With the possible exception of our own moon, no celestial object has stoked our imagination like the mysterious fourth planet from the sun, Mars.
We saw in its red hues an angry god of war and Martians intent upon conquering Earth on a semi-regular basis.
There have been more than 40 Mars unmanned missions, very few successful, but in the next several days we’ll enter Mars Madness when no fewer than three crafts from the United Arab Emirates, China and the U.S. all expected to arrive at the planet where the air is thin and the sunsets are blue.
No humans have yet set foot on the Martian surface, so there won’t be any “One step for man, one giant leap for humanity” quotes when these various exploratory crafts begin their treks, but people have been saying memorable things about Mars for decades. Here are a few.
“The first human beings to land on Mars should not come back to Earth. They should be the beginning of a build-up of a colony-settlement. I call it a ‘permanence.'” — Buzz Aldrin, former astronaut and second human to set foot on the moon in 1969
“It might be helpful to realize, that very probably the parents of the first native-born Martians are alive today.” — Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, former astronaut, second-to-last human to walk on the moon, and former U.S. senator from New Mexico
“Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet. With a force mightier than gravity, it attracts the eye to the shimmering red presence in the clear night sky.” — John Noble Wilford, author, “Mars Beckons”
“I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.” — Elon Musk
“My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars or my being reincarnated as an olive.” –– Boris Johnson, before he became England’s Prime Minister.
(So, Elvis? We’re coming.)
“If there was an observer on Mars, they would probably be amazed that we have survived this long.” — Noam Chomsky, linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic and political activist
“In the third month, the sun rising, the Boar and the Leopard on the field of Mars to fight; the tired Leopard raises its eye to the heavens, sees an eagle playing around the sun.” — Nostradamus, prognosticator
“It’s not going to do any good to land on Mars if we’re stupid.” — Ray Bradbury, author and screenwriter
“The English eat all sorts of birds — pigeons, ducks, sparrows — but if you tell them you eat puffin, you might as well come from Mars.” — Bjork, Icelandic singer, songwriter
“I guess those of us who have been with NASA kind of understand the tremendous excitement and thrills and celebrations and national pride that went with the Apollo program is just something you’re not going to create again, probably until we go to Mars.” — Alan Shepard, former astronaut, first U.S. man in space, walked on the moon
“People will visit Mars, they will settle Mars, and we should, because it’s cool. — Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and really rich guy
“Mars has long exerted a pull on the human imagination. The erratically moving red star in the sky was seen as sinister or violent by the ancients. The Greeks identified it with Ares, the god of war. The Babylonians named it after Nergal, god of the underworld. To the ancient Chinese, it was Ying-huo, the fire planet.” — John Updike, author
“The thing that sets Mars apart is that it is the one planet that is enough like Earth that you can imagine life possibly once having taken hold there.” — Steven Squyres, James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
“In 2057, we should be celebrating 20 years of man on Mars.” — Michael D. Griffin, former NASA administrator
“Thou art the Mars of malcontents.” — William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a grave announcement to make. Incredible as it may seem, strange beings who landed in New Jersey tonight are the vanguard of an invading army from Mars.” — Orson Welles in “The War of the Worlds”
The Link LonkFebruary 12, 2021 at 02:15AM
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/02/11/mars-madness-what-famous-people-have-said-about-the-red-planet/
Mars Madness: What famous people have said about the Red Planet - The Mercury News
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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