‘Ghosts of Mars’ at 25: Are we any closer to living

Tech news matters when it actually changes what people can do, not just what companies announce.

Reporting

Space.com reports that 'Ghosts of Mars' at 25: Are we any closer to living on the Red Planet? We asked the experts. In August 2001, filmmaker John Carpenter said "Boo!" and unleashed " Ghosts of Mars " on the world. While not one of Carpenter's most revered works, it's still a neat sci-fi horror movie in which Mars has been terraformed – 84% terraformed to be exact – and inhabited by humans. Plus, it has Jason Statham and Ice Cube in it, so it's automatically 99% better… The key issue is what the mission or observation makes possible next: better data, stronger hardware, new experiments, or clearer science.

The Details

• Space.com: 'Ghosts of Mars' at 25: Are we any closer to living on the Red Planet? We asked the experts
• In August 2001, filmmaker John Carpenter said "Boo!" and unleashed " Ghosts of Mars " on the world. While not one of Carpenter's most revered works, it's still a neat sci-fi horror movie

A few details give the story its shape: 84% and 99%. Those are the pieces that keep this from feeling like a vague headline and make it easier to see where the real impact may land.

The Context

Space updates can look routine from the outside: a launch, a docking, an instrument check, another mission note. Look closer, though, and they are usually about data, endurance, materials, communications, robotics, or the next piece of exploration infrastructure.

Next Developments

• scientific results from the mission
• follow-up research publications
• practical applications on Earth