May 2023 : First Dutch colony on Mars

It was a nice May Day. The ship was in time. The trip had been quite uneventful, except the daily routine of physical exercise,  science experiments, and of course the usual interviews for the Show. After all, the huge media coverage had been the key in the mission’s success, and the reality Show held a few billion viewers spellbound.

The crew was excited, of course. It was the beginning of a new life, four people isolated on a distant world in a hostile environment, with no hope of coming back. But before that, they had to land, and they knew the risks. No matter how prepared they were and how perfected the procedures were, the safe arrival wasn’t guaranteed.

Strangely enough, the viewers seemed interested by a very specific part of the mission. Three men, one woman. And there had already been a love triangle during the past months of training missions. How would they deal with the situation on Mars ? Hannah didn’t seem too worried about it, but Piotr and Jon’s eyes hardened when they looked at each other. The viewers had noticed, of course, and their questions to the crew were mostly about the issue. The affairs between the potential astronauts, during the selection parts, were probably the key for the Show’s early success. Without them, maybe the mission would never have been possible… A cable channel had already planned a special encrypted show, in a month from now. “First Sex on Mars”. If everybody knew who would be the female participant, there were huge amounts of money exchanged by bookmakers about who would be the male. Piotr and Jon were neck and neck in the bets. Han, who hadn’t expressed any interest for Hannah, was still credited of fifty to one.

According to the polling organizations, “First Sex on Mars” would be the biggest paying audience ever recorded in history.

Nevertheless, Mars One would still be a giant leap for mankind…

 

 The true story of Mars One is here