To Mars and back in 24 hours!

It was a rather unusually breezy morning in the summer of 2024 when I got the most enchanting ‘out of world’ experience as the communications manager of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). Yes, ISRO shifted to a manmade island in the Arabian Sea, off the shores of Mumbai, to facilitate a space launch; NASA, we are catching up!

As I took the last sip of coffee (and flung the disposable plastic cup in an almost full trash can) at my work pad after a tiring night shift before logging out of my employee online muster, when a weirdest piece of communication flashed my Mac. Lo and behold! an invitation to visit Mars!

Was it a joke? Was I dreaming? In the meantime, a zorb descended from the sky and landed near the coast. Another email quickly followed. The message read “Get into the zorb earthling ;)”. I was puzzled. “Should report this to my boss?” I thought out loud. But not wanting to look like a fool, I quickly rushed out of the office and got into the zorb. The zorb shot up and within seconds I was in the dark vastness of the space.

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I was very excited to see the earth from outer space. I spotted many satellites and wondered how many of them were of Indian make. But the excitement soon ceased. I was reminded of movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Gravity, as my fears got the better of me. 

A few hours later, I descended on Mars and was greeted by a warm… Wait! ... Earthling. The only oddity however was her attire, made of metal and wires. She introduced herself as Nivedita and explained she was one of the thousand people who booked a one way ticket to the red planet. While I was recuperating from my astonishment, my iphone buzzed with an email notification. I exclaimed, “You have wifi on Mars?” Nivedita’s eyes dilated as she explained how wifi on Mars worked. Unlike Earthlings who exploited Space for internet connectivity, Marsians innovated wifi through the ground. I retorted saying, “There is no way you could reach me on Earth through ground wifi.” She admitted using Earth satellites to reach me, “but just this one time!” she begged.

She quickly asked me if I had an iphone. With hubris, I nodded; but Nivedita seemed unimpressed. She pulled out a rectangular sheer glass with virtual buttons on them, calling it the Uphone. “The Uphone?”, I quized! Nivedita smiled and said that the early earthling-turned-marsians were in the mood for fun. Being aware of the rave that the iphone had created, they decided to name their Mars mobiles ‘Uphone’. It had sophisticated technology and better disposability than any electronic item on earth. I was oddly impressed.

“Does this location where we’re standing have a name?” I quizzed. Nivedita muttered something like X10PYE360. I was disturbed and excited in equal parts. I wanted to know more about this mysterious planet.

Soon I saw a flying carpet approaching us. I smirked and said, “Aren’t magic carpets a thing of the past?” Nivedita very politely explained that when she first landed on Mars, she noticed how pure the air smelled. She and the others decided that they wouldn’t do anything to pollute the air, water or land. “Flying carpets don’t pollute the air the way your automobiles do.” She added, “I feel pity for you earthlings when you’ll also pollute water. Your blue planet has an abundance of water, which you must preserve. Our red planet only has enough water to sustain the thousand odd people who live here.” There was truth in what she said. As I mounted on the flying carpet, I thought ‘could the people on Earth become as environmentally friendly as the Masians?’

Photo Credit: ballardartwalk.blogspot.com

We zoomed past isolated land and approached a residential colony. All the houses there were semi-circular metallic structures resembling the igloos. I quizzed as to why the clothes and houses on Mars were made of metal? Nivedita explained that many spaceships launched from Earth get lost in space. Some others become defunct and remain unclaimed. At this rate, the Earthlings would single-handedly bring doom to the Universe! That’s when the Marsians step in to reuse and recycle this waste by turning bits of metal into clothes and homes. I started feeling horrible for our innovations threaten the Universe.

Nivedita slowly proposed, “why don’t you stay with us on Mars?” I contemplated for few moments; then I exclaimed, “I love everything you do here, but I’m not the kind of Earthling who’d settle in Mars.” Nivedita smiled and said she understood my sentiment. Even though I had realized that the Earth is a shameless and ruthless place, I still loved it, for whatever little beauty left in it.

She offered to lend me the zorb to take me back to Earth. I hopped in and it took off instantly. I waved to Nivedita till she was out of sight; and there I was back into the darkness…

Now, I’ve woken up at the coast of Mumbai. I’m alighting from the zorb, which will take off in seconds. I find my way to the road, exhausted as I am after being away from Earth for 24 hours.

Sitting in the cab, which is driving me home, I notice the pollution around me, the exhaust which the cab is emitting, and how peculiar that smell is. While I am being reminded of the good work Nivedita and her people are doing in Mars, I decide to lay back, shut my eyes and bask in the dirtiness of planet Earth.