Vladimir Snurenco at The New Atlantis:
SpaceX’s initial public offering of $1.8 trillion in June was the largest ever in history. Yet Mars, Elon Musk’s ambitious destination, is an airless desert whose median temperature of negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit makes it neither particularly warm nor inviting. Mars, Pennsylvania, however, is both — but nobody is bidding trillions to get there. Instead, people seem to want to leave.
Going to Mars for a yoga class, or craft beer, or a tomato festival? All are available 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, where Mars has turned its planetary name into neighborly hospitality, local pride, and a joke everyone is invited to share in.
Claire Valentine, a young woman who grew up in Mars, describes it as “a small, safe, family-oriented town” with a “close-knit community full of family-run businesses and local things to do.” One of those things is to visit a 3,000-pound flying saucer created by local businessmen Shorty Davis and Bill Swaney. The spaceship inspired a local tradition: the Mars New Year Festival. The tradition began in 2015 after Mayor Gregg Hartung cold-called NASA to ask when New Year’s Day fell on Mars. The next festival, if not quite the next Martian New Year’s — is scheduled for June 6 and 7, 2027, when locals will fill the streets with rockets, costumes, music, and science exhibits. If you want to attend, you had better save the date. It could be the last time Mars celebrates with much civic pride.
More here.
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