Holidays and Space Exploration by Diane Burton

Several years ago, I wrote a short story titled "Christmas in Space" for a holiday anthology on The Roses of Prose blog. I did a lot of research for this short story just to be sure I had facts straight. I even forced myself to rewatch movies like Avatar, Oblivion, Interstellar, and Passengers to learn about the effects of cryosleep. If you've read any of my blog posts, you know what a hardship that was. 😊

After the holidays, I couldn't let that story go. I was fascinated by teams from Earth who were willing to leave everything behind. So, I expanded the short story into a novella, MISSION TO NEW EARTH. What reasons would be so compelling to find a new home for humans? I came up with global warming, depletion of natural resources, earthquakes and resulting tidal waves, even the possibility of a supervolcano in Yellowstone. 

With info from the Mars One Mission, I discovered the requirements and training for my characters who would take a one-way trip to a "Goldilocks" planet--one that is just right for humans. In my story, our moon and Mars had already been colonized, but it wasn't possible to evacuate all Earth's inhabitants there. They needed a place where humans could live as we do here.

United Earth Space Agency was sending three teams that represented the United Americas, Euro-Africa, and Asia to find three Goldilocks planets. The final training for the teams took place on Titan (Saturn's moon).

Even with expanding the story, I kept one detail the same. One team reached a planet beyond our solar system on Christmas Day. I gave that a lot of thought. Not all the inhabitants of Earth are Christian, not even the majority. Since the three teams preparing to locate Goldilocks' planets represented all of Earth, I thought it was important to include mention of other religions.

It was our last Christmas in civilization. That evening, we celebrated with the other teams. A party that combined Earth’s December celebrations—Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Mawlid an-Nabī, Dhanu Sankranti, Bodhi Day, even Omisoka because none of us would be here for New Year’s Eve. Secular symbols made sure those who didn’t follow a religion weren’t left out.

World-building for this story took as much time and energy as a full-length novel. I don't regret the effort. The book may be small (in length), but the "message" is important.

One of the characters summed it up at the end of the story.

“As you already know, I’ve never been a religious man.” Tom had made that clear on many occasions. “This voyage has changed me. Since we came out of cryo, I keep thanking God for letting us survive. Now I thank Him . . . or Her—” He glanced at Gloria who had strong beliefs about gender neutrality with regard to the Supreme Being. “—for providing humankind with a new beginning. May we not screw it up the way we did Earth.”

No matter how you celebrate at this time of year, I wish you much happiness.

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind?

In 2172, Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four.

Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

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Mission to New Earth

Three years ago, I wrote a short story for The Roses of Prose, another blog on which I’m a contributor. I liked the story so much I decided to expand it into a novella. Easier said than done. As most writers will tell you, it’s harder to rewrite than to start fresh. Still, I persevered.

Why? Because I’m fascinated by the idea of finding a New Earth. The story is set in the not-too-distant future, 2170. As predicted by scientists even now, Earth is using up its resources. Along with overpopulation stretching the limits of what’s left, we’ll need to find a new home. The United Earth Space Agency—a common cause finally united us—is sending astronauts to explore three Goldilocks planets. One, if not all three, has to be our new home.

So, how would astronauts prepare for a one-way trip to a new planet? The Mars One project provides a lot of information. In my story, we’ve already begun populating Mars and established an outpost on Titan, Saturn’s moon, from which the astronauts will leave on a five-year voyage. To save resources, they will become popsicles (aka, put into cryo-sleep).

What would motivate these men and women to leave everything they’ve ever known? Their families, their friends, their way of life? There’s no returning to Earth. Fame and glory seem too transient. A sense of adventure might motivate some, but would it sustain them through vigorous training? Selflessness? Doing something for the good of others? Possibly. Each person would have her/his reason. I concerned myself with the narrator, the team commander.

While delving into her life, her motivation, I thought about the early pioneers of the “new world.” Those who landed on Plymouth Rock, those who ventured farther inland and crossed the Appalachian Mountains, those who heeded the message “Go west, young man.” I’m sure each person had his/her own reason for leaving all behind.

Then I asked myself if I would go. Could I leave my husband, children, grandchildren? As much as I love adventure, my answer is no. A resounding NO. That’s the great thing about being a writer. In my imagination, I can do anything. In real life, not so much. But I can put myself in my character’s place. I can give her the fears, doubts, excitement I would feel if I could go.

What about you? Would you be a pioneer? Under what conditions?

Diane Burton writes science fiction romance, romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. She blogs here on the 13^th of the month, on The Roses of Prose on the 30^th, and on her own blog on Mondays where she “muses” about topics as varied as baseball, vacations, and bucket lists.

New Story - New World by Diane Burton

A couple of weeks ago, I talked to a group of readers at the Saranac (MI) library. One fan asked if I would set any books in a different world from those in my Switched and Outer Rim series. I’d already written a short story for The Roses of Prose blog set in a different world. Afterward, I thought why not expand the short story into a novella.

Since I had the main characters—not fleshed out—and a basic plot, I could think more about the world. I’m a pantser, and that means I build my world as I write. Again, the basics were already in place. In the future, Earth needed to do something about the effects of population overload. NASA’s successor had already transformed Mars with domed habitats, but it was time to expand beyond our solar system to find that Goldilocks planet where humans could live free of artificial atmosphere. A planet that is not too hot, not too cold. A planet that is just right for humans.

The story begins on Titan, Saturn’s moon, the jumping off place for the Goldilocks Mission. There, three teams train, preparing for the trip to their designated planet. What did I know about Titan? Not much. So research became really important. Even though my characters couldn’t go out in the methane atmosphere I still had to write what the outside world was like—preferably accurate, because sharp readers will let you know mistakes, often in reviews.

I needed to know what would the habitats be like. Again, imagination along with what I could find out from the Mars One project filled in the details.

When I was in high school (college, even), I hated doing research. Dry texts, boring subjects. That’s what happens when you don’t get to choose your own topics. Or get to decide what about the topic you need to know. That’s how I research. I get to a spot in the story that needs more detail than I know. I can’t move on until I find out. Some writers advise inserting "[add more detail]" then keep going. Something in my makeup won’t let me.

If I plotted first, I would do all my research up front. I might even draw diagrams of the habitats. Alas, if I did, there might still be little details I hadn’t thought of. Or, I would have too much info and be tempted to include it in massive info dumps, as my critique partner often says.

I think my way is more practical. I look up what I need for that part of the story. But you know what happens when you research on the internet? You read the article, get what you need then—oh my goodness, links. Ooh, that one sounds interesting. Click. And that interesting article has more links. Click, click. Oops, I forget to check the other links attached to the original article. Click, click, click. So easy to get sidetracked.

Besides the internet searches, I found (to my dismay) another terrific source. The Great Courses. Their catalogs include videos and books on every possible subject. I need to warn you, though, don’t click on that link.  If you do, you’ll learn why I’m dismayed. Because after you buy one item (not that I’ve only bought one), their catalogs keep coming. Some days that’s my only mail. Still, they offer great discounts and the topics are so interesting . . . Maybe I need to check  out . . .

What’s wrong with doing all that research? I’m not writing the story. While it’s great to learn so much, especially about our solar system and the search for Goldilocks planets, I still need to finish the novella.

Here’s a little excerpt from Christmas on Serenity. The science fiction romance novella will be released before Christmas. I hope.

As I make my way down the corridor to our quarters, I stop at the narrow walkway between the Admin section and Crew Quarters to look out the viewport. Through the lighter-than-normal smog, I think I can see the hills of Xanadu near Titan’s equator. The techs say we’re too far away. Even so, I always search for landmarks when the smog lightens. This land is as foreign as that around Ares Station. From the pictures sent back by the probe of the Earth-like planet my team named Serenity, our new home will look as natural as Earth itself. I want so badly to believe the reports that the surface will have breathable air, that we’ll be able to walk outside without our enviro suits, that we can live there as we live on Earth.

Do you like to read a lot of info in a sci-fi romance story?

Diane Burton writes romantic suspense, mysteries, and (her favorite) science fiction romance. She blogs here on the 13^th of the month, on The Roses of Prose on the 30^th, and on her own blog every Monday, where she talks about any topic from baseball to mothers to Disney cruises.