-worldly.
Uh, I don’t believe they’ve actually BUILT this one yet, but this is the Space Station I’d want to visit. Sorta like Nashville’s Opry Mills Mall in Space.
Actually, however, if I had the money, health, and inclination to do any Extra-Terrestrial Travel, I think my first choice would be to visit the orbiting space station. [Is there more than one?] I won’t want the one with all the Russians, because I can’t be bothered to learn a new language. And I wouldn’t want a lot of oppressive rules (or tasks) while on-board. I’d just want to wander about the station, peer out the windows, visit the snack bar, see what the earth and moon look like from those distances. And then, when my time is up – let’s call it a long weekend – I’d like to come back home and write about my experience.
The launches to and from the space station have been reasonably successful and predictable – other than two major catastrophes of the Space Shuttle program. I’d definitely feel a lot safer with this type of Extra-Terrestrial Travel than I would with some endless voyage through the cold darkness of outer space… to some distant planet that would take years to reach.
There and back — get the t-shirt, take a few selfies, gaze out the portholes, and then come back home. Terra Firma.
Question:
What about YOU? Would you like to travel in space? To where? For how long?
[JLS # 353]
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
HAHA! Yes…peer out the windows and visit the snack bar. I’m with you there. I would love, love to be able to witness the earth from the space station. I’d love to be able to see the stars from that perspective, too. It might be cool to bounce along the moon, but I currently would have no desire to travel to another planet unless it was for the sole purpose of survival. And only then, scientists would have had to come up with the technology that allows the human body to hibernate (and not age) for the duration of the trip.
Geat post, Jeff!
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Right, Jenn. The hibernation would be essential for those long trips.
However, that itself opens another complete set of horrors… because I’ve seen too many movies where those hibernation capsules went haywire or had some other glitch about waking you too early or too late.
Nope. I wouldn’t sleep a wink.
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Have you seen Passengers with Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. They woke up almost a century too early! It was a good movie.
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have not seen it yet, but the trailer looked very good
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The space station would be a nice compromise, I think. It wouldn’t take quite as long to get there (3 days as opposed to months to get to Mars). And I’d still be able to see earth, so I wouldn’t feel quite as anxious. But I don’t think I’d need to stay long before the novelty wore off.
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It takes three days to reach the space station? I thought it was accessible within hours. Or is that all about syncing the orbits and positioning?
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I got that from a YouTube video. But I see that was made in 2013, so I’m sure that time has been cut back considerably by now. There’s another article (from the same year) that says that two people made it there in less than six hours: https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2013/03/speedy-astronauts-make-the-fas.html
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The space station would be a nice place to visit. With that experience alone you could write several stories!
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definitely. the possibilities are endless: zombies take over the station, the Russkies take over the station, Male astronaut falls in love with female astronaut, YA female astronaut takes her puppy and suddenly cannot find him…
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Murder mystery on a space station! Or you could rework some of your stories to fit:The Overnighter’s Secrets could become The Spacepack’s Secrets… Or One Simple Favor could be picking up a cosmonaut by mistake…Hid Wounded Martian?
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Hid Wounded Martian — Love it !
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Take it from someone who took Russian lessons, you are making a good choice! (It is not and easy language.) Now I have to revamp my post for tomorrow, since I used “terra firma”.
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eager to see what the Friday Fox has to say
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The space station would be interesting but it would get old after a few days.
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exactly… somewhat like riding in an RV for two weeks — you’re eager to escape
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