256. When Have Newer Christian Authors Explored Mars?

At least one Christian astronaut, Butch Wilmore, recently splashed down in the Dragon capsule of Crew 9 (thereby resolving our spaceships versus dragons debate!). How many Christians, however, have created newer stories above the circle of Earth on the planet Mars? We’ll journey back to recap a few Christian-made Martian stories you may have missed over the last years.

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1. The Mars Diaries series led to Robot Wars

• Stephen remembers this original 10-book series by Sigmund Brouwer
• Tyce Sanders, first boy born on Mars, learns the reason for his disability
• He’s able to “possess” a special robot to go outside and do great things
• Later the series takes off from Mars toward Earth, with more space travel
• Also, there’s a girrrl, and a lot of alien-less mysteries and morals to find
• Later the series was repackaged as five books in the Robot Wars series
• Maybe young lads didn’t like the “diaries” name? I thought these terrific.

2. Oxygen flew a breathless mission in space

• A year later, John B. Olson and Randall Ingermanson launched Oxygen
• Now the novel counts as a retro-history of a 2012 manned Mars mission
• We spoke with coauthor Randall Ingermanson way back for episode 15
• Plot: Valkerie Jansen is recruited late to NASA’s Ares program for Mars
• It’s a fun mix of softened hard sci-fi, mystery, and relationship drama
• Plus side debates about whether life on Mars would ruin Christianity
• Stephen read it and its sequel after he began the story that became ACE!

3. Newer novels dig for classic sci-fi mystery

• A few Christian-made novels use Mars as a prop, yet don’t stay overlong
• Dream Thief (1983) deals with space travel, yet not Mars specifically
• Gilbert Morris’s middle-grade Daystar Voyages series stopped