The Mars Generation, a Beautiful Tomorrow, and the Promise of My Grandfathers…

One of my grandfathers, after being born at home in 1924, was placed on the door of an oven to stay warm. My other grandfather, outside of time served in Korea, lived his entire life within a five block radius in the Turner district of Kansas City, Kansas. One of them worked as the head electrician for Leavenworth Federal Prison, brushing shoulders with crime bosses and murderers. These were men who were educators, home builders, small business owners, husbands and fathers. I get my middle name, Robert, from the shared first name that was so common of their generation. They would have told you they were simple men, who preferred to be called “Bob.”

And these men are the reason we’re going to Mars…

On Monday night, I delivered a eulogy for one of my grandfathers, and I used this quote from a fictional President, Josiah Bartlett of The West Wing: “If fidelity to freedom and democracy is the code of our civic religion, then surely the code of our humanity is faithful service to that unwritten commandment, that says we should give our children better than we ourselves have received.” At the time I was quoting a fictional President, I had no idea that our current, very real President Obama was preparing a statement that should eventually be remembered as the most important event of the decade, and likely, with the passage of time, the single greatest testament to his legacy as President of the United States and his place in the annals of history.

“ We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America’s story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time.” — President Barack Obama, CNN, 10/11/2016.

This is the most significant event of the 21st century, and is the culmination of everything my grandfathers lived and worked for. Yes, it may not seem important at the moment. We are in the middle of a heated and bitter election season in the United States. The economies of European countries brace for Great Britain's official exit from the European Union, and the ongoing Syrian Civil War has shed light on a tragic refugee crisis that has left many nations to ponder their moral obligation in the world. And yes, there is still terrorism and hatred and crazy people with guns who would rather see the dreams of humankind falter under the weight of expectation. They will fail, as has every single attempt in recorded history to thwart the power of ideas. My grandfathers understood this, and they actively made a better world so that those ideas could be realized; not for themselves, but for the next generation of thinkers.

It’s important to note, neither of my grandfathers were scientists or engineers. They did not personally contribute to the Space Race of the 1960s. Like millions of people around the world, they listened as President Kennedy declared, “We choose to go to the Moon… We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” They watched on television as Neil Armstrong realized that dream less than a decade later, taking the first steps on that nearest celestial body orbiting Earth. In a way, this felt like a personal accomplishment, because it required the protection and nourishment of ideas that were central to my grandfathers’ lives and ways of thinking. One of them fought in World War II, protecting those American ideals of freedom and democracy on the other side of the world for populations of people he would never meet, but doing so for the betterment of humankind. The other grandfather was a lifelong educator, who taught the very science and mathematics that NASA engineers used to put humans on the Moon, recognizing the symbolic influence and inspiration of the Space Program in real time. These were men of the “Moon Generation,” and their contributions to society and culture were just as vital as the actual engineers who made the Moon landings a possibility.

In his statement, President Obama wrote this: “ Getting there will take a giant leap. But the first, small steps happen when our students — the Mars generation — walk into their classrooms each day. Scientific discovery doesn’t happen with the flip of a switch; it takes years of testing, patience and a national commitment to education.” Tomorrow morning, my wife, a public school teacher (who happens to teach in the exact same building my grandfather was principal), will read to her class the President’s statement, because it is her 6th grade class that will be the people who go to Mars. The Mars generation is now, and it is exactly what my grandfathers hoped for in their lives. It is the reason they fought, and worked, and educated the next generation, for that unwritten commandment, that says we should give our children better than we ourselves have received.

We are at the cusp of a great cultural Renaissance that will see advancements in science, technology, communication, and the arts, far beyond anything my grandfathers ever imagined — And that was the point. In 500 years, no one will remember who won this Presidential election, or how European economies reacted to Great Britain’s EU exit. They will remember the Presidents that said “We choose to go to the Moon,” and “ We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America’s story in space: sending humans to Mars,” because humans will be living on the Moon and Mars. It is these generations, the generation of my grandfathers and our generation, that will make the next 500 years of human achievement possible. And in the way we remember the European Renaissance of Galileo, and Shakespeare, and Michelangelo, future students on Mars will study the science and arts of our time. There is considerable controversy about the legacy of Christopher Columbus (and for good reason), but when I say 1492, we don’t think about the Borgias taking over the Papacy or the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Those things happened in 1492, but we remember “Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” because it was European exploration of new lands that allowed us to exist in the world as we do today.

My grandfathers were fascinated by Walt Disney, and one of their favorite attractions was a ride in Tomorrowland called “The Carousel of Progress,” which was personally developed by Walt Disney for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The ride, which works as a kind of circular spinning show, where the seated audience rotates around a stage, takes viewers on a journey through the homes of 20th century Americans, showcasing how technologies emerged and made our lives better. In between each set piece, they play a song with a repeated refrain: “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day; there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away.” At the end of his statement, the President says this: “ Someday, I hope to hoist my own grandchildren onto my shoulders. We’ll still look to the stars in wonder, as humans have since the beginning of time. But instead of eagerly awaiting the return of our intrepid explorers, we’ll know that because of the choices we make now, they’ve gone to space not just to visit, but to stay — and in doing so, to make our lives better here on Earth.”

I wish my grandfathers could have lived a few more weeks to read what the President wrote, and to witness this moment in history. But I know the purpose of their lives extended beyond the physical limitations of their time on Earth. For them, it had nothing to do with the moments they would get to experience, but more so, the moments their children and grandchildren would experience. Like the President, I hope to look to the stars in wonder with my own children and grandchildren, and be with them when humans take the first step toward space colonization by setting foot on Mars. I think, in many ways, that’s exactly the way my grandfathers wanted it. A beautiful tomorrow, indeed.

Nate Carter

NathanRobertCarter@gmail.com