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Flying Over Mars _ Sci-fi Bedtime Story_ FALL ASLEEP FAST · Abide Meditation App

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast where we listen, we relax,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: and we get sleepy. As always, my name's Tom and
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I'm your host. Thanks so much for joining me here. Tonight,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: we'll take an imaginary adventure into the future and gaze
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: at our neighboring planet, Mars. As it's being terraformed many
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: years from now. So just get nicely settled into the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: coziness of your bed. Your head and neck gently supported
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: by your pillow. And your body laying in whatever position
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: feels best right now. Our otherworldly adventure tonight is full
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: of imagination and futuristic possibilities. Some of my favorite conversations
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: to have and to listen to are those that try
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: to comprehend our frankly incomprehensible universe and what it all
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: means for us as people. Of course, we don't know
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: for sure just how rare or how common advanced civilizations
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: like ours might be. But there's a pretty good chance
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: we are one of very, very few. Perhaps even the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: only one in our entire Milky Way galaxy. That might
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: be a bit of a scary thought for some, or
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: perhaps for others it could make life on Earth feel
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: rather insignificant but perhaps more than that it gives reason
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: to truly appreciate the fact that what we have here
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: is incredibly precious if we really are as rare as
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: we think we might be then i believe we should
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: recognize the importance of protecting and sustaining our world And
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: all the life on it. Because we might well be
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: the very thing. That brings meaning to an infinite universe.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: And that includes you. Listening to my voice right now.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: We all tend to wonder. What is our purpose? Our
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: meaning in this life? Well, perhaps you in yourself are
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the meaning. The fact that you can comprehend such a
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: thought is profoundly precious and rare in itself. So take
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: a deep breath in, appreciating the life that the oxygen provides.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: And as you release it back out, relax further into
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: bed and know just how meaningful you are. It's time
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: to begin our adventure into the vast expanse of space.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: So settle down deep into rest and comfort. Our starship,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the Orion, is about to take off. And this is
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: where our story begins. We're currently awaiting departure from Phobos
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Orbital Station, circling the Martian moon. I am Asa, your
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: autonomous suborbital assistant. On behalf of the Olympus Project, let
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: me be the first to welcome you to Mars. You
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: are among the first generations of terraforming technicians, scientists and
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: explorers to arrive. Your hard work, bravery and curiosity will
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: inspire those who live and work on Mars for generations
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: to come. I'm so happy to show you your new home.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Before we arrive at the Mount Elysium colony, I've been
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: tasked with giving you an overview of the project to date.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: A monumental effort, unlike anything in human history, the Olympus
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: project has spent centuries laying the groundwork for making Mars habitable.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Magnetosphere engineering, orbital mirrors, and planet-wide biological seeding have built
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: an atmosphere. It will be a while before the project
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: is ready to house our Martian pioneers, but you'll be
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: pleased to hear that simulations put the project ahead of schedule. Now,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: please make sure you're comfortable and settled in for the flight.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: All systems agree. We are now departing Phobos Orbital Station.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Smaller transport ships, like the one you're in now, allow
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: safe and efficient suborbital travel around the planet. As we
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: enter the Martian atmosphere, you may feel a gentle rocking.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: If you need to readjust your position at any time,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: that's perfectly fine. This flight should be comfortable and pleasant
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: for you. We have now entered the Martian atmosphere. From
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: this altitude, you'll notice that Mars is still very much
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: a red planet. though the Olympus project has introduced more
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: colors to the palette. From here, you can see that
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: the Martian terrain is unique. The northern hemisphere in places
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: is several kilometers lower in elevation than the southern hemisphere.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Much of the northern hemisphere about a third of the
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: entire planet, is like a large basin, relatively flat and featureless.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: The southern hemisphere is rocky, with significant mountain ranges and
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: land masses. We call this hemispheric dichotomy. We're now hovering
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: over the western coast of Elysium, which will eventually be
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: the biggest island continent. You may notice that the water
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: along the current shore is misting and ribboning. That's because
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: the surface gravity of Mars is a fraction of Earth's,
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: around 38%. While the Olympus project works to fine-tune the
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: atmospheric conditions, water will jump around a little strangely. As
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: the terraforming process continues, we are closely monitoring sea level
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: and precipitation. But already, we have a growing blue-green ocean
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: that covers most of the northern hemisphere. Let's fly over
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: the area that was once Elysium Planitia, or the Elysium Plains.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: We now call this region the Elysium Channel. The green
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: colour you saw from orbit is actually in the water,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: not on land. While we've seen a great deal of
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: success with growing lichens, it's the algae that's contributed most
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: to the success of early plant life. In the shallow
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: waters of the channel, you can see it close to
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: the surface. hoping to get some of the sunlight that
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: reaches Mars. From this distance, the sun isn't nearly as
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: bright as it would be if seen from Earth. Now
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: that we've gained some altitude, look to the north, toward
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: the island continent of Elysium. Mount Elysium is an active
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: volcanic region, about one and a half times the height
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: of Mount Everest back on Earth. From here, you can
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: see it has a distinctly mound-like shape, much wider than
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: it is tall. At the top is the caldera, a
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: ring about 14 kilometers in diameter, almost 9 miles. with
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: two smaller volcanoes to the north and south. Further to
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: the south is the Channel, and to the north you'll
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: find the Sea of Utopia. The Olympus Project honours the
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: legacy of early space exploration, so this name is borrowed
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: from Utopia Planitia, the Utopia Plane. At this distance, with
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: blue-green water lapping at the rocky, ruby-red shore, we can
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: imagine the way all of these changes will continue to
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: affect Mars. This is a planet with highly variable temperatures
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: and dusty winds. Things will change a great deal as
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: we establish a habitable atmosphere. and see more diverse weather systems.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Take Mount Elysium for instance. Right now, it's a rocky,
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: dry volcanic mound. But once rainy winds start showering the mountainside,
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: we'll see an increase in erosion, the likes of which
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: hasn't been seen on Mars. in about 3 billion years,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: the last time we believe water flowed freely. Ice and
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: snow will form, and new seasonal variations will herald even
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: more changes, naturally sculpting the red planet. Even a small
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: increase in atmospheric pressure will radically change what the planet
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: looks like as it evolves alongside its new inhabitants. The
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: north of Mars may be an adventure for our oceanologists,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: but the south is a geologist's dream, especially if you
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: study impact craters. We're going to follow the coast now,
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: and get a better look. To the south are craters
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: as far as the eye can see. This is a
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: twin archipelago continent, with Hesperia to the east and Meridian
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: to the west. Somewhere along the coast here will be
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: the site of our first colony, outside of Elysium. This
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: will allow our scientists easy access to the thousands of
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: impact craters that dot the mainland. Let's touch down here,
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: on the rim of this crater, so you can have
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: a better view. This is the border between Hesperia and Meridian.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: the Enotria Canyons. Simulations project that this area of lowlands
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: will experience large elevation changes. Escarpments will be carved into
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: thousands of kilometers of smaller channels, which will be eroded
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: away and smoothed by the sea over time. To the north,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: about 700 kilometers, is Isidis Bay, where the waters of
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: the northern oceans lap away at the Enotria lowlands, canyons,
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: and craters. To the south is the Hellas Sea, an
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: inland body of water that's filled one of Mars' largest
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: impact sites. Its diameter is about half the width of
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: North America, back on Earth. Water has already begun to
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: wash away the north and south ends of the canyons.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: Depending on the geological activity from erosion, we expect this
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: area to become fertile marshlands in the future. Allow me
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: to show you on our view screen. Accessing predictive imaging
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: for the Enotria marshlands. Projected onto your view screen now
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: is an image of what the marshlands could look like
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: in the years to come. Here, you see a new
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: generation of humans on Mars, making their homes on the
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: dark ruddy high ground. What began as standard-issue prefabricated shelters
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: have been built up and expanded over time. These are
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: people's homes where they were born and where their children
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: will be born. While humans will continue to arrive from
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Earth on new missions, These inhabitants will be the first
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: planet-born Martian children. Hardy wetland grasses flutter in the Martian wind,
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: and shrubs and trees have made the banks of this
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: section of the channel much more resistant to erosion and flooding.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Every morning, The people here climb down the stairs carved
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: into the beautiful Martian rock to work the rice fields
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: engineered across this span of shallow waters. The rice grown
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: here will go on to feed settlements across the world.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: A number of fish have been introduced as the water
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: has become healthy and potable. and boats ply the deeper waters.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: This is a scene of humans and nature forming a
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: symbiotic relationship. Humans carefully cultivate and care for these new
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Martian plants and animals, which feed and even protect them
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: in return. Over hundreds of generations, thanks to the difference
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: in light, gravity, and environment, these Martians, the plants, and
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: animals will evolve into something different. Something distinctly of this planet. Now,
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: let us continue our flight. Prepare for takeoff. We are
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: now soaring over Meridian, the mountainous twin of Hesperia, marked
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: by many small craters. Here, some years from now, large
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: lakes will take the names of the craters in which
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: they are formed. You may be asking yourself, The reason
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: for such a distinct difference between the northern and southern hemispheres.
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: Geologists are excited to get their boots on the ground.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: to truly study the hemispheric dichotomy, but there are already
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: several theories. The prevailing theory is that most of these
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: impacts happened during the primordial early bombardment phase. the formation
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: of the solar system as we know it, about four
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: and a half billion years ago. At one point in
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: Mars' history, the planet would have been much warmer and
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: tectonically active. Lava flows could have smoothed down much of
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: the northern hemisphere, leaving the other two-thirds of the planet empty.
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: much as it had been. The continent of Meridian ends here.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: We call this the Crisee Inlet, located about halfway around
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: the world from Elysium. There are several features that could
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: make this one of the more interesting sections of Mars
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: for settlement. Let me show you why. This is the
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: Mariner's Valley, one of the most striking natural features of Mars,
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: formed long before humans even walked the Earth. The valley
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: stretches from the edge of Meridian in the east, all
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: the way to the extraordinary plateaus and gargantuan mountains of
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: the Tharsis continent to the west. The valley is 4,000
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: kilometers long and 7 kilometers deep. That's as long as
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: North America, and more than half as deep as the
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: deepest part of Mariana Trench back on Earth. We believe
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: it was formed by tectonic cracks when Mars was still
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: a bit more of an active planet, geologically speaking. From
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: the sky, Mariner's Valley looks like a giant scar on
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: the surface of Mars. Closer up, the valley is an
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: amazingly long system of canyons and caverns. Water is already
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: pouring in from the oceans in the northern hemisphere through
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: the inlet. As sea levels rise, much if not all,
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: of Mariner's Valley will be filled with water. This could
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: be an incredible region not only for habitation, but for exploration.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Island chains will form out of the highlands and create
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: a fertile river delta as water flows down from Tharsis.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: through the canyons. As erosion and geological shifts from the
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: terraforming process slow down, the canyons and cave systems will
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: provide centuries of exploration for the cartology teams. There is
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: even speculation that a dam could be constructed at the
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: mouth of Mariner's Valley. At nearly 90 kilometers long, a
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: dam of this size would be a massive undertaking. But
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: then again, people once thought Mars could never support human colonies,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: and here you are today. A megastructure of that size
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: could power the entire planet, which would make this region
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: one of the more enticing to the developing Martian energy sector.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: That sector currently consists of a team of 12, so
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: it may take a while for the solar system's largest
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: human-made dam to be built. At the western end of
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: the valley is one of the more interesting areas on Mars.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: It will be a fantastic introduction to the mysterious continent
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: of Tharsis. We're currently hovering over what is called the
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: Noctis Labyrinthus, or Labyrinth of the Night. Calling it a
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: labyrinth is apt. The cracked ground here is covered by jagged,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: maze-like canyons for miles, curving through the high plateau at
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: the end of the southwestern portion of the valley. Even
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: as the terraforming project continues, this area will likely remain
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: important as a means of naturally delivering fresh water through
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Mariner's Valley. At this elevation, water will gather and freeze,
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: with the lower portions of snow-capped mountains and perhaps even
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: small glaciers melting during the warmer seasons, sending their runoff
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: down through the valley. The Tharsis Plateau has some of
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: the highest elevations on the planet, exceeded only by the volcanoes.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: The plateau is roughly 5 to 7 kilometers higher than
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: what we consider sea level here. The rest of Tharsis
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: is equally inhospitable. This is a continent of gargantuan mountains
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: and ancient volcanoes that stretch to the skies. We're currently
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: flying past the Tharsis Mountains, a set of three volcanoes
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: that borders the plateau. And now, we're approaching a dramatic sight.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Mount Olympus is not only the largest, but the highest
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: mountain in the whole solar system. Olympus is two and
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: a half times higher than Mount Everest, above sea level.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: It's almost impossible to imagine the scale, even when you're
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: looking at it. Like Mount Elysium, Olympus is wider than
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: it is tall, sitting on its own plateau, higher than
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: any other section of Tharsis. dwarfing the other mountains. The
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: shadow cast by Mount Olympus' plateau alone could cover entire
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: cities on Earth. Given the size and scope, the project
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: has placed a moratorium on on-the-ground exploration of Mount Olympus
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: for a staggering 500 years. The Olympus Project will be
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: busy enough establishing the base colony and initial scientific settlements. However,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: this area will be closely monitored as the last thing
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: anyone wants is a snowslide the size of many Earth mountains. However,
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: this area will also change dramatically in the decades to
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: come you may turn your attention once more to the
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: view screen. Accessing predictive imaging for Mount Olympus. Given the
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: height of Mount Olympus, it is an obvious site for
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: a space elevator or planet-to-space transportation without the use of rockets.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: The elevator will consist of a cable counterweighted by a
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: platform above the Martian atmosphere that will follow the planet's orbit.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: This will allow safe and easy travel into orbit and
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: back again to the surface. Because of the relative difference
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: in gravity, a space elevator is more feasible on Mars
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: than on Earth. and would offer incredible opportunities for development.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: Once space travel technology advances enough, it may be possible
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: to commute to work via the space elevator. You can
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: imagine it now You sip a coffee on the back
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: porch of your home overlooking the Hesperia coast. You hop
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: on a transport ship that has you at the space
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: elevator base in a matter of minutes. It then takes
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: you into orbit where you board an overnight ship to Earth.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: The next morning you're enjoying a cup of coffee Overlooking
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: the Mediterranean Sea. The Olympus Project is here because of
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: people like you. People who look up at the stars
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: in the sky and wonder, what if? The first years
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: on Mars will not be easy. But as we settle
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: into our new home and learn more about it, our
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: understanding of this world will pave the way for future
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: generations to live in comfort. That understanding has brought us
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: this far and will take us further than we could
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: have ever imagined possible. Perhaps someday, future generations will look
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: up at the stars in the Martian sky and wonder,
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: what if? I hope you found this to be an
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: informative flight over Mars. We're only a couple thousand kilometers
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: from the Olympus Project's colony, at the base of Mount Elysium.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: As we follow the coast, where water is flowing for
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: the first time in billions of years, I would once
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: again like to welcome you to Mars, your new home.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: This is Acer, your autonomous suborbital assistant, signing off. Thank you.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: Thank you. So, you you you Thank you. Thank you.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you