ANALYZING… FILE TYPE: School-age Curriculum PERIOD: Colony Era TOPIC: Launch of the UESC Marathon SUMMARY: Lesson from an edutainment series, specifically for the young colonists of New Cascadia. Notably omits Martian academic and political dissent concerning Deimos as part of the UESC Marathon's structure. =================================================================== LESSON 7.15: MISSION TO THE STARS [illustration: in-progress hull of the UESC Marathon] In 2408, UESC and Traxus engineers laid the first hull segments of the UESC Marathon. Humanity's most important mission had begun: a mission to a new home among the stars. The Marathon's construction was a human effort across two planets. Traxus Offworld Industries provided many of the raw materials, work force, and engineering skills to build the Marathon itself. NuCaloric delivered the survival basics that the Marathon and its colonists would need for success. UESC scientists, engineers, and politicians led the overall effort and kept the project on target. Building the Marathon took decades: 64 years, in fact. Experts advising the project all agreed that using Deimos—Mars's younger moon—was crucial to the Marathon's success. The carbon and mineral deposits in Deimos would provide the ship's mining drones with raw materials during its long journey. No one in human history had tried to build a multi-kilometer starship inside a moon. The Mars colony made tremendous sacrifices to support the Marathon project. Deimos is just the most visible sacrifice, and we owe them a special debt of gratitude. In 2472, the Marathon launched with 30,000 of Earth's best scientists and bravest settlers. For over three centuries, the Marathon forged through the darkness of space until it reached its destination. Tau Ceti IV. Your home. Study activities: With an adult to help you, carefully study and disassemble a model of the UESC Marathon. What features do you notice? What was your family's history aboard the Marathon? What key roles did your family play? Write a thank-you message to the heroes of Mars. Your teachers will collect them and find a way to send them back to Sol. =================================================================== TYPE: TEXT [X]; AUDIO [ ]