Martian Rhapsody: A Story about the People, Technology, and Science of the First Mars Colony

Caltech graduate Harry Keller wrote an article, "Mars One: Exciting Adventure or Hoax," that was published at Educational Technology and Change Journal (etcjournal.com) on April 8, 2013 as a critique of the Mars One project. The number of page views in April, 2013 was nearly 12,000 and almost 30,000 for last year alone. Though this article is over a year old, views continue at around 1,000 per month.

The article has had 772 responses to date and the article and its responses amount to nearly 180,000 words. Here are some quotes from that dialog indicating both the interest and some topics discussed.

"I think man will go beyond the confines of Earth, but there are many unanswered questions. Harry has started the list that must be answered." - Frank Withrow, April 18, 2013

"If radiation doesn't (deservedly) kill these lunatics shortly after they leave near Earth orbit, muscular atrophy and bone loss will ensure they are unable to set foot outside of their rocket..." - Vitaly Klitschko, April 17, 2013

"If this is legit and all safety measures are in place this should be encouraged for the advancement of humanity. Without exploration we'd still be living in caves." - Dan Smith, April 24, 2013

"It's a fascinating venture, despite the immensity of the whole thing. And small change in the vast scheme of things. Some will criticize that the money should be spent on the poor, as it were - and yet we have box office and gaming sales into the billions." - Brett Blaikie, May 29, 2013

Dr. Keller shows you what colonizing Mars might really be like in this exciting adventure novel of the near future. Based on extensive research, hundreds of comments like those above, and his own ideas about the future of space exploration, Martian Rhapsody tells a believable story of colonizing Mars.

Only four settlers can be the first humans to reach Mars on a one-way trip. No one has been there yet, even for a visit. The dry and heavily irradiated surface of Mars holds little hope for survival, but the Mars Project people think they've found a way. The settlers have trained for years to become a closely bonded team that can match whatever Mars throws at them for the two years they must wait for new supplies and four more settlers.

"The landing is a great opener, can grab the reader's attention right away - I l ike it..." - Anonymous.

"Nice, love your story Harry, I can't wait to see the next installment. I like how you capture the fact that a seemingly simple error, like pod placement of 5 km, can mean life or death for a venture such as this. I am interested to see where [you take] the story." - Dan Midgett

This book is more than a great story. It's also a chance to see the science of settling alien planets firsthand. Dr. Keller has taken great pains to ensure that the science matches reality and that you know about it all. Written in the highly accessible fashion honed by years of his writing science and science education articles for the public, you will understand what the science of living on Mars really means.

Dr. Harry E. Keller grew up in southern California, attending high school in a small, unremarkable beach town that has grown into one of California’s most desirable residential communities. He attended college at the California Institute of Technology, the first graduate of his high school, Mira Costa, to do so. He moved to New York City to attend Columbia University’s graduate program in chemistry and received his doctorate just over four years later.

Since that time, Dr. Keller has been a postdoctoral fellow, an industrial research scientist, a chemistry professor, a principal software engineer, a software development manager, a CIS professor, and vice president for R&D in a successful startup. He and his wife ran a software contract consulting practice for many years before developing the Smart Science(R) technology. Currently, Dr. Keller is the president of Smart Science Education Inc. (smartscience.net), a company that develops and markets highly innovative technological solutions for learning.

Dr. Keller holds two US patents. He has published reviewed articles in several areas of science, computer science, and education. He is a former chair of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society and previous coordinator of the Department of Energy’s New England Regional Science Bowls. He is the present science editor for the Educational Technology and Change Journal (etcjournal.com).