Q. You are on a spaceship flying through the universe on your way to Mars to colonize it for humans.

As the first
journalist, write a report back to Earth on what you observe during the journey.

Journey to Mars; Travelling to The Red Planet

By Mahek Trivedi, Space Crew Journalist
Hillwood, Utopia, 7th February 2050
Curiosity has always brought forth the best in us! Aren't all of our society's marvels the result of man's insatiable
curiosity for the unknown? We are continually on the lookout for solutions to our queries, and truths buried behind the
deepest myths. As a result, NASA's inquisitiveness has taken them down the path of exploring the surface of Mars,
which has long been the subject of human interest.
The UNSC Infinity launched from Hillwood, Utopia on 7th February 2050, at 5:11 pm with an aim to colonize the red
planet for humans. As our spaceship left the ground, in a while, we were at a height from where we could witness the
sunset from outside the world. We put our foot down, figuratively speaking, and took the time to watch it. We gazed as
the sun snuggled into its cozy bed, the horizon leaked the secret all over the sky in various hues, which no longer
remained a secret. The herald of darkness had spread far and wide. The red and orange hues in the sky showed fear of
darkness and looked pale and eventually faded and disappeared into oblivion. The artistic view in front of us, the
masterpiece painted by God, the visual imagery; something we could never create was in range of our view. As the
colours grew dim, the darkness enveloped the bright and colourful sky. That Day was indeed remarkable. The darkness,
the blissful silence, seemed to have its own beauty. The lamps were lit. They were twinkling in the sky, spreading
positive vibes all around. The sparkling beauty of the brilliant stars was engraved in our heart . However, that wasn’t
it, we gazed upon our blue, watery home world, as we bid goodbye and marched towards the Red Planet.
It has now been two months since we left. We have now reached halfway, in about almost half the time it took us to
come here for the first time. Afterall, it has been over 85 years since the first crew of NASA had made their way to
Mars.
Our journey up till now hasn't been very smooth. We have covered most of the track and are all waiting for a signal.
(You must know what). All these 6 months we have spent, went by dashing into some fireworks caused by
thunderstorms and lightning everywhere; bright flashes are going cloud to cloud illuminating the clouds as it arcs
from one to the other. Our Mother Ship almost crashed into one of the “gigantic asteroids” that came our way. It was
inevitable, but we lived through. Days passed with restless nights, beautiful sceneries and unimaginable adventures.
We had all adapted to our Mothership and spent free time listening to music, reading news from home, writing email,
and reading, among other things. It was around this time, at 7:10 am, on 18th August 2050, our spaceship’s unused
speakers had some voice echo from them. It said, “ UNSC Infinity Crew 46289, we have arrived near the Red Planet’s
surface, you might all be able to see it from your docking compartment window.” We were positioned so that the Red
Planet passed by below and you can see the horizon as well with the night sky behind it. It was completely night. The
once imaged surface of Mars was in front of us, revealing insights into the nature of our nearest planetary neighbor.
It’s Red surface shone bright in the darkness, marking the end of our space travel and the “Beginning of A New
Discovery.”