Dr. Lara Helix- Mars' expert on Childrearing.

The Flame: Mars Day (Sol) 42 Days from landing  

 Dear Readers, 

I am delighted to be writing this to you from OUR planet! I call it this because its only inhabitants are us, Earth born humans (and those adorable little rovers who've been here the last 100 years!), but soon, (many months from now) Martian born humans will join us. Many of you are expecting and now, myself as well! I know it has been a crazy few weeks, the carbon scrubbers and domes just getting started. The pressure alarms are going off less and less as our new living spaces are being used more and more. Our spaceships and sleep pods are now being abandoned for our permanent homes. It's bittersweet, to finally have our dwellings in this place. Sweet, because now we can begin the amazing process of creating societies and families. Bitter because some of us are home sick from not having our familiar gravity, water sources, fresh fruits and veggies, and all the smells. Does anyone else miss the smells, or is this just me and pregnancy hormones? 

I am starting this online forum for us, so we may document this as it is happening! It will be interactive, an online Martian version of Ann Landers and also on going editorial of our life here. Who am I to be Ann Landers? I am just a family counselor from Earth who came her with her scientist husband to help in the building and scientific research of this colony. We all came here knowing we will never see Earth again, but what we are building here will be extraordinary.  Many of the questions you will ask will be deep, exploring existential anxiety you didn't know you had and some will be about how to deal with your partner in a 400ft space. This is why I am here. 

One of the first questions I would like to dive into is the same one I've been having lately: Did I just trap my children on Mars for no reason? They have no choice in this matter. Mine are not born yet, so I am unsure how they will feel about it, but I do worry about delivering them here, in a strange inhospitable planet not designed for earth born humans for what is essentially a living science project. 

There is a lot to unpack here. Families are built in different ways and different places. It is no different than having a child anywhere on Earth. There are risks and benefits to both lives. While my child may never climb a tree, or feel rain, they are probably going to know every adult on this planet. They will watch people work together and fuse technology and life together in ways no human has before them. They will understand these Martian seasons better than I ever will. They will understand these smells and carbon scrubbers, and how biology and botany work. "Trapped" is a loaded word, because aren't we all kind of trapped into existence? (That's deep) 

I will continue writing on the things we are experiencing, because we are doing this together. Traveling here with all of you has been a fantastic adventure of millions of miles and tons hardships, lots of naps. Our ancestors traveled all over the Earth with their fair share of sadness and struggle, now it seems it is also our turn, but we hopefully will have had far fewer devesting incidents because of science! We will overcome, as humans always seem to do. 

The flame we light is for the future always, and always may it burn! 

The Food 

Mars: Day 80

Dear Readers, 

Today is significant for all of us as we light a flame in the middle of our first dome. One of our leaders for this project, John Lazarus, has named it "The Continuance Flame" in the hopes that as long as the flame stays lit, so can humanity on Mars. We wondered if it were possible, as most flames here either die out or explode, as we were all warned (and experienced when someone thought they'd "try it out")*. This flame is very well contained. It is in glass and has its own supply of oxygen a lot of other technical things I couldn't pretend to explain. It's beautiful. The flames on earth don't have this dark blue color. I was told it was something to do with the pressure, maybe the lack of gravity? It's lovely to say the least and I love the space. I was allowed to pick out the design for the benches and all of us, the 200 who made it here first had a ceremony. Martin, an amazing vegan chef from earth, made us the most delectable hors'd'overes. We love having him here, he and Robert Metzger, our prize botanist, have come up with some amazing ideas. The chef asks about certain plants he'd like to grow, and Metzger puts them together. They were working on these years before we came here. It was known it would be too much work to have to harvest animals. Keeping people alive is a lot of work and supplies and freeze-dried food was only going to go so far. 

It's no secret Metzger has been having a difficult time with the plants. The planet has not been as cooperative as we once thought, but over the last two months he has discovered a new way of growing sweet potatoes and beans, and last night's meal was a raving success compared to the dehydrated meals we've been eating. Which brings me to a question someone brought me: how are we going to sustain and grow the population?

As new people have been coming to us and bringing some of their own supplies, we will make it. The greatest difficulty maybe getting salt, we have enough to last 50 years with the current population, but we will be growing.  Salt will be an issue because we cannot grow it. They are hoping to find some in the regolith once we get digging. 

All the food for last night was created was grown here, on Mars (except some seasonings). This is truly becoming our home. 

May the flame we burn continue forever! 

*One of the colonists attempted to light a flame and found themselves on fire after the combustion was larger than expected. This caused a great deal of new rules and laws to be implemented. It is now known as the Wenzel Rule as it was Wendy Wenzel who attempted the unauthorized flame. 

The Pregnancy: Mars Day 110

Dear Readers, 

A fantastic thing happened to me today! The baby kicked. Many of us have life inside of us! After speaking with women who had babies on earth, the experience does not seem that much difference, except the smells and the gravity. All I smell is burning. It's the CO2 scrubbers. I have grown a few herbs and plants in my living area, and it seems to help with it.  Flowering plants are the best, but I am recommending ones that are edible not to waste water resources. Robert Metzger is working on a couple of rose hybrids that we can also eat. After talking to him I learned that Strawberries are in the rose family. I had no idea. Strawberries sound awfully good though. I miss the way they smell while they are growing outside on Earth. I know I will not smell that again, but I also know new things are in store for me and all of us here! 

My pregnancy is going swimmingly, but others are not so lucky. Keep them in your thoughts. There seems to be many more expectant mothers than initially planned. We are going to have to make new plans to put all these people. Fear not, engineers and city planners are working on this as I write this. 

Meanwhile, here is a question I received that is plaguing me as well: 

May this flame we light burn forever! 

Letter to Lara Helix from the council 

Dr. Helix, 

We hope this letter finds you well. We have been following your blog and love the inspiration you are giving to the people. As you know Mars is being settled by a group of like-minded individuals and as more come and go from the planet, we are going to need to set up a system of governance. We know you are very busy helping everyone get settled and using your background in family counseling to create a pleasant environment for everyone, but we would love to have you help as a consultant as we make major decisions for the colony. We would love your input on how to address the issues remaining. 

Also, we are opening the second dome in about a month, and we would love some advice on how to make it less stimulating to our colonists. 

Thank you for your time in this matter. 

Domes: Mars Day 150

Dear Readers, 

It delights me to be able to tell you: the final construction of the second dome is complete. This dome will house up to 300 colonists and will also be the center of our government. Its extreme size will require a lot of carbon scrubbers and plants. It will probably be the closest thing we have to an earth like climate. As we gather and decide how our government is to start working, I want us to be reminded of the little things. The way fresh apples taste (Ours will be ready soon Dr. Metzger assures me of this), the way our tiny little spaces are becoming homes, and how glorious it is to be the first humans to adjust to this new way of living. 

The gravity has probably been the most interesting part of this experiment. The three months it took to get here with zero gravity feels like a warmup for this. It's not like on earth at all, which would probably seem heavy now. Sometimes I forget how much less there is here. When I drop something, I can catch it quickly. Things seem to have a bounce. Nothing really shatters, most everything is very hard durable plastic, there is no glass here. I cannot imagine if there was, the way things float back up after hitting the ground. It's been nice not being in zero gravity, but it's impossible getting used to this. I think we all understand how much work we have to do every day to keep our muscles moving. 

I have some suggestions that have worked for me: the centrifugal force chair. This amazing device was designed before we left.  We only took 100 with us and now our colony is expanding with more colonists, we may have to ask earth to send more! It has been very helpful during this pregnancy. The muscles really need this extra movement and balance. I feel like I'm clumsy, but as it has been explained to me as an inner ear problem. The gravity here is only 40 percent of earth's gravity, so jumping is fun. 

Another thing that has helped: resistance bands. It really is a good workout. I feel like my arms and legs need it now more than ever.  I am discovering more and more, exercise is important. 

Stay well and let the flame continually burn! 

Mars Day: 180

Dear Readers,

Only 30 days have passed, but days here are much longer than Earth and tend to be full of activity. The planting in Metzger's beautiful greenhouse, the construction (it is constant), the scientists exploring the surface, the workers clearing off the solar panels, and it seems like we have a lot more wind than when we first arrived. 

I will soon be delivering a healthy baby- hopefully. Everything looks good for the baby. Many other women have already had these tiny first Martians. The doctors are saying they are smaller than traditional Earth babies. I would have thought the opposite. It would seem the lack of gravity would make they grow, but scientists assure me, this is not how it works. 

I cannot wait to have this tiny ball of joy in my arms. We are going to name him Arthur after my husband's father.  We have his bassinette all ready to go in our bedroom. 

The newly designed Martian council is making plans for any and all future domes in the next 3 years. They are also trying to establish a calendar. We haven't been here an entire earth year yet, and it's only a third of a Martian year. Martian years are twice as long as an Earth year. I think we are going to need a new calendar. 

Readers, I would love any and all input into how you think the colony is running. What you miss about earth and what you would like to be happening in the future. 

May our flame of continuance burn forever!

Mars Day 250

Little Arthur has been born. He is the 57th child of Mars. We have done this, 57 children born on Mars to start a future generation. He's so tiny, but he's a fighter. I feel sad that he might never know what Earth feels like, or outdoors, but then I'm filled with all the new things he's going to learn as a human living on Mars. 

I have been pouring through many of your letters over the past few days and I would like to share some of the thoughts my fellow Martian mothers are having. 

-The showers- it's just a mist and I can't feel clean. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?    

    Yes, I feel your pain. It really is difficult to get used to and I couldn't stand it on the way here, now that we are here it's almost worst. I use moist towelettes a lot. or I get a rag damp and use that, like a mini sponge bath. Hopefully in the next few years they will keep shipping water from earth and as we recycle it there will be more and more to use. Also, they are going to be exploring those ice caps. Sorry we might have to wait another five years for a bath, but I will also be in that line! 

-Has anyone found a good solution to the sunburns we get? Even through the UV glass of the domes some of us are getting painful sunburns. I started making a sombrero the other day, maybe I could wear it when I have to go through the non-underground tunnels. I'm afraid to even let the baby out in it at all.

    A sombrero sounds wonderful. I would keep the baby out of it as long as possible. There are lots of underground paths to take in the meanwhile. Earth has told us they have developed a new glass and are sending it our way along with plans on how to make it. Fingers crossed it's better than what we have.  

-My baby does not like any of the earth packets and is only eating the veggies grown here. Anyone else have this problem? I suppose it isn't a problem for us because we don't like these veggies. More earth packets for us! 

    This does not sound like a problem at all! start growing your own veggies in your dwelling. I've got some micro greens going right now and I can't wait to start feeding Arthur new foods. 

-I brought a baby bouncer from Earth and now I'm afraid to use it. With the low gravity I think the baby might bounce right out. Any suggestions? 

    That seems dangerous. Like a baby catapult. But it also might be fun and not dangerous at all. I'd probably just monitor the baby trebuchet really closely and keep hard and sharp objects away from it. 

-I already have two younger children and with the baby coming and this giant change from Earth I'm afraid they won't have friends or find anyone to bond with... We should set up playtime for our younger ones who need it. 

    A playtime web form would be amazing. I will set one up ASAP and we can establish some new friendships! #drlarahelix/mars will be the web form. 

-My husband works in the mines, and he's been helping dig tunnels. No matter what we do I cannot get the red stains off his fingers. I have so many concerns about this, is it dangerous? Is there any soaps that work on it? Is it permanent? Is this going to become a social class thing where people can tell everyone's occupations by red stains or smells? I've heard the term "red fingered rock digger" and I don't like it. 

    Your concern is valid. Sadly, humans are prone to this kind of class distinction. Hopefully we can all learn and model ourselves not to use these terms or create new ones. As we evolve in this new world, so will our language. Like most things in nature, it won't always be positive. I'm not sure if we are to the point in our young society if we can start censoring speech we don't like. We have a lot of other things to do in our infrastructure, and I think many of us understand that jobs, such as your husband's, are the most important part of our society. If he is not helping build, we would still be living in spaceships on the surface. 

If you have solutions or ideas to share please reach out via my email or web form and we can have more interactive conversations. I think if we all work together, we can tackle some of the issues faster. 

May the flame we light continue to burn! 

Mars day 300

The council has approached me about how we can begin our schools for the youngest of our society. Some of us came here with young families and it would be unfair to deprive these children of learning. We are going to set up small classrooms in dome 2. This will be for the children of primary school. Our civilization here on Mars is new so growth journals will be important for us to learn what is happening in the minds and bodies of our youngest citizens. As they learn we will also all be learning about the planet, human physiology, and psychology. Many of us have been dealing with depression and feeling isolated here. This will help with it because having a structure for the children is also going to give the adults a structure. We need it, we have to find ways to get together. 

We've had a surprisingly small number of deaths and 0% infant mortality. A few pregnancies have been lost, but every child brought into this new world has lived thus far. It's really extraordinary and was not expected. This is the reason it will be important to have schools set up. Mars will be a flourishing place in 40 years; more so than any of us have planned. We will have to make some adjustments, and our government will need some work. 

The council also loves the idea of having everyone participate, so we have established another web form for questions, comments, concerns, and ideas for our school and government. 

Currently we have everyone registered for voting and a survey has been sent to you. It is mandatory. We have not figured out many laws yet, but this will be one, mandatory input and attendance at townhall meetings. 

We all came here for a new way of life and slowly we are finding it. We are not without problems, Afterall, we are humans. 

Mars Day 350 Sol 

It is a sad day for me and everyone here to share we have had a betrayal in our midst. One of our colonists took the life of another colonist the other day. Hopefully this madness will not spread. We came here hoping to rid ourselves of the trouble of Earth, but it seems to have found its way here. 

This individual is not particularly famous or popular. They are just a person living in the underground. They traveled here with us. The accused has slaughtered his wife and unborn child in a jealous rage. It is unthinkable. He has admitted to the crime and is being held in the city hall. Up to this point we have had very little crime other than petty thefts or small aggressions toward others. None of this will be tolerated. 

He is sentenced to death. It is the worst imaginable death. He will be put outside. On the surface. It will take 90 seconds for him to die. He will lose consciousness after 30- this may actually feel too kind, but his body will always be there. like a warning to others. 

We are developing laws and punishments to match them still, even though we've been here for a year now. Some of them seem to fit the crimes well, like the ones having to go out and clean off solar panels for littering. There is very little littering going on since that rule was established. 

May the flame we light burn forever!