n Earth, the great frontiers are shrinking. The landscapes that molded fantastic new visions of humankind's future and purpose are increasingly encircled by interstates, clear cutting and crowds. So, is the answer, "Go Mars, young man"? More than a few savvy futurists think so, and their synergistic vision roosts at Mars West.
The site is essentially a slideshow tour of what might, will, or should be humanity's destiny with the red planet. Mars West is not a site of grand scale, but its mission is -- to turn hearts, imaginations and resources to the colonization of Earth's near neighbor. Despite the complex and sophisticated core concept, the site's design is simple and uncluttered. It is part gallery and part resource center, so visitors should be aware that the site is image-rich (although care has been taken to reduce file sizes).
There is hard science here, but the site doesn't showcase it -- science is Mars West's bedrock, not its pinnacle. Instead, the site reaches for the poetry and promise of things to be, anchored by realistic and ethereal artwork, and supplemented by text that ranges from actual verse to commentary to imaginative captions. The art is the lodestone, though, and while most of it is in familiar JPEG or GIF format, there is one QuickTime VR view that gives a 360 degree look at the Martian landscape.
Mars wants you!
Mars West manages to capture the emotional scale of ambition and the physical scale of the planet itself. It is a small site, and would be improved by some background data for the Mars-impaired, but it does what it does very well, and the resource links are solid. One in particular is especially innovative and amusing -- although the satellite won't be relaying data until the spring of 1998, keep an eye out here for the Daily Martian Weather Report.
As for the art, a sliver of it is the heavily-saturated, pulsing nebula kind that could be illustrating anything remotely space-related, but most is firmly focused on Mars itself. Some of the artwork even has an emotional nubbiness to it, as if the images are the actual snapshots of the beginnings of a new culture. Considering that the site is quite definitely one of love's labors with contributions from many hands, the artwork deserves special praise for its cohesion.
While love and spare time might bear fruit, they are no guarantee of a quality yield -- the presence of many well-meaning hands may muddy the whole endeavor. Mars West pulls off a nice trick in being able to present a worthy site that deals in high-tech concepts but mostly low-tech execution. The simplicity of the engineering is not an apology for lack of resources, but an argument that speeds the message. Simply, sincerely accomplished, Mars West both recruits volunteers and seeds imagination.
