A short story about a journey to the planet Mars. Online reading of the book Journey to Mars XIII. Landing on Mars

New US President Donald Trump, contrary to expectations, did not cut NASA's budget. In general, he left everything as it is, signing a paper on the allocation of funds for the projects planned by the agency's specialists. One of these projects is the flight of people to Mars and the landing of the first marsonauts. This should happen no later than 2033.

While some scientists are developing reliable ways to deliver a man to Mars, others are studying the possible dangers that await astronauts and colonists on the way to the goal. There are many such dangers both on the way to the planet and on its surface. The latest research from Wake Forest University's Center for Regenerative Medicine shows that astronauts face the threat of leukemia and reduced immunity, among other problems.

The results of earlier studies indicate that the marsonauts will also be threatened by dementia with memory loss from ionizing radiation. What problems might potential travelers to Mars face?

For example, a flight may end before it really starts. To travel to Mars, you need a powerful launch vehicle, which has no analogues. It is developed almost from scratch. Despite the fact that the rocket and each of its elements are subjected to multiple comprehensive checks, troubles still happen. Of the catastrophes of the recent history of astronautics, it is worth mentioning the explosion of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle due to unforeseen damage to the wall of the composite material that separated the fuel from the oxidizer. According to Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, which developed this rocket, the accident was triggered by a series of coincidences, a series of failures of materials and equipment, which had no analogues yet. It is good that in this case only the equipment was damaged, there were no people on board. Even more serious were the accidents of the N-1 lunar rocket of the USSR, all four tests of which were unsuccessful and were accompanied by casualties.

But what if unforeseen problems arose on board the launch vehicle, which is going on the first flight to Mars in the history of mankind? If there had been casualties, the extremely expensive rocket would have been destroyed, and, most likely, the exploration of Mars would have been put to a heavy end in the near future.

Flight to Mars

Okay, the rocket has taken off, no problem, people are heading for Mars. The path to the planet takes about 9 months one way, that is, this is a real long-term space flight. And here a person is threatened by radiation. The fact is that most of the ionizing radiation does not reach the surface of the Earth due to the magnetic field of our planet and its atmosphere. The higher, the greater the radiation density. Perhaps it was because of radiation that cosmonaut Valentin Lebedev, who spent 221 days in Earth orbit, lost his sight.

Experts compare the protection provided by the atmosphere from ionizing radiation with steel 1 meter thick. That is, only particles of the highest energy can break through such protection. As for the ISS or spacecraft, here the protection is due only to the thickness of the walls of the case, and this, at best, is a few centimeters. According to NASA experts, cosmic radiation can lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Some experts believe that it is better for women not to fly to Mars. “Because women generally live longer than men, according to NASA, they have a higher chance of getting cancer in their lifetime when exposed to the same amount of radiation as men. Calculations have shown that women should not fly to Mars at all, since the cumulative exposure to radiation over the entire duration of the flight will exceed the maximum allowable 3% risk of developing cancer, ”says Dorit Donoviel, deputy director of the National Institute for Space Biomedical Research (NSBRI).

microgravity

All the way to Mars, a person will be in an almost complete absence of gravity for at least 9 months. And this is also a health problem. In humans on Earth, the body is adapted to normal gravity, and different systems of our body struggle with it, trying to deliver blood and other bodily fluids to the top. Immediately after hitting the ISS (or rocket), these systems continue to operate, so that even the appearance of people changes somewhat. For example, due to intracranial pressure, the shape of the eyeballs changes somewhat.

The taste and smell change, the muscles of the body, including the muscles of the heart, weaken. The work of the vestibular apparatus is greatly complicated. In some people, without the power of attraction, taste and smell completely disappear or are significantly weakened. Without exercise, a person loses about 20% of muscle mass in just a couple of weeks.

Experts also note the manifestation of such an effect as the syndrome of space adaptation. Some people lose their appetite in microgravity, get migraines, dizziness. Actually, we are talking about seasickness, which in this case is better called "space sickness".

The longer a person stays in space, the more bone tissue is lost. Due to the lack of habitual loads, the bones become lighter and more fragile. About 1.5% of bone tissue is lost each month. It is not yet clear how serious this problem is and whether it is reversible. Of course, there are simulators on the ISS, so the astronauts do physical exercises, trying not to get out of shape. But will such equipment fit in a spacecraft that goes to Mars?

The spine also suffers - the distance between the vertebrae increases, and the person feels pain. The astronauts solved this problem by resting their hands and feet against the walls of the station, so the spine was compressed and a few minutes was enough to ease the pain.

Psychological problems

If several people are locked up in a confined space for several months, problems are bound to arise. No, it will not necessarily be expressed in conflicts, but the human psyche suffers at such moments. Some people may feel constantly tired, irritable, and have trouble sleeping. Because of the disruption of the usual daily rhythm, the noise of the units and other factors, people do not feel very comfortable. Some even have to take sleeping pills.

Another psychological problem is isolation from the outside world. Communication with the Earth will be, but the signal will begin to lag with the distance from the planet. In addition, Martian travelers will clearly understand that in case of any problems, no one will come to their aid. People are left to themselves, which, of course, puts a lot of pressure on the psyche.

Hygiene

On the ISS, people cannot take baths or shower. The same can be said about the spacecraft that will fly to Mars. Special wipes and compositions - that's what awaits space travelers all along the way. You have to change your underwear less often, and you will have to forget about washing altogether - dirty clothes, perhaps, can be washed already on Mars. But, most likely, it will simply be disposed of in one way or another.

Arrival on Mars

So, the marsonauts, who were on the road for 9 months, overcame all the problems and arrived at Mars. There is a need to land on the planet. But here, too, not everything is as simple as it might seem. The problem is mainly the descent. The fact is that the atmosphere of Mars is about 100 times less dense than the atmosphere of the Earth. Accordingly, when descending, you will need more resistance so as not to crash into the surface at full speed. Heavy objects pick up a very high speed, so there are limits on the mass that can be delivered to Mars at one time.

This, according to NASA employee Bret Drake, is a ton (that's how much Curiosity weighs). “How we will descend through the atmosphere remains an important task. With current landing methods, we can only land a metric ton on Mars. This is not enough to establish a colony, more is needed for a colony,” Drake said.

Developers of the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator inspect the bottom of the system

He also says that if it is necessary to establish a colony on Mars, from 20 to 30 tons of cargo will have to be lowered at a time. Now NASA and various private companies working on landing on Mars are trying to create a reliable way to bring people to the surface of the planet. Perhaps it will be a disc-shaped apparatus Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator.

cold and hunger

If everything worked out with the descent, then it is worth remembering that the average annual temperature on Mars is minus 62 degrees Celsius. The temperature from the equator gradually decreases towards the poles. It can be hot on Mars during the day, and terribly cold at night. On the ISS, there is also the problem of significant temperature differences. So, the ISS heats up to 90 degrees Celsius, being facing the Sun and cools down to -90 on its opposite side. Scientists and engineers have found a way out of this difficult situation by creating specialized temperature control systems.

But the problem is that such systems are designed to work in a vacuum. As for Mars, scientists are still thinking about how to ensure a comfortable existence for marsonauts or colonists.

“We need a solution that will provide better insulation in cold environments and a different way of dissipating heat in hot environments. A spacesuit in a vacuum is like a thermos, but a spacesuit on Mars will be more like a cup of coffee on the kitchen table - coffee in a cup cools much faster compared to coffee in a thermos," Drake said.

Food for people on Mars is also a problem. If we are talking about a landing with a return, then you can get by with the usual dry-frozen food products for astronauts. If we are talking about colonists, then we will also have to grow food here. How? While it is not completely clear, experts are still working on this issue. Some scientists believe that the soil of Mars, with the addition of certain substances, can be made suitable for growing crops.

In the second case, you will have to monitor the concentration of oxygen released by plants in the atmosphere of the room where the colonists live. Too much oxygen is the possibility of spontaneous explosions or even poisoning of the crew.

And again radiation

Researchers from the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of California conducted research to test how ionized radiation would affect astronauts on Mars. As it turned out, 12-24 weeks after irradiation with low doses of ionizing radiation (5 or 30 doses of 48 Ti or 16 O), signs of cognitive dysfunction persist in experimental animals. The problem is associated with a change in the dendritic structure, a change in the level of protein in synapses and inflammation of the nervous tissue. The problem has been identified in animals; perhaps a similar problem will manifest itself in a person. There is a risk that due to the decrease in human cognitive functions under the influence of ionizing radiation, people simply may not be able to manage the systems entrusted to them, not completing scientific and engineering tasks, or even forgetting what needs to be done.

Another manifestation of exposure to radiation is a rather high probability of leukemia in people and a decrease in immunity. The reason is the same radiation. The problem was identified by scientists at the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University. They transplanted human stem cells into mice and exposed the animals to weak ionizing radiation. We are talking about a special type of cells called hemacytoblasts. These cells give rise to all other blood cells. Hematopoietic stem cells are found in the red bone marrow, which in turn resides within the cavities of most bones.

This study examined hemacytoblasts from healthy adults aged 30-55 years. As it turned out, under the influence of radiation, the ability of these cells to produce any kind of blood cells decreased by 60-80%. In addition, radiation has led to mutations in genes that are involved in the hematopoietic process, which has led to a decrease in the ability of hemacytoblasts to produce mature blood cells.

The next step was to check the functioning of cells exposed to radiation. As it turned out, when they were transplanted into mice, the latter began to develop leukemia. Scientists believe that this may serve as evidence that cosmic radiation can cause leukemia in humans.

Together with the above-mentioned decrease in immunity during a long-term stay of a person in microgravity conditions, it will have a negative impact on the successful outcome of an expedition to Mars of any type - even a temporary landing of astronauts, even the arrival of colonists on the planet.

And after all, we should not forget that in the first case, people will also have to return to Earth, which will lead to a repeated influence of radiation, microgravity and other problems described earlier. Plus, experts need to find a reliable way to take off from the surface of Mars to return to Earth.

Be that as it may, experts do not lose hope for the development of reliable security measures that can protect people from some dangers and reduce the negative impact of others. The fact that scientists and engineers believe in the successful outcome of the trip can be said by NASA's planned manned flight to Mars by 2033 and Elon Musk's plans for a similar flight and the creation of a colony on the neighboring planet.

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Head: teacher of Russian language and literature Tropina Alena Aleksandrovna,

Good and funny Martians

Once I read on the Internet that a set of people wishing to fly to the fourth planet of the solar system, Mars, was announced at the cosmodrome. I really wanted to visit space, and even more on another planet. I read a lot about this interesting planet and its two satellites. Of course, I could not miss the chance to visit there ...

I signed up to volunteer, and I was invited to the test. How they just didn’t test us: they twisted us in a centrifuge, lowered us into a pool in a spacesuit, locked us for several days in a small compartment, and then it was necessary to pass a psychological test. And finally, the day when they will announce who will fly to Mars has come! And, lo and behold, you won't believe they call my name! Hooray, I'm going to Mars!

Preparations have begun. The three of us were supposed to fly: me, Dasha and Masha. We were prepared for the flight for two weeks, and then the long-awaited day came when we had to fly to Mars. Our rocket was called Buran-Mechta, and it was the most powerful and smartest rocket on Earth. We said goodbye to our relatives, changed into space suits, took our seats in the rocket and flew off towards adventure.

They flew for a long time. But time passed imperceptibly. We admired the red, yellow and blue stars through the porthole, set up experiments, photographed space objects and talked with the girls about what awaits us on Mars. And then one morning we saw that we were approaching our dream. The on-board computer warned of an imminent landing, and we buckled up. Landing was surprisingly soft. We put on special suits and left the ship.

The landscape was like a desert, only the ground was red. A huge volcano was visible in the distance. I took the first step and flew six meters. She barely managed not to fall. The girls laughed merrily: “Well, did you experience the Martian attraction?” And they jumped after me. It was so much fun that we did not notice how we jumped to the volcano. As soon as we approached it, a huge gate immediately opened, and we found ourselves in some kind of Martian city. Orange asphalt on the streets, red houses made of unusual materials, large pink glass windows everywhere. Burgundy saucers flew across the sky and landed right on the yellow roofs of houses. "That's why Mars is called the red planet," I thought. And the Martians themselves were green, some were dressed in silver suits. We were immediately noticed and surrounded. We were terribly frightened and tried to talk to the Martians, but they did not understand us.

But then a huge plate flew in, and a Martian came out of it with some kind of object that looked like a flashlight. He clicked this device, and suddenly I became aware that I understood what I was being asked about. What a wonderful device! The important gentleman, it turns out, was the mayor of this city, and the city was called Zantertaum, which means "kindness." He invited us to his place and asked for a long time about what planet we came from, for what purpose and how we got there. Then they fed us some wonderful fruits, and we were able to breathe the Martian air. What struck me most was that both plants and animals on the planet could also speak. And everyone lived together, did not quarrel. And we also visited the City Festival. At the largest purple building of the City Administration, all the residents gathered and had fun. They sang songs and danced. The music was so cheerful that we happily danced along with the Martians. I told the girls: “But they are the same as us, though they look strange, but that’s okay, you can get used to it.” My friends nodded cheerfully. The day passed unnoticed.

It's time to return home. The whole city came out to see us off. Everyone wished us a good journey and invited us to visit again. We were given many wonderful and unusual gifts and asked to bring our friends, favorite fruits and interesting animals. We also invited the Martians to visit us and took pictures all together as a keepsake. Then we talked for a long time about this and that. Everyone had a lot of questions, a lot of things I wanted to know. We made sure that all the inhabitants of this city were cheerful and kind, Zantertaum in the Martian way. I really didn't want to fly away. But we were expected on Earth. They were waiting for our reports and scientific conclusions.

See you soon, Martians! we shouted out the porthole. And the mayor of the city waved goodbye to us.

Quiet, bright night. Two full moons, one at the zenith, the other above the horizon, illuminate Mars with a pale bluish light. The silence of the night is occasionally broken by the rustle of the forest, when a light breeze runs through the leaves. The city is not sleeping yet. From the open windows of small houses, singing and conversation rushes. Crowds of little people are still visible in various places, under the trees. On a platform under a high turret belonging to one of the best castles in the city, two figures are visible, a giant and a dwarf: this is Krasnov and his master. They have a lively conversation. Krasnov is visibly excited, the dwarf talks more calmly.

I listened to your objections, - said the dwarf: - and partly I can agree with you. I do not dispute that many of the phenomena you have indicated must be attributed to the negative aspects of our social life. But you can’t, Nikolai, only notice the bad. You yourself showed me some bright sides in the life of our planet. I have not been on Earth, but if I had got there, I would have found, really, more occasions to be indignant at earthly life than to admire it. We often look at many outrageous phenomena only because we are accustomed to them. When I listened to your stories about the Earth, I was horrified and indignant many times. Remember how often I shuddered from your stories about how cruelly earthly people treat other living beings on Earth. Your people, despite all your notorious civilization, are distinguished by the most brutal bloodthirstiness, which goes so far that you kill whole masses of animals in order to eat their corpses; and no one is horrified by that. Even you, a highly developed person who has renounced barbarian habits more than others, according to your own stories, many times ate the corpses of birds, fish and animals without any disgust. You have corpse stores where you can buy a piece of the corpse of any animal by weight; and such stores are even allowed by law. People who, out of disgust for such food, eat vegetable food are very rare among you.

Nature is to blame for this: meat food is more suitable for humans, Krasnov noted.

Not true. You yourself have found that the inhabitants of Mars are healthier than the earthly people. And even if you were right, then you do not in the least justify earthly cruelty. In order to make animals or horses, as you call them, more submissive to yourself, you subject them to inhuman tortures. Think back to your stories about the strange relationship you have between the two sexes, and how abnormal your family relationships are. For some reason, you try by all means to destroy the free manifestation of love in young people or to pervert this feeling by unnecessary restraints. As long as a young man has not yet acquired an independent position in society, he does not dare, regardless of age, or physical development, or temperament, to marry. Let us now see where your custom leads. Since legal marriages are not available to the vast mass of your young people, many clandestine marriages arise on the most terrible grounds. The need to hide, the fear of punishment, and other similar reasons turn the most sublime and noblest feeling of love into depravity. And since you confessed that no other vice is as widespread on Earth as debauchery, then, therefore, this evil is an inevitable consequence of your orders. Is it really only in depravity that the disasters arising from your abnormal family relationships are contained? As a result of your strange views and customs, it happens that love caresses are distributed among women unevenly to the point of absurdity. Some women are languishing from the thirst for love, but, not being able to surrender to love, they yearn, go crazy.

You are right, - said Krasnov: - the evil, so brightly illuminated by you, is limitless. But tell me honestly, teacher, is Mars really free from this evil? Is it possible that morality reigns in you, and vice is unknown?

Yes, Nikolay, unfortunately there are also cases of violation of family debt in our country, but they must be regarded as exceptions. A crime against morality is considered so monstrous among us that few people dare to commit it. That is why your earthly life seemed to me so miserable when you told me about how nature is being perverted in you and what state your family is in. And after that, do you still think about happiness about progress? Can you move forward when you are deprived of the very basis of happiness, family well-being? After that, your entire civilization is just a ghost.

You're wrong, teacher, - objected Krasnov. - The family relations of the inhabitants of Mars, perhaps, are immeasurably higher than ours. But look at our life from other points of view - and you will see how far the earth has outstripped Mars. You will not deny that the inhabitants of the earth are more learned and more talented than the Martians. The sciences, arts and technical inventions stand so high among us that Mars will not be equal to the earth in this respect even after many centuries. I will give you some examples. If you were transported to the earth, to one of the big cities, then in the very first minutes you would be delighted and amazed. In your country, for example, all burdens are carried by people, and your means of transportation are the simplest, while we cover great distances in steamboats or electric cars. Thanks to the telegraph and telephone, people freely talk to each other from one end of the planet to the other. Thanks to printing, our books come out in countless copies, thanks to railroads, they are distributed throughout the entire globe in the shortest possible time. Therefore, science and education in our country are at such a height that you are unlikely to ever reach. And if you saw earthly buildings, earthly paintings, statues, theaters, shops filled with the most elegant luxury items, then you would bow in admiration before earthly humanity! ..

And do you all enjoy this luxury? asked the dwarf.

That's another question," answered Krasnov. “Unfortunately, only a small class of people are content with us, the rest of the population lives no better than the inhabitants of Mars, and many poor people, I must confess, can hardly satisfy their most necessary needs.

And you consider it happiness? You don't understand that the happiness of the lucky few is the envy of the vast mass of the poor.

But on the other hand, at least a few can achieve such happiness, which you have no idea about on Mars! Krasnov objected.

And that's not true. A humane person cannot feel happy seeing grief around. Only dry egoists can forget about others. Are egoists happy? How can that person be happy who divides the whole world into two halves: I and everyone else and neglects the other half as unworthy of attention? No, who always rushes about with himself; for whom the whole interest of life is concentrated in his own person, he will soon feel superfluous in the world and life will become a burden to him. That, in my opinion, is the main shortcoming of earthly life, that you strive not for true happiness, but for outward brilliance. We don't. We have turned all our abilities to ensure that we have as few disadvantaged people as possible. The goal of our progress is to unite people as much as possible through bonds of love and equality.

However, my observations, teacher, disagree with your words. You say that you are striving for universal equality, but how can you explain to me that unjust law, according to which all your children born with white hair on their heads are considered noble, receive an education and then enjoy various rights and advantages, while children who had the misfortune to be born with dark hair, forever close the path to education and inevitably face the fate of laborers? We don't have such wild and unjust laws.

Not true. You have exactly the same thing. You told me that you have nobles and peasants. The whole difference between Mars and Earth is that you have people privileged by the social position of their parents, and we have hair color. The personal dignity of a person in this case does not play any role both for you and for us.

Yes, but with us every peasant can, if he really possesses outstanding talents, achieve a high social position and even the nobility. Agree, teacher, it's stupid to give honor to people just because they are blond.

Light hair color, Nikolai, is a sign of a divine spark in a person. However, I do not claim that Mars is higher than the Earth, or vice versa: both on Mars and on Earth, there is a lot of both good and bad. We cannot decide which planet is better to live on; let's try to find out what exactly is good on Earth and what is on Mars. You are now sufficiently prepared to review our public institutions and have a decent command of our language. Therefore, I will not put off this review any longer, and tomorrow we will hit the road.

Teacher, I turn to you again with a question that torments me: where are my friends?

And I repeat to you again that you need not worry about them: nothing bad will be done to them.

Can I be calm, tormented by the unknown? At least tell me why we were separated?

Although I am forbidden to touch this issue, however, yielding to your persistent requests, I will say something, hoping that you will understand and justify our superiors. You quite understand that the arrival on Mars of five giants, who appeared from nowhere, should have confused and disturbed us. Could we know in advance that your intentions are of a peaceful nature? In any case, we had to take precautions. To this end, we put you to sleep and carried you sleepy to different places. Each of you is entrusted with the supervision of one of the first dignitaries of the country, who must remove the interrogation from his prisoner. Inspection of the "Galilee" and agreeing with your explanations convinced us that you came from that planet with which we have long tried to establish relations. Now not only I, the entire population of Mars is sure of this, and the lofty goal of your journey - scientific acquaintance with the new world - aroused deep respect for you, and therefore you should not expect anything bad for yourself. Very soon you will be allowed to see each other, and then they will give you freedom. But under what conditions this will be done and when exactly, I myself do not know. I dare not add anything more. I have already told you too much, taking on my own the consequences of my frankness. Be calm for your friends, Nikolai. Now let's go to sleep. It looks like it's already dawning.

Yulia is 15 years old, she is a student of the 9th "G" class of the Eastern European Lyceum of the city of Saratov.

Yuliya studies "good" and "excellent". She is a person of diverse interests: she reads a lot, does research work in the field of literature, composes stories.

"Journey to Mars"

Shigunov Dmitry was a sociable boy. He recently turned 7 years old. Dima diligently completed his homework and studied well at school. The boy read a lot, especially fond of science fiction. In his free time from school, he liked to invent various gizmos and mechanisms. Dimka had few friends, because. they considered him a "nerd", so he spent most of his time at home.

On Friday, Dima came home from school early, did his homework and decided to read. He took the paper for Friday and, as always, opened on page 8 the subject of interest to him, "SENSATIONS." There he read the following notes: “Oligarchs are buying up places in cemeteries” and just below “And billionaires are buying land on Mars.” The latter interested the boy very much. He always dreamed of a rich luxurious life and often imagined how in the future he would become the owner of a large company and would not deny himself anything. Dimka seriously thought about Mars. He decided at all costs to fly to this planet. The implementation of his plan, he began the next day. First, I drew an approximate diagram of the spacecraft, then redrawn it several times, choosing the most correct option. Now every day, after completing his homework, he would start inventing a spaceship.

Six months have passed. And then a small ship appeared in Dmitry's room, in which only one person could fit. The ship turned out to be small, but very neat. The boy's parents wondered what was happening to their son. But Dima kept his plans in the strictest confidence.

The long-awaited summer has finally arrived. Dima finished the first grade with two B's. For a good study, the parents decided to encourage Dima and take him to the sea with them. Not wanting to change plans, Dima refused the tempting offer of his parents, to which they were surprised. But the parents also did not want to change their plans and therefore left without Dima, leaving him under the supervision of his grandparents.

Waking up the next morning, Dima decided that today he would finally set off on his journey. He gathered a small backpack, taking the essentials. It took a lot of effort for Dima to take his invention outside. Fortunately, the nine-story building in which Dima lived was located on the outskirts of the city, so a field began behind the house. Placing the ship in the center of the field, Dimka climbed inside. Crossing himself three times, the boy pressed the START button, and the ship began to rise. With every second, Dimka moved farther and farther away from his home, from the city, from the Earth, and for a moment he felt sad, but he cast aside doubts and fear and focused on the flight.

Dima flew 6 days. On the seventh day, the boy saw a large fireball in the distance. Having flown for another hour, Dimka saw an inscription in front of him in huge red letters: "PLANET MARS". Without thinking twice, the boy decided to land. Feeling a solid surface under him, Dima calmed down a bit. He wanted to get out, but then he remembered that there is no oxygen on Mars, and he did not take this into account.

Dima, concentrating, was sitting in his ship, when a small green man with big ears like pipes approached the window of his "car". Seeing him, Dima was frightened at first, but then he realized that the Martian had come with good intentions. By the gestures of the little man, Dima determined that he asked him to come out or let him in. Trying to explain to the man with the help of signs that there is no place in his ship, and he cannot get out, the boy began to wave his arms and shout loudly, to which the Martian twisted his finger at the temple.

After a ten-minute “silent” conversation, the Martian nevertheless understood what the “white man” had been explaining to him so diligently. He left and after a while returned with an oxygen mask. Through the porthole, the little man handed it to Dimka. With difficulty putting it on, the boy climbed out. Here everything was in red; it was terribly hot, and there was a hard, uneven fiery surface underfoot. The little green man looked at Dimka in surprise, and then (“with a robotic accent”) asked him his name.

Dima, - the boy said quietly.

And I'm Til, - said the little man.

Not wanting to stand on ceremony for a long time, Dima decided to get straight to the point:

Can you tell me, Til, where you can buy a piece of land here?

And the desire to trudge to such a distance! Do you have enough land there?! - the Martian said indignantly. - It's none of my business though. Now everything has gone a little crazy. I see you're here for the first time, so I'll help you.

Thank you, - thanked Dima.

Just this. We’d better get there on my plate than on your junk, ”Til said with a grin.

As you say, - the boy agreed with resentment.

They sat down on a large plate and in a fraction of a second they were in place.

Well, here we are. I advise you to purchase this plot of the best fertile land, - and he pointed with the long finger of his thin hand to a solid piece of stone land, enclosed by a high green fence.

Dima hesitated with the answer.

And why do you need it? Thiel asked. - Are you going to do gardening?

Yes, it's simple, - the boy answered.

There is nothing simple on Mars,” the green one remarked reproachfully.

Okay, I'm buying it. Only I don't have any money with me, but I want to thank you. Maybe you want something? Dima said.

What nobility! Yes, I do not need your money! You'd better send me a real player by e-mail, otherwise it's somehow boring with us here. You know, it's like hell: everything is red, it's hot, and green devils are everywhere.

What, do you have email? Dimka asked in surprise.

And you thought that only you, earthlings, are so smart? You can send messages by mail, but we also send ordinary items - books, for example.

Great! Too bad we don't have that! Dima remarked with regret.

Well, stop talking, let's go back, otherwise your mask may run out of oxygen, - said the Martian and easily jumped into the plate.

Dima and Til returned to their original place.

Well, I have to go, - Dima answered bitterly.

Yes, you managed quickly, ”Til answered,“ just this: please don’t sit in your piece of iron, otherwise I’m afraid that you won’t fly. Take my plate.

But you have done so much for me! I can't accept such a gift!

Don't you break! Someday I will come to you, just leave the address. I almost forgot. Dima, here is my mail address, - and he handed Dima a piece of paper with an inscription.

As soon as I return, I will send what I promised.

Well, bye, Dmitry, good luck.

Bye, Til, thanks for everything.

Dima sat down at the plate.

Hello earthlings! Thiel shouted.

Dima waved to Til, pressed the "START" button and after 2 minutes the ball was at home. He immediately went to the store for the player, but on the threshold he met his parents who had returned from the sea.

The work was sent by Gusakova Natalia Leonardovna,
teacher of the Moscow Educational Institution "East European Lyceum", Saratov.

Municipal educational institution

"Kirish Secondary School No. 6"

Story

The work was done by Borisova V.A., Grade 11 A, School No. 6

2012 - 2013 academic year year

"My Journey to the Planet Mars"

There was a tense silence in the office.

You are probably wondering why I called you, Captain Borisov?

The reason was really interesting to me, and at the same time it scared me. It is not so often that the authorities, especially in the person of the colonel general himself, call him. And it is not clear whether they are going to praise me or scold me ...?

I have a responsible task for you, - the general's voice became a little harder. It was evident that he himself did not believe that he had said this. However, there was silence again. This is starting to annoy me...

-
Read, - without gathering his courage, the Major General handed me one of the documents from his desk.

Order No. 451 of 2178

I order to send crew No. 3 in the person of ... (there was a listing of names), as well as an engineer-researcher of the Space Forces Borisov V.A. (that's me) to the planet Mars in order to study anomalous atmospheric phenomena.

06/22/2178 Slesarenko L.V.

This cannot be.

Why me?

Of all the research scientists of our headquarters, only you are suitable for the degree of preparedness and for health reasons. You have a perfect ECG, and eyesight like an eagle.

I sighed. But an order is an order.

I serve the Fatherland, - I briefly reported, and, under the consenting nod of the major general, I left the office.

So, a week later the intergalactic expedition was assembled. Departure was scheduled on the same day on the most powerful ship of our time - the T-35. Especially for me, inside this hulk, a whole compartment was built for a special laboratory. Under my command was a team of trained cosmonauts, aces in their field. Each of them was one and a half times healthier than me, and some of them were unique and two. However, they were all under my command. The essence of our entire expedition was reduced to one single goal - to find out why bright flashes began to appear on Mars, which slightly changed the Earth's magnetic fields. Our goal was to find out whether this circumstance is dangerous for humanity.

The entire flight went smoothly. The team was reservedly silent, and coldly carried out my orders. The landing was no different from the flight itself.

Later life on Mars was also similar to the day of arrival - no emotions, no complaints, just work. The cosmonaut team had the task of collecting samples and making fences, while I had to study these very samples and draw conclusions. I must say that the team tried very hard. I didn’t sit without work - while they were looking for or measuring one thing, I processed the substances found earlier ...

During my stay on Mars, I have established and confirmed a lot. It seems that the experiments I conducted did not differ from those conducted earlier by other astronauts. No new substances were found, and no one from the team saw outbreaks either.

We have established thatthe temperature on the planet ranges from −153at the Pole in winter and up to +20 °C atequatoron midday. The average temperature is -50 °C.

The atmosphere of Mars, which consists mainly ofcarbon dioxide, as well as argon and nitrogen, is very rarefied. Pressure the surface of Mars is 160 times smaller than the earth's - 6.1 mbarat the middle surface. Due to the large elevation difference on Mars, the pressure near the surface varies greatly. The approximate thickness of the atmosphere is 110 km.

With the help of devices, I also installed andAcceleration of gravity - at the equator it was 3.711 m/s² (0.378 Earth);also calculatedfirst space velocity- she isis 3.6 km/s,second- 5.027 km / s.

Several times our team witnessed dust whirlwinds. These are air turbulences that occur near the surface of the planet and raise a large amount of sand and dust into the air. It was quite scary to watch this, but this misfortune passed us by.

Mars has a weaka magnetic field. The magnetic field of Mars is extremely unstable, at various points on the planet its strength can differ from 1.5 to 2 times, and the magnetic poles do not coincide with the physical ones.

In one of the experiments on the processing of samples taken from the surface, I received both water vapor and methane. By the way, Scientific hypotheses about the existence of life on Mars have existed for a long time, and precisely because of the presence of methane. According to the results of observations from Earth in the atmosphere of Mars methane detected . Under the conditions of Mars, this gas decomposes rather quickly, so there must be a constant source of replenishment. This source can be either geological activity (but no active volcanoes have been found on Mars), or vital activity bacteria.

Our telescopic studies of Mars have also confirmed such features as seasonal changes in its surface. This primarily applies to the “white polar caps”, which, with the onset of autumn, begin to increase (in the corresponding hemisphere), and in the spring they “melt” quite noticeably, and “warming waves” spread from the poles.

A significant part of the surface of Mars is lighter areas ("continents"), which have a reddish-orange color; about 25% of the surface is darker gray-green "seas", the level of which is lower than that of the "continents". The elevation changes are very significant and amount to about 14-16 km in the equatorial region, but there are also peaks that rise much higher, these include Arsia and Olympus. In addition, we found distinct traces of volcanism and tectonic activity - faults, gorges with branching canyons, some of them are almost hundreds of kilometers long, tens of kilometers wide and several kilometers deep. There are also volcanoes on the surface of Mars. Volcanic craters reach enormous sizes. The largest of them - Arsia, Acreus, Pavonis and Olympus - reach about 500-600 km at the base and more than two tens of kilometers in height.

During the time that I spent on this planet, our team did a great job, but they did not even see a hint of the phenomenon due to which we were sent here ... That is why I began to conduct my own experiments on the synthesis and reaction of various chemicals.

That day I was in the lab. There was practically no work left, most of the materials were checked, and even more than once. I fiddled with my own experiments, pushing the "Martian" fences away in order to avoid an unwanted and even dangerous reaction.

Closer to noon, my peace was disturbed. One of our team members appeared on the threshold of the laboratory and silently handed me a test tube made of heat-absorbing glass with a reddish-brown cloudy liquid, similar to tomato juice. I also silently nodded to him and took the test tube, placing it on the table for experiments. If I knew how dangerous it is...

Having strengthened the test tube on a tripod, I began to prepare for the analysis of the substance. After a few simple operations, I understood the main thing. Judging by the reaction, the temperature of this liquid is very high ... Too high for Mars. Weird? Is that really why we're here?!

Suddenly our ship shook slightly, and overboard I heard the cries of the crew. "Meteor hit the surface next to the ship!" - a thought flashed through my mind. At that very moment, I was in extreme pain. Some of the liquid from the test tube spilled onto the index finger of the left hand.

Oh, oh, ahh! I screamed. Seeing nothing in front of me, I left the laboratory and went to the medical bay. On the hand, the skin slowly slipped and became covered with terrible scars.

Suddenly, I heard a roar and the clinking of glass from the laboratory. In fear, I rushed back ... And there ... Oh, horror! On the table were fragments of a test tube and a mercury barometer... and on the table itself... The red liquid was rapidly flowing towards the dark balls of mercury. Too late, I realized how dangerous it was ... An explosion struck ...

I quickly opened my eyes. Ordinary bus, everything is as usual. "Mother Mother! My balloon burst!!!" a small boy cries loudly in front of me. So much for a trip to Mars... Suddenly my left arm started to hurt. Stop! What's this? There was a huge burn on his hand! So is this a dream or...?

Used Books:

- site "Astronomy" author Maksimenko A.V.

- astronomical site "Galaktika"

Astronomy (encyclopedia for children. Volume 8) -M.: Avanta +, 1997. - 688 p.

All about planets and constellations. Atlas-reference book. Leskov I.A. - St. Petersburg: 2007. - 208 p.

Stars and planets. Atlas of the starry sky. Ridpat Ya. - M.: 2004. - 400 p.

Astronomy for dummies. Stephen Maran - M.: Dialectics, 2004. - 256 p.