How #Mars Will Kill You #poetry #science #space
Spirit Rover views rocks on Mars
There could be solar flares
on the journey there,
Don’t forget crash landings
could happen, to be fair.
Water’s on the surface
but in a frozen brine.
Assume that you can boil out
enough to drink in time.
The atmosphere is toxic
but there is more to heed.
It’s less than one percent
of the pressure that you need.
Besides the lack of atmosphere,
no magnetic force surrounds,
So cosmic radiation
will force you underground.
Orange dust will be the bane
of your solar collectors,
Of moving parts and human lungs,
And of your airlock doors.
If your heating system fails
you will likely freeze,
And if you find your thumb’s not green,
Starvation adds to these.
You better hope you like your fellows
and avoid some fights.
It would be a shame to kill
each other in the night.
Your life’s a tough routine,
Your dangers aren’t a thrill.
Mars is unrelenting.
With its slow motion kill.
You’ve missed the deadline to apply to NASA’s astronaut program for Mars! 
But, maybe that’s okay. cnet.com/au/news
Join science fiction Mars colonists in my On Mars series. Colonists find all the dangers as they explore and build a home on Mars.
Filed under: Kate's Books, Poetry Tagged: dangers on Mars, hazards, mars, Mars colonist, Mars colony, mars survival tips, NASA, poem, poetry, science, space, Spirit rover
