September 2018. NASA’s major Mars colonisation projects are in a sorry state. The Curiosity rover, nearing the end of its operational life, is now only functioning intermittently, and – despite NASA’s communications plans – public interest in the exploration of Mars has waned. Other issues are monopolising the nation’s attention – and, above all, government funding: the economic crisis, international tensions with China, the war on terror, the border wall with Mexico and its funding… Nobody is interested in space any more, and the idea of sending anyone to Mars seems to have been shelved. Does this affect you? Yes, because you are a member of the team that was supposed to go. You’ve undergone training and spent long months preparing for the mission… So many sacrifices, only to end up here, monitoring a probe that no longer works. Until that night when James Myers (acting site manager) wakes you up with these fateful words:
“I think you should see this.”
As you enter the control centre at NASA’s Space Flight Operations Facility, the giant screens display Martian landscapes bathed in beautiful sunlight. In the room, around thirty qualified engineers watch you arrive with anticipation, admiration and anxiety… The atmosphere is electric. James Myers then explains what is shown on the screen.
“These are images from the Curiosity rover on Mars. We were taking geological readings as usual when we saw… this.”
The image on the screen shows a perfectly triangular opening, about thirty metres wide, carved right out of the rock face of Mount Sharp…
