I REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE I WAS WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT MARS TV, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. Like how old people remember where they were during Nine-Eleven. Afterward, the world was different. They remember because things were never the same. Mars TV isn’t a tragedy (not even close), but in terms of changing the world? It’s left a mark. Nothing is the same. Maybe they don’t understand why yet, but I’m telling you, people remember.
It’s also not easy to forget how many people have only talked about going to Mars. That’s dragged on for decades, right?
Make it stop!
Too many to count. Mars TV stands out because they made it happen. Scrappy little Mars TV. Who knew?
From the moment I heard, oh… I was all in.
That day I found out? I was at my parents’ house in Sainty. I can picture it like it was last week. The sky was so dark it was almost black; monster thunderstorms were blowing through. I was inside because it wasn’t nice out, baking my favorite: chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting (a little cayenne pepper to give them some kick?)
#OliviaWillMiss
The small, white, flat screen was on, even though I wasn’t really watching. It was more so I wouldn’t feel so alone in that very empty house, considering both my parents were several years passed by then. The local news was like “blah, blah, blah” in the background… Until the story caught my ear.
The giddy reporter gushed that a new reality TV show would send the first people to Mars.
What?
A reality TV show sending a mission to Mars. Real talk. Not NASA or the European Space Agency or SpaceX, but a California start-up called Mars TV.
I’m not gonna lie, it caught my attention instantly. When she went on to say the show’s viewers would pick the crew, I was blown away. I stood there in my apron, eyes narrowed, frosting-covered hands held up like a surgeon ready to cut.
You have to be kidding me, right?
Of course, the story seemed like a goof. Yet so crazy, I couldn’t look away. Four lucky winners would get one million dollars, thirty days before leaving for Mars.
Goosebumps.
It started to sink in. This was real. Then it just clicked.
Holy shit, I am SO getting on that crew.
The new show was Mars TV Live!
That’s how I found out. That’s the day, the moment I will never forget, the one that changed my world forever.