Analysis of Projections of Space Exploration
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
All my grandchildren.
And all their children’s children.
Will, by reading this.
Receive important glimpses.
Of what our world was once like.
At early stages.
Of scientific wonder.
When Man was earthbound.
And dreamt of explorations.
Travels to distant planets.
Having gone to moon.
Mankind became excited.
And wanted much more.
To go to outer planets.
Of the celestial realms.
At time of writing.
It is Twenty Twenty Two.
And scientists speak.
About the very prospect.
To get to Mars in six weeks.
Science caption reads:
“Mars in just forty five days!”
A prediction made:
With laser-guided systems.
To reach Mars, the Red Planet.
NASA is cautious.
“More likely five hundred days.
To reach Red Planet.
Our state of technology.
Needs to be much more advanced.”
But engineers dream.
“A laser-based construction.
Could cut the Journey.
Into just forty five days.
That is our expectation.”
Nations are planning.
With U.S. space agency.
China — and elsewhere.
To visit the Red Planet.
A decade from this present.
The plan has started.
Canadian engineers.
Have begun working.
To heat hydrogen fuel.
As laser-thermal boosters.
Fired from the Earth.
Photovoltaic arrays.
Giving enough thrust.
To deliver the spacecraft.
Electrically powered.
Our spacecraft near Earth.
With quick acceleration.
Now races swiftly.
And, over the next four weeks.
The main vehicle lands on Mars.
Voltaic arrays.
Could allow rapid transport.
To distant planets.
Within our solar system.
With directed energy.
Using laser beams.
At relativistic speeds.
To propel spacecrafts.
A fraction the speed of light.
Out into very deep space.
Sending a spacecraft.
A two hundred pound system.
To the Red Planet.
A massive undertaking.
To execute in six weeks.
Awesome the concept.
Gigawatt-powered laser.
That’s arrayed on Earth.
To accelerate spacecrafts.
Rapidly into deep space.
But let’s be grounded.
Ultimate application.
Is some time away.
With hypothetical crews.
On hypothetical ships.
Technology key!
Inflatable reflectors.
To sustain power.
With an array of lasers.
Would reduce time to travel.
And reduce space time.
Astronauts with fast speeds face.
Less radiation.
And faster speeds in deep space.
Would make Mars trips much safer.
All is still challenged.
Technology is still new.
Not “real-world” tested.
Viability questioned.
Earmarked for six-week journey.
A decade away.
Planned for the Twenty Thirties.
It seems feasible.
Experimental testings.
At full scale is the answer.
To make this happen.
The laser technology.
Is a game-changer.
From small steps to giant ones.
Science forges — space-ward bound.
Scheme | AABXX XCDEF XGXFX HIXXJ KLXXM XLMNX XANLA HNXMX GXHOP QLXRX QANJX LXFSN XKBXT RSMHJ XCQBT XAUXX NPCPO XTATC XIGXN UXOBC ANCED |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (23%) |
Metre | 1110 0111010 11101 0101010 11101111 11010 101010 1111 011010 1011010 10111 1101010 01011 1111010 100101 11110 1110101 01001 0101010 1111011 10101 1011011 00101 1101010 1110110 10110 1101101 11110 10110100 1111101 11011 0101010 11010 0111011 1110010 10110 111100 1001 1100110 0011110 01110 0100101 10110 1110010 1101010 10101 01001 10011 101001 0100010 10111 11010 11010 0100111 01100111 101 1011001 11010 01101010 1010100 10101 100101 1011 0100111 1011011 1001 0110110 10110 010100 110011 10010 11010 10111 10101 1000111 11110 100010 11101 101001 101001 01001 0100010 10110 1101110 1011110 00111 101111 1010 0101011 1111110 11110 0100111 11110 0010010 111110 00101 1101010 11100 00101 1111010 11110 0100100 10110 1111101 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 2,627 |
Words | 529 |
Sentences | 105 |
Stanzas | 21 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 105 |
Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
About this poem
The role of literature in the promotion of science and technology has been well documented. Indeed, various fields of literature (drama, essays, fiction, biographies, diaries, memoirs, letters, prose, and poetry) have been employed for centuries as a means of spreading knowledge of developments in scientific explorations. Literature has been described broadly as a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting both knowledge and entertainment. It is hoped that this poem, “Projections of Space Exploration,” will serve the purpose of engaging readers, along with science’s own thrust into the future, to document their personal journeys of exploration and discoveries as they pave their own pathways on Earth, and perhaps leave a trail for others to pursue and continue. more »
Written on February 19, 2022
Submitted by karlcfolkes on February 19, 2022
Modified by karlcfolkes on May 04, 2022
- 2:38 min read
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"Projections of Space Exploration" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/120550/projections-of-space-exploration>.
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