Shift Workers Will Fly to Mars

Chapter 1. Dreams of MarsI am convinced that the first crew selected for a flight to Mars will consist of shift workers from the Russian North.In terms of landscape and temperature, Yamal and Taimyr are already surprisingly close to Martian conditions. Of course, we should also mention Antarctica and the polar explorers who stay on the ice for a full year at a time. Those are special people.They are like shock troops dropped from ordinary life in every city across Russia straight into extreme conditions the moment the helicopter doors open. Not everyone can do the same thing day after day for 30, 45, or even 60 days in spartan conditions. And yet every man has his own function. If I don’t do it, someone else will.I saw my first shift worker — a real “snowman” — back in 1982 at Tyumen airport. He was lying on newspapers spread across the floor, just like all the others of his breed. The …