Two Wonderful World events attended on stage, on Mars exploration and personhood

Today I have taken part in two events at the Wonderful World festival which is being held May 28-31st in Stavanger, Norway.

First, I took part in the panel discussion «Kom Mars du skjønne milde», on exploration of and travel to Mars, with Brage W. Johansen and UIS colleague Alex Nielsen. The event was chaired by Johanne Pontoppidan Tuxen, and attended by about 45 people.

Then somewhat later I took part in the event «Er alle egentlig bare én person?» (Are everybody really the same person?), which featured an introduction by Hedda Hassel Mørch, and a discussion between her, me and Terje Sparby. The event was chaired by Jostein Gjertsen, and attended by about 70 people.

Popular science article on life on Mars published in astronomy magazine

My popular science article "Livet på Mars" (Life on Mars) has been published in the magazine Astronomi, which is published by Norsk Astronomisk Selskap (Norwegian Astronomical Society), in no. 2, 2025 (5 pages).

Moreover, our book Mars and the Earthlings: A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement is highlighted in a section with book recommendations.

Update on Wonderful world festival: 4th event scheduled with John Ellis; Mars event update

On Wednesday May 28th I have been scheduled to comment on a lecture by John Ellis on "The theory of everything - the holy grail of physics?" (Teorien om alt fysikkens hellige gral?) at the Wonderful world festival, which is held in Stavannger May 28-31st.

The Mars event on May 30th now has a new poster, featuring a certain Elon Musk.

Mars event renamed and rescheduled (Wonderful world festival)

The Wonderful World festival event on Mars was previously called "Mars og jordboerne" (Mars and the earthlings) and scheduled for Saturday May 31st. It has been renamed "Kom Mars du skjønne milde" (a wordplay on a Norwegian saying about May) and is now scheduled for Friday May 30th. I will take part along with Brage W. Johansen and UIS colleague Alex Nielsen.

#33,5

Today I have had an article writing day, mostly devoted to writing a brief popular science article for the magazine Astronomi published by Norsk Astronomisk Selskap. It came in at around 1.500 words, and I ended up titling it "Livet på Mars" (Life on Mars). The content is loosely based on our recently published book Mars and the Earthlings: A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement. I also looked into a recent Live better manuscript submission (cf. previous post).

So far this Spring I have had 33,5 writing days, including 6,5 article writing days.

To take part in event "Mars and the earthlings" May 31st at Wonderful World festival

The Wonderful World festival has released parts of its programme for this year´s festival, which is to be held May 28-31st in Stavanger, Norway. I am scheduled to take part in the event "Mars og jordboerne" (Mars and the earthlings), with Brage W. Johansen, on Saturday May 31st.

Wonderful Tour: Panelist in "Drømmen om verdensrommet" event March 5th

On Wednesday March 5th at 7-8 p.m. I will take part in the panel "Drømmen om verdensrommet" (The dream about space) at Vitenfabrikken, Sandnes, as part of the Wonderful Tour 2025 which pre-empts the Wonderful World 2025 festival in Stavanger. I will be joined by Brage W. Johansen and Runa Norheim (chair).

More info (in Norwegian): Wonderful Tour: Drømmen om verdensrommet (LinTicket)

"Mars and the Earthlings" book published; co-author of three chapters; references

The book Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement was published earlier this month. I have co-authored three chapters. The official copyright year is 2024. These are my first publications in astrobiology proper.

References:

— Elias Chatzitheodoridis, Philippe Clerc, Akos Kereszturi, Nigel Mason, Erik Persson, Carmen Possnig, Lucie Poulet, Mikko Puumala, Oskari Sivula, John Robert Brucato, Laetitia Cesari, Gisela Detrell, Ondřej Ditrych, Teresa Fornaro, Barbara Gonçalves, Christoph Gross, Maria Hedlund, Mahulena Hofmann, Alexandros Krassakis, Natuschka M. Lee, Kirsi Lehto, Andrea Meneghin, Lena Noack, Patrick Rückert, Nikola Schmidt, Stefan Selke, Mikko Tikkanen, Morten Tønnessen & Kirsten Tracht 2024. Towards Permanent Settlements on Mars (from 1000 to 100,000 People). Pp. 253–339 (chapter 8) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_8  

— Francois Forget, Perrine Barthomeuf, Oskari Sivula, Caroline Freissinet, Natuschka M. Lee, Nicolas Mangold, Erik Persson & Morten Tønnessen 2024. Mars as a Planet B? Pp. 341–366 (chapter 9) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_9  

— Mikko Puumala, Oskari Sivula, Jacques Arnould, Klara-Anna Capova, Ondřej Ditrych, David Dunér, Natuschka M. Lee, Tony Milligan, Erik Persson, Nikola Schmidt & Morten Tønnessen 2024. Mars Historical and Ethical Context: Past, Present, and Imagination. Pp. 85–98 (chapter 4) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_4 

"Mars and the Earthlings" book webpage launched; publication date December 11th

Springer Nature has now launched a website for the forthcoming book Mars and the Earthlings: A Realistic View on Mars Exploration and Settlement, which I am one of ca. 60 authors of. The book will appear in the book series Space and Society. Planned publication date is said to be December 11th. The book will be included in Springer´s e-book package for Physics and astronomy.

Book description:

In an era of public Mars fascination, this book offers an objective presentation of the challenges of crewed Mars missions and discusses scenarios of Mars settlements under scientific, technical, social, economic , ethical and political aspects. With the aim to make the reader comprehend what is plausible and what is at stake, the book tries to clarify misconceptions and half-truths spreading rapidly in the public. The authors argue that approximations and misinformation should be countered for two main reasons. First, to avoid missing out on the benefits that Mars exploration may bring, including major scientific discoveries and an inspiring, federative human endeavor. Second, to remediate dangerous delusions – such as the idea that humanity could be transferred there should the Earth become inhabitable in the near term. In preparation for this book a group of European, world-renowned scientists from fields as diverse as astronomy, planetology, geology, biology, philosophy, or economics, as well as astronauts and science-fiction writers, was gathered to discuss Mars missions ranging from near-term robotic missions, all the way to large-scale settlements and even the feasibility of terraforming. For each, they draw arguments from their domains of expertise to discuss what is feasible and what is desirable. The result provides researchers with an objective review of the field, policy makers with a reference to make informed decisions, and the general public with a tool to form educated opinions.

"Mars and the Earthlings" book near completion; to be submitted to publisher; co-author of three chapters

The manuscript for the book Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement is approaching completion and will be submitted to Springer this week. I will be credited as a co-author of three chapters, cf. below. Altogether 61 experts have co-authored the book.

Updated preliminary reference:

— forthcoming, 2024. Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (eds. C. Verseux, M. Gargaud, K. Lehto & M. Viso). Co-author of chapter 4 (“Mars Historical and ethical context: Past, present and imagination”), chapter 8 (“Toward permanent settlements on Mars (from 1000 to 100 000 people)”), chapter 9 (“Mars as a planet B?”). Springer. Planned publication 2024.

#43

Today I have attended a work meeting and done some work on my contributions to the forthcoming book Mars and the Earthlings, with some 300 words added to the text, mostly on the likely Martian diet and brining along of animals to Mars. So far this Spring I have had 43 writing days, including what ended up as half a writing day today.

Mars and the Earthlings update - my writings in astrobiology

Yesterday was the deadline for submitting revised text to the editors of the book Mars and the Earthlings. I participate in Work group 9, which addresses political, societal and ethical aspects of going to and potentially settling on Mars. Now after recent work and editing, I am credited with having contributed to the following sections made by Workgroup 9, along with other scholars:

"Political motivations and factors for Mars race" 

"Civil liberties vs. security: How much do we have to sacrifice individual freedom to survive on Mars?" 

"Demography"

"Safety and governance" 

"Ethical considerations of non-humans on Mars"

"Novel ecosystems"

To contribute to book "Mars and the Earthlings"

I have agreed to contribute with parts of a co-written chapter for the book Mars and the Earthlings, which is intended for the Springer book series Space and Society. I am tasked with covering experiential and behavioral challenges with settling on Mars.

Interview on colonization of Mars aired again

An interview with Ingvil Hellstrand and myself aired this Spring titled "Muligheten av Mars" (The opportunity of Mars). It was aired again, in a new program setting, yesterday, now titled "Er Mars menneskets siste mulighet?" (Is Mars humanity´s last chance?). Jostein Gjertsen was program host at both occasions. Altogether this is the third time the interview aired, since it was aired a second time in Spring as part of the program´s weekend summary.

See also:

Terraforming Mars? Discussion aired on P2´s Verdibørsen (March 2018)

Terraforming Mars? Discussion aired on P2´s Verdibørsen

On March 22nd NRK P2´s Verdibørsen, with program host Jostein Gjertsen, included a 25 minute feature with me and Ingvil Førland Hellstrand entitled "Muligheten av Mars", on terraforming Mars. Podcast is available here. 

The interview aired again on Sunday March 25th, as the weekly sum-up of Verdibørsen.