Author Topic: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?  (Read 8496 times)

Offline CmdrShepN7

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What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« on: 01/24/2023 06:50 am »
How about something like this?

"We stand on the shoulders of giants. Marco Polo, Zheng He, Ibn Battuta, Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, Roald Amundsen, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong. Today we take this step as one species on a journey that will take us to the stars. Humanity's story has only just begun."

It is cheesy and it is "Hollywood" but it is something I would say if I was the first human to land on Mars.

Would the colonial undertones be problematic? Should they name drop great inventors and scientists like Edison, Ford, Oppenheimer, Einstein, Musk, etc. instead of those explorers?

Tie it to technological and scientific advancement instead of colonialism?

Humanity's story is just beginning implies humanity is destined to a interstellar future. Elon Musk would love it.

A human mission to Mars would be the true start of humanity's story. Is that a mindset we want to promote?

Funnily enough Danielle Poole says "It's only the beginning" in the latest FAM trailer.


« Last Edit: 01/24/2023 06:56 am by CmdrShepN7 »

Offline edzieba

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #1 on: 01/24/2023 07:20 am »
With the likelihood a Starship-like vehicle will be the first manned lander on Mars, with its elevated airlock:
"Wow, that sure was a whole lot of small steps!"

Offline ZachS09

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #2 on: 01/24/2023 07:45 am »
“From the small step Armstrong took, we take the bigger stride into the next generation.”
Liftoff for St. Jude's! Go Dragon, Go Falcon, Godspeed Inspiration4!

Offline JohnFornaro

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #3 on: 01/24/2023 11:58 am »
We Should Have Turned Left At Albuquerque.

Sometimes I just flat out don't get it.

Offline neoforce

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #4 on: 01/24/2023 12:28 pm »
"Good luck, Mr. Gorsky"

Offline vapour_nudge

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #5 on: 01/24/2023 01:08 pm »
Perhaps the first words will be in Marndarin

Offline Crispy

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #6 on: 01/24/2023 01:13 pm »
"Well, here we are!"

Offline nicp

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #7 on: 01/24/2023 01:19 pm »
To quote Eddie Izzard: “Eww, it’s all sticky!”
For Vectron!

Offline FishInferno

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #8 on: 01/24/2023 01:25 pm »
"Yet another giant leap for ma-- What was that? Houston, we--" *Radio cuts off amid screams.*

5 minutes later:

"Haha, just kidding guys."
Comparing SpaceX and SLS is like comparing paying people to plant fruit trees with merely digging holes and filling them.  - Robotbeat

Offline su27k

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #9 on: 01/24/2023 01:54 pm »
"We declare Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities."

Offline Eer

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #10 on: 01/24/2023 01:54 pm »
"I thought it would look more red"
From "The Rhetoric of Interstellar Flight", by Paul Gilster, March 10, 2011: We’ll build a future in space one dogged step at a time, and when asked how long humanity will struggle before reaching the stars, we’ll respond, “As long as it takes.”

Online DanClemmensen

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #11 on: 01/24/2023 06:01 pm »
"We come in peace."

Offline jimvela

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #12 on: 01/25/2023 02:22 am »
Hopefully not "Sh1t, we crashed!"

Offline Dalhousie

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #13 on: 01/25/2023 03:48 am »
How about something like this?

"We stand on the shoulders of giants. Marco Polo, Zheng He, Ibn Battuta, Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, Roald Amundsen, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong. Today we take this step as one species on a journey that will take us to the stars. Humanity's story has only just begun."

It is cheesy and it is "Hollywood" but it is something I would say if I was the first human to land on Mars.

Would the colonial undertones be problematic? Should they name drop great inventors and scientists like Edison, Ford, Oppenheimer, Einstein, Musk, etc. instead of those explorers?

Only two of those could be considered "colonial" ;)
Apologies in advance for any lack of civility - it's unintended

Offline Harry Cover

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #14 on: 01/25/2023 04:20 am »
"I'm home" (Natalie York, Voyage)

Quote
"Well, here we are!"

Those are John Boone first words in KSR Mars trilogy, correct ?

Quote
"Good luck, Mr. Gorsky"


ROTFL. Somebody watched Watchmen too much.
« Last Edit: 01/25/2023 04:22 am by Harry Cover »

Offline AS_501

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #15 on: 01/25/2023 06:03 am »
"We set foot on another stepping stone to the stars."
Or less seriously:
"That's another small step for....a....man, another giant leap for Mankind."   :)
Launches attended:  Apollo 11, ASTP (@KSC, not Baikonur!), STS-41G, STS-125, EFT-1, Starlink G4-24, Artemis 1
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Offline Eric Hedman

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #16 on: 01/25/2023 06:11 am »
I think it will go just like this clip:


Offline Rossco

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #17 on: 01/25/2023 07:44 am »
"You can't park there sir"

Offline hektor

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #18 on: 01/25/2023 08:15 am »
我们已经到达火星了。 伟大的无产阶级革命万岁。
« Last Edit: 01/25/2023 08:19 am by hektor »

Offline Harry Cover

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #19 on: 01/25/2023 10:40 am »
Before 1949 China was near the abyss. But after 80 years of Maoism, it has made giant leaps forward.  ;D

Offline laszlo

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #20 on: 01/25/2023 11:09 am »
"Oyarsa? What's that?"

Offline Svetoslav

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #21 on: 01/25/2023 11:29 am »
"At long fkin last"

Offline Tomness

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #22 on: 01/25/2023 01:49 pm »
"Hawthorne, we have a problem"

Offline Thorny

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #23 on: 01/25/2023 01:55 pm »
Won't they be "The {Insert Name here} has landed"?

Offline Crispy

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #24 on: 01/25/2023 02:00 pm »
"I'm home" (Natalie York, Voyage)

Quote
"Well, here we are!"

Those are John Boone first words in KSR Mars trilogy, correct ?

zing :)

Offline butters

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #25 on: 01/25/2023 02:03 pm »
For IVA comms, clearly something like, "SpaceX, the Starship has landed."

Then they'll have a week or two (more?) of physical therapy for gravity adaptation inside the vehicle to practice their "first step" sound bite before they can realistically suit up to go outside for an hours-long walk. Or maybe they have like space wheelchairs or mobility scooters for an early EVA? But that's not really the kind of footprint we've had in mind.

Offline Vahe231991

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #26 on: 01/25/2023 02:36 pm »
If an astronaut aspiring to fly on Starship were to become the first person to land on Mars, he or she could say, "Starship has landed on the Red Planet. That's one big step for spacefarers, and one big step for America".

Offline LaunchedIn68

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #27 on: 01/25/2023 06:10 pm »
From Michael Collings character in 'FTETTM' when Aldrin and Armstrong are discussing this subject;

"If you had any balls you'd yell "OMG What is that thing!!!!" and cut your mic!"
"I want to build a spaceship, go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back, sell it." - Harry Broderick

Online Phil Stooke

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #28 on: 01/25/2023 07:00 pm »
"I... oops, dropped my cue card..."

Offline litton4

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #29 on: 01/27/2023 05:02 pm »
<splat>
"Elon, I told you that step was too big!"
Dave Condliffe

Offline Eric Hedman

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #30 on: 01/27/2023 06:19 pm »
Contact light.

Offline M.E.T.

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #31 on: 01/28/2023 07:26 am »
Order of magnitude…fate loves irony…funding secured.
« Last Edit: 01/28/2023 07:27 am by M.E.T. »

Offline CmdrShepN7

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #32 on: 01/30/2023 04:47 am »

If it's SpaceX: "Let's get to work".


Offline tgr9898

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #33 on: 01/30/2023 05:53 pm »
"Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."

Offline Asteroza

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #34 on: 02/01/2023 02:52 am »
This is a DoorDash delivery for Marvin!
Your illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator has arrived!
Please tip your driver Elon!

Online rvbfan

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #35 on: 02/01/2023 03:18 am »
Now what?

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk


Offline Harry Cover

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #36 on: 02/02/2023 06:07 am »
"Hey, watch this ---" coms cut to static  ;D

Offline Elvis in Space

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #37 on: 02/06/2023 11:41 pm »
This step represents the courage, sacrifice, and effort of all humanity. And that's Elon's statue holding an American flag. How long before we can order Chinese take out?
Cheeseburgers on Mars!

Offline SweetWater

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #38 on: 02/07/2023 12:18 am »
If China, 'This crew is proud to announce that we expect to fulfill our quota of perchlorate exposure under the 16th five-year plan ahead of schedule.'

Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #39 on: 02/13/2023 08:54 pm »
I think (  We have returned  ) would sum it up nicely !!

Offline Apollo-phill

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #40 on: 02/13/2023 09:07 pm »
Made it !
Now we can really stretch our legs after being cramped up for months 🤠

Offline whitelancer64

Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #41 on: 02/13/2023 09:56 pm »
For IVA comms, clearly something like, "SpaceX, the Starship has landed."

Then they'll have a week or two (more?) of physical therapy for gravity adaptation inside the vehicle to practice their "first step" sound bite before they can realistically suit up to go outside for an hours-long walk. Or maybe they have like space wheelchairs or mobility scooters for an early EVA? But that's not really the kind of footprint we've had in mind.

Astronauts are NOT debilitated after months in space. The vast majority of them are able to get up and walk around on their own within hours of landing, and almost all of them can do so within a day. The reason that astronauts are helped out of their capsules and seated in chairs afterwards is a precaution, they don't want anyone fainting as the blood rushes away from their heads. It does take the body a while to adjust to being in gravity again.

Scott Kelly, after spending a year in space on the ISS, got off of a plane and was walking and standing, all unassisted, at a press conference in Houston well within 24 hours of landing on Earth.

After landing on Mars, it would be prudent to take a day to rest, to let the crew adjust to gravity again, and to moving around in gravity, and of course do all the checks and rechecks of ship systems to make sure nothing rattled loose during the landing and everything is working normally. The first EVA / steps on Mars could probably be done the next day.
"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." - Elon Musk
"There are lies, damned lies, and launch schedules." - Larry J

Offline edzieba

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #42 on: 02/14/2023 08:18 am »
Scott Kelly, after spending a year in space on the ISS, got off of a plane and was walking and standing, all unassisted, at a press conference in Houston well within 24 hours of landing on Earth.
Scott Kelly himself disagrees. As anyone who has known or worked with anyone with a fatigue disability will be aware, the ability to exert on a single task is not representative of the ability to exert repeatedly or over a continuous period.

Offline AmigaClone

Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #43 on: 02/14/2023 12:01 pm »
I suspect the first words spoken from Mars might mirror those of Neil Armstrong after the Lunar Module Eagle had landed. There later might be a short speech by the mission commander when he first steps foot on the surface of Mars a day or two later during the first Martian EVA.

What those words might be will depend greatly on who is the commander of that mission.

Offline spacenut

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #44 on: 02/14/2023 01:30 pm »
Didn't Musk say launching only during the synod Mars is closest to Earth would take less than 3 months?  Maybe even one month?  That is a shorter time than the stays on the ISS.  Anyway, I think it will be a Starship with hand picked crew to begin with.  Maybe Isaacman will be the first one to set foot on Mars.  What would he say?

Offline whitelancer64

Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #45 on: 02/14/2023 03:44 pm »
Scott Kelly, after spending a year in space on the ISS, got off of a plane and was walking and standing, all unassisted, at a press conference in Houston well within 24 hours of landing on Earth.

Scott Kelly himself disagrees. As anyone who has known or worked with anyone with a fatigue disability will be aware, the ability to exert on a single task is not representative of the ability to exert repeatedly or over a continuous period.

He disagrees? Are you saying he didn't get off an airplane in Houston, walk around in front of press cameras, and stand unassisted while talking to said press within 24 hours of landing on Earth? I'll take there are literally pictures of it happening for $500, Alex.

Yes, there are negative health effects from spending time in zero g, some quite serious, some with long term effects, and some individuals will be worse off than others. It takes time for the body to get used to gravity again, which can be difficult and painful, as described in the article you linked to. I'm not disputing any of that.

However, these effects DO NOT debilitate astronauts such that they can't walk around and do tasks within a day or so of landing on Mars.

The linked article ends on a very positive note:

"I tell my flight surgeon, Steve, that I feel well enough to get right to work immediately upon returning from space, and I do, but within a few days I feel much worse. This is what it means to have allowed my body to be used for science. I will be a test subject for the rest of my life. A few months after arriving back on Earth, though, I feel distinctly better. I've been travelling the country and the world talking about my experiences in space.
...

I also know that if we want to go to Mars, it will be very, very difficult, it will cost a great deal of money and it may likely cost human lives. But I know now that if we decide to do it, we can."
"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." - Elon Musk
"There are lies, damned lies, and launch schedules." - Larry J

Offline litton4

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #46 on: 02/14/2023 04:40 pm »
Dave Condliffe

Offline Jimmy_C

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Re: What should the first words spoken on Mars be?
« Reply #47 on: 02/14/2023 09:50 pm »
Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a big one for me!

(Bonus points if you know where that’s from.)

Tags: speech Mars Exploration 
 

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