Why Does the Red Planet Call to Us?

Why Does the Red Planet Call to Us? What space exploration tells us about human curiosity, from Eden to Mars. Douglas Estes

Blue is the color of Mars at sunset. From the surface, the cold, dim light of the setting sun comes in from the horizon as it competes with the ever-present dust, thick in the air. The plains of graveled hematite that were once shades of ochre and umber by day are now jet and onyx. In the darkness, Mars may seem to be a dead planet. But in Gale Crater, there is human movement, as NASA’s Curiosity rover slowly treks its way up the shoulder of Mount Sharp. Mars is not the dying planet sprung from ...

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