Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Flying Over Mars

Starting point is 00:00:00 Before tonight's episode, I want to let you know about our supporters' feed Get Sleepy Premium, the best way to experience the show and get a good night's sleep. With Get Sleepy Premium, everything is ad-free. You'll receive a bonus episode every week, and have full access to our entire back catalogue. Your support really helps, and means so much to us. Simply tap the link in the show notes to learn more. Now, a quick word from our sponsors who make it possible for us to bring you two three episodes each week. Have you ever wished that we'd include soothing nature sounds as a background

Starting point is 00:00:41 throughout a get sleepy episode? sounds as a background throughout a get sleepy episode. For example, maybe you would like to pair tonight's story with the sound of gentle rainfall. Well, now you can. We have partnered with the Deep Sleep Sounds app to help you create soothing soundscapes that will play in the background while you're listening to get sleepy. Here's what you need to do. Simply download the Deep Sleep Sounds app, choose your preferred sound and add it to the mix by tapping in the circle next to it. Make sure you go to the controls tab within the deep sleep sounds app and

Starting point is 00:01:27 toggle the button to allow background audio. This will mean you can listen to get sleepy and the app sounds at the same time and you can control the volume of the specific sounds in the mix tab. It's the ultimate sleep experience. Through our partnership with Deep Sleep Sounds, you can get a 30 day free trial by going to deepsleepsounds.com slash getsleepy. That's deepsleepsounds.com slash Get Sleepy or just follow the link in the show notes for a 30 day free trial of the Deep Sleep Sounds app. Welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast when we listen, we relax and we get sleepy.

Starting point is 00:02:26 As always, my name's Tom and I'm your host. Thanks so much for joining me here. Tonight we'll take an imaginary adventure into the future and gaze at our neighbouring planet Mars as it's being terraformed many years from now. So just get nicely settled into the coziness of your bed. Your head and neck gently supported by your pillow and your body laying in whatever position feels best right now. Our otherworldly adventure tonight is full of imagination and futuristic possibilities. Some of my favourite conversations to have and to listen to are those that try to comprehend our frankly incomprehendable universe and

Starting point is 00:03:36 what it all means for us as people. Of course, we don't know for sure just how rare or how common advanced civilizations like ours might be, but there's a pretty good chance we are one of very, very few. Perhaps even the only one in our entire Milky Way galaxy. That might be a bit of a scary thought for some, or perhaps for others it could make life on Earth feel rather insignificant. But perhaps more than that, it gives reason to truly appreciate the fact that what we have here is incredibly precious. If we really are as rare as we think we might be, then I believe we should recognize the importance of protecting and sustaining our world and all the life on it.

Starting point is 00:04:46 Because we might well be the very thing that brings meaning to an infinite universe. And that includes you listening to my voice right now. We all tend to wonder what is our purpose, our meaning in this life. Well, perhaps you and yourself are the meaning. The fact that you can comprehend such a thought is profoundly precious and rare in itself. So take a deep breath in, appreciating the life that the oxygen provides. Oxygen provides, and as you release it back out, relax further into bed, and know just how meaningful you are. It's time to begin our adventure into the vast expanse of space. So settle down deep into rest and comfort. Our starship, the Orion, is about to take off.

Starting point is 00:06:21 And this is where our story begins. We are currently awaiting departure from Phobus Orbital Station, circling the Martian Moon. I am Acer, your autonomous suborbital assistant. On behalf of the Olympus Project, let me be the first to welcome you to Mars. You are among the first generation of terraforming technicians, scientists and explorers to arrive. Your hard work, bravery and curiosity will inspire those who live and work on Mars for generations to come. I'm so happy to show you your new home. Before we arrive at the Mount Alizium Colony, I've been tasked with giving you an overview

Starting point is 00:07:55 of the project to date. A monumental effort, unlike anything in human history. The Olympus project has spent centuries laying the groundwork for making Mars habitable. Magnetosphere engineering, orbital mirrors, and planet-wide biological seeding have built an atmosphere. It will be a while before the project is ready to house how Martian Pioneers. But you'll be pleased to hear that simulations put the project ahead of schedule. Now, please make sure you're comfortable and settled in for the flight. All systems are green. We are now departing Phobus Orbital Station.

Starting point is 00:09:00 Smaller transport ships, like the one you're in now, allow safe and efficient suborbital travel around the planet. As we enter the Martian atmosphere, you may feel a gentle rocking. If you need to readjust your position at any time, That's perfectly fine. This flight should be comfortable and pleasant for you. We have now entered the Martian atmosphere. From this altitude, you'll notice that Mars is still very much a red planet, though the Olympus project has introduced more colors to the planet. From here, you can see that the Martian terrain is unique. The northern hemisphere in places is several kilometers lower in elevation than the southern hemisphere. Much of the northern hemisphere, about a third of the entire planet, is like a large basin, relatively flat and featureous.

Starting point is 00:10:23 relatively flat and featureless. The southern hemisphere is rocky, with significant mountain ranges and land masses. We call this hemispharic dichotomy. We're now hovering over the western coast of Elysium, which will eventually be the biggest island continent. You may notice that the water along the current shore is misting and ribboning. That's because the surface gravity of Mars is a fraction of Earth's, around 38%. While the Olympus project works to fine tune the atmospheric conditions, water will jump

Starting point is 00:11:16 around a little strangely. As the terraforming process continues, we are closely monitoring sea level and precipitation. But already we have a growing blue-green ocean that covers most of the northern hemisphere. Let's fly over the area that was once Elysium Planisha or the Elysium Plains. We now call this region the Elysium Channel. The green color you saw from orbit is actually in the water, not on land. While we've seen a great deal of success with growing lichens, it's the algae that's contributes in most to the surface, hoping to get some of the sunlight that reaches Mars. From this distance, the sun isn't nearly as bright as it would be if seen from Earth.

Starting point is 00:12:46 Now that we've gained some altitude, look to the north toward the island continent of Elysium. Mount Elysium is an active volcanic region about one and a half times the height of Mount Everest back on Earth. From here, you can see it has a distinctly mound-like shape, much wider than it is tall. At the top is the Caldera, a ring about 14 km in diameter, almost 9 miles, with two small of volcanoes to the north and south. Further to the south is the channel, and to the north you'll find the sea of Utopia. The Olympus Project honors the legacy of early space exploration.

Starting point is 00:13:57 So this name is borrowed from Utopia Planesia, the Utopia Plains. At this distance, with blue-green water lapping at the rocky, ruby-red shore, we can imagine the way all of these changes will continue to affect Mars. This is a planet with highly variable temperatures and dusty winds. Things will change a great deal as we establish a habitable atmosphere and see more diverse weather systems. Take Mount Alizium for instance. Right now it's a rocky, dry volcanic mound. But once rainy winds start showering the mountain side, we'll see an increase in erosion, the likes of which hasn't been seen on Mars in about 3 billion years. The last time we believe water flowed freely. Ice and snow will form, and new seasonal

Starting point is 00:15:12 variations will herald even more changes, naturally sculpting the red planet. Even a small increase in atmospheric pressure will radically change what the planet looks like as it evolves alongside its new inhabitants. The north of Mars may be an adventure for our oceanologists, but the South is a geologist's dream, especially if you study impact craters. far as the eye can see. This is a twin archipelago continent with hasperia to the east and meridian to the west. Somewhere along the coast here will be the site of our first colony outside of Elysium. This will allow our scientists easy access to the thousands of impact craters that dot the mainland.

Starting point is 00:16:40 Let's touch down here on the rim of this crater so you can have a better view. This is the border between Hasperia and Meridian, the Eno-Tria canyons. Simulations project that this area of Lulans will experience large elevation changes. Escarpments will be carved into thousands of kilometers of smaller channels, which will be eroded away and smoothed by the sea over time. To the north about 700 kilometers is Isadis Bay where the waters of the northern oceans lap away at the Enoetria Lola's canyons and craters. To the south is the Helless Sea, an inland body of water that's filled one of Mars's largest impact sites. Its diameter is about half the width of North America, back on Earth. Water has already begun to wash away the north and south ends of the canyons.

Starting point is 00:18:12 Depending on the geological activity from erosion, we expect this area to become fertile marshlands in the future. Allow me to show you on our view screen. Accessing predictive imaging for the EnoTria marshlands. Projected onto your view screen now is an image of what the marshlands could look like in the years to come. Here, you see a new generation of humans on Mars, making their homes on the dark, ruddy, high ground.

Starting point is 00:18:57 What began as standard issue prefabricated shelters have been built up and expanded over time. These are people's homes where they were born and where their children will be born. While humans will continue to arrive from earth on new missions. These inhabitants will be the first planet-born Martian children. Hardy wetland grasses flutter in the Martian wind, and shrubs and trees have made the banks of this section of the channel much more resistant to erosion and flooding. Every morning, the people here climb down the stairs carved into the beautiful Martian

Starting point is 00:19:58 Rock to work the rice fields engineered across this span of shallow waters. The rice grown here will go on to feed settlements across the world. A number of fish have been introduced as the water has become healthy and potable, and boats ply the deeper waters. This is a scene of humans and nature forming a symbiotic relationship. Humans carefully cultivate and care for these new Martian plants and animals which feed and even protect them in return. Over hundreds of generations thanks to the difference in light, gravity and environment, these Martians, the plants and animals will evolve into something different, something distinctly

Starting point is 00:21:10 of this planet. Now let us continue our flight. Prepare for take-off. take off. We are now soaring over Meridian, the mountainous twin of Hesperia marked by many small craters. Here, some years from now, large lakes will take the names of the craters in which they are formed. You may be asking yourself the reason for such a distinct difference between the northern and southern hemispheres. Geologists are excited to get their boots on the ground to truly study the hemispharic dichotomy. But there are already several theories. The prevailing theory is that most of these impacts happened during the primordial early

Starting point is 00:22:20 bombardment phase, the formation of the solar system as we know it, about 4.5 billion years ago. At one point in Mars' history, the planet would have been much warmer and tectonically active. tactically active. Lava flows could have smoothed down much of the northern hemisphere, leaving the other two thirds of the planet much as it had been. The continent of Meridian ends here. We call this the Christy Inlet located about half way around the world from Elysium. There are several features that could make this one of the more interesting sections of Mars for settlement. Let me show you why. Let me show you why. This is the Mariner's Valley, one of the most striking natural features of Mars, formed long before humans even walked the earth.

Starting point is 00:23:40 The valley stretches from the edge of Meridian in the east, all the way to the extraordinary plateaus and gargantuan mountains of the Tharcis continent to the west. The valley is 4000 km long and 7 km deep. That's as long as North America and more than half as deep as the deepest part of Mariana Trench back on Earth. We believe it was formed by a tectonic cracks when Mars was still a bit more of an active planet, geologically speaking. From the sky, Mariners Valley looks like a giant scar on the surface of Mars. Closer up, the valley is an amazingly long system of canyons and caverns. long system of canyons and caverns. Water is already pouring in from the oceans in the northern hemisphere through the inlet. As sea levels rise, much if not all of Mariners Valley will be filled with water.

Starting point is 00:25:07 This could be an incredible region, not only for habitation, but for exploration. Island chains will form out of the Highlands and create a fertile river delta as water flows down from tharsis through the canyons. As erosion and geological shifts from the terraforming process slow down, the canyons and cave systems will provide centuries of exploration for the cartology teams. There is even speculation that a dam could be constructed at the mouth of Mariner's Valley. At nearly 90 km long, a dam of this size would be a massive undertaking. But then again, people once thought Mars could never support human colonies, and here you are today. A mega structure of that size could power the entire planet, which would make this region

Starting point is 00:26:29 one of the more enticing to the developing Martian energy sector. That sector currently consists of a team of twelve, so it may take a while for the solar system's largest human-made dam to be built. At the western end of the valley is one of the more interesting areas on Mars. It will be a fantastic introduction to the mysterious continent of Tharsis. We are currently hovering over what is called the Noctis Labyrinthus, or Labyrinth of the Night. Calling it a Labyrinth is apt. The cracked ground here is covered by jagged maize-like canyons for miles, curving through the high plateau at the end of the southwest

Starting point is 00:27:34 portion of the valley. Even as the terraforming project continues, this area will likely remain important as a means of naturally delivering fresh water through Mariners Valley. At this elevation, water will gather and freeze with the lower portions of snow-capped mountains and perhaps even small glaciers melting during the warmer seasons, sending their runoff down through the valley. The Tharsis Plateau has some of the highest elevations on the planet, exceeded only by the volcanoes. The plateau is roughly 5 to 7 kilometers higher than what we consider sea level here. The rest of Tharsis is equally inhospitable. This is a continent of gargantuan mountains and ancient volcanoes that stretch to the skies.

Starting point is 00:28:54 We're currently flying past the Tharcis mountains, a set of three volcanoes that borders the plateau. canos that borders the plateau. And now we're approaching a dramatic site. Mount Olympus is not only the largest but the highest mountain in the whole solar system. Olympus is 2 and a half times higher than Mount Everest above sea level. It's almost impossible to imagine the scale, even when you're looking at it. Like Mount Alizium, Olympus is wider than it is tall, sitting on its own plateau higher than any other section of Tharsis, dwarfing the other mountains. The shadow cast by Mount Olympus' plateau alone could cover entire cities on Earth. Given the size and scope, the project has placed a moratorium on the ground exploration of

Starting point is 00:30:17 Mount Olympus for a staggering 500 years. The Olympus project will be busy enough establishing the base colony and initial scientific settlements. However, this area will be closely monitored as the last thing anyone wants is a snow slide the size of many earth mountains. However, this area will also change dramatically in the decades to come. You may turn your attention once more to the view screen. Accessing predictive imaging for mountal impus. Given the height of mountal impus, it is an obvious sight for a space elevator, or planet to space transportation without the use of rockets.

Starting point is 00:31:22 The elevator will consist of a cable counterweighted by a platform above the Martian atmosphere that will follow the planet's orbit. This will allow safe and easy travel into orbit and back again to the surface. Because of the relative difference in gravity, a space elevator is more feasible on Mars than on Earth, and would offer incredible opportunities for development. Once space travel technology advances enough, it may be possible to commute to work via the space elevator. You can imagine it now. You sip a coffee on the back porch of your home, overlooking the Hesperia coast. the Hesperia coast. You hop on a transport ship that has you at the space elevator base in a matter of minutes. It then takes you into orbit where you

Starting point is 00:32:35 board an overnight ship to Earth. The next morning, you're enjoying a cup of coffee, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The Olympus project is here because of people like you. People who look up at the stars in the sky and wonder what if. The first years on Mars will not be easy, but as we settle into our new home and learn more about it, our understanding of this world will pave the way for future generations to live in comfort. That understanding has brought us this far and will take us further than we could have ever imagined possible. Perhaps someday future generations will look up at the stars in the Martian sky and wonder what if. I hope you found this to be an informative flight over Mars. We're only a couple thousand kilometers from the Olympus Projects colony at the base

Starting point is 00:34:13 of Mount Alizium. As we follow the coast, where water is flowing for the first time in billions of years. I would once again like to welcome you to Mars, your new home. suborbital assistant signing off. I'm going to do a little bit of the work. I'm going to do a little bit of the work. I'm going to do a little bit of the work. I'm going to do a little bit of the work. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Flying Over Mars

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