Thursday, February 18, 2021

As Perseverance Lands on Mars

Good Friday Poets,

Outside my house is a slick, solid sheet of ice on top of the snow we got earlier. Thankfully, we have power and snow shovels. 

Today, I watched the Mars Rover Perseverance landing. It was more exciting than I expected and I was filled with joy watching the team in the control room monitor the landing and communicate with reporters what was going on. The joy in the celebration of science and scientists with the landing was just the best. 


Go, SCIENCE!

I found myself scribbling words as I watched, wondering if there was a poem to share about Mars today. I found Here's Mars by William Dickey. It's delightful...and, it shows me poetically how far we've come today.


Here's Mars
By William Dickey


Over the office building
rising across the street
from my parents' house
in the warm August night
Mars comes as close
as I shall see it.

Not knowing much
     --read the rest here--


I responded with a poem of my own to mark the occasion. It's pretty drafty as my friend, Molly would say. But, it was important to me to capture this win for science, this win for the team.



Landing on the Red Planet 
2/18/21 

Today’s poem is a Mars Rover 
half an Earth-year 
from home 
sending readings 
to a control room 
of nerdy kids 
who once dreamed 
of space frontiers. 

Heartbeat tones pulse 
nominal 
nominal 
everything’s nominal 
until maximum deceleration
parachute deployed. 

Jet Propulsion Lab controllers 
feel every G 
of Perseverance's descent. 

When she confirms touchdown 
Martian regolith at Jezero Crater 
appears on screen. 

Our Poets of astrophysics,
rocketry, astrobiology,
geology, astrology, 
bump fists and cheer 
Encore! 
Encore! 
as Ingenuity comes to life. 

More will be written 
in Mars time 
after the rover
has had a rest. 
Today’s poem
is Perseverance --
she made it.

(c) Linda Mitchell -- draft

Please join our friend Ruth for our round-up of poetry for this week at There's No Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town. She has a not-to-miss review of Braiding Sweetgrass.

Ox Poem Padlet: 


18 comments:

  1. Our Poets of astrophysics,
    rocketry, astrobiology,
    geology, astrology,
    bump fists and cheer


    Yes they do! I love this so much!

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  2. Love this, Linda--esp from "as Ingenuity comes to life" to the ending. Also, have you read Little Bear's Treasures, by Stella Dreis? It made me think of you and your joy in finding and creating.

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  3. "Today's poem is Perseverance" could be the bumper sticker for the past year. :)There are quite a few picture books about Curiosity, so I wonder if Perseverance will star in a few as well?? Thank you, Linda! xo

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  4. Linda, I saw that spot you shared in the photo. It was such a joyous celebration of what man is capable of doing, such an amazing exploration by scientific poets who "bump fists and cheer".

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  5. This is such a joyous celebration of science! Hooray for our poets of
    astrophysics,
    rocketry, astrobiology,
    geology, astrology,

    Here'a a fist bump to you for sharing the joy of exploration and learning!

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  6. Love your poem!! And what an exciting day it was yesterday. I'm so in awe of the entire thing and loved seeing all the control room people stand up and cheer.

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  7. What a great last line -- "Today's poem is perserverance." I bet the online journal "New Verse News" would like this poem too, Linda.

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  8. It was so exciting, Linda & wonderful for you & all of us that you captured that moment. How nice to read the Dickey poem of "before", celebrating his own moment. Thanks & hoping you have some melting happening very soon.

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  9. This is wonderful, Linda! I really love that first stanza and how your own excitement shone through your post and poem. Love that!

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  10. So glad you celebrated this with so much detail as to what the day was like. Hurray for all those scientists and young people who might be inspired to be scientists.

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  11. Love this! SO much has changed since 1972 - when Dickey thought that was as close as Mars would be seen - I like to think of his voice being one of the 'nerdy kids
    who once dreamed
    of space frontiers"
    Thank you for sharing.

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  12. Linda, thank you for a wonderful tribute to this accomplishment. I love the first stanza's "nerdy kids" and the power of dreams. Again--thanks!

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  13. My students were over-the-top excited about this. In parent conferences that night, the head Perseverance Cheerleader proclaimed that she used to like math the best, but now she loves science more. I remarked on all the women scientists in that room at NASA, and her mother noted that the woman in charge of narrating the landing is Indian (like them). How cool was THAT for my young scientist to be able to see herself in such a room full of joy someday!

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  14. Encore for both of these poems, Linda, and for Perseverance. Science is celebrated again. :)

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  15. You packed so much emotion into your poem, Linda! Delightful!

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  16. It was interesting to compare perspectives of the poems. Knowledge broadens the horizon and increases the breadth of the poet's palette. Perseverance indeed. A most worthy occasion to highlight Linda. Your poem gives due acknowledgment to science and the perseverance required to achieve your goals.

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  17. How wow and you have converted me. I was feeling very salty about the money spent on Mars exploration.
    Heartbeat tones pulse
    nominal
    nominal
    everything’s nominal
    until maximum deceleration
    parachute deployed.

    Still, it's true that public schools need a parachute deployed too!

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  18. Thank you for this joyful celebration, Linda! William Dickey's poem was lovely, a smooth lead-in. "Jet Propulsion Lab controllers/feel every G/
    of Perseverance's descent." -- I love when we are so invested in something that we experience every moment, no matter the distance.

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Friendly, positive comments and feedback are always welcome here. Please let me know I'm not just whistling in the dark!