The Martians: Space Age Visions of Journeys to the Red Planet

S. Baxter (2018), JBIS, 71, pp.159-163

Refcode: 2018.71.159
Keywords: Science fiction, BIS, Mars, Mars Direct, Mars Base Camp, New space launchers

Abstract:
This paper is a study of post-World War II technological and fictional visions of crewed voyages to Mars. Stories of Mars have long inspired engineers who dreamed of going there. But since 1945, successive generations of engineers have developed schemes to reach Mars based on then-contemporary technology, and much of the relevant science fiction has rather been framed by the engineers’ plausible logic. With time the available space technology has evolved, and with it the Mars plans and the fictional visions. Thus Robinson’s Mars trilogy (1993-1996) showed pioneers reaching the Red Planet in craft derived from then-contemporary shuttle-era technology. Similarly today new visions of journeys to Mars, in fact and in fiction, will be derived from the new space launcher technologies.