#interplanetary relations

On October 20th 2012 a twinning ceremony took place in Glenelg, complete with a live link to NASA, to celebrate the twinning of the village with Glenelg on Mars!

At the time Nasa’s roving robotic laboratory, Curiosity, was headed for a geological feature on the Red Planet that has been called Glenelg.

Guests included former Nasa astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, who flew on five space shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s on Challenger and Columbia.

Ms Dunbar’s paternal grandparents came from Scotland. Her grandfather Charles Dunbar was born in Dundee and her grandmother Mary was born close to Gardenstown, near Banff.

Nasa’s Mars mission team has been using names taken from Canada’s Northwest Territories to label the places the rover is visiting.

The Canadian north-west has some ancient rock formations thought to be of a similar age to those found in Gale Crater, Curiosity’s landing site.

The naming system is an attempt to make it easier for scientists and the public to understand what is being discussed when a particular location comes up in conversation.

Glenelg on Mars takes its name from a particular rock found in the Northwest Territories but of course the place name has its roots in the Scottish Highlands. The placename is also found in other parts of the world.

There is a beach resort in Adelaide, Australia, named Glenelg. It was established in 1836 and named after Lord Glenelg, a secretary of state for the then colonies and an MP for Inverness and Fortrose. There is also  a small community in the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia.

~ Created by Lord Cardinal Lambda

It looks like a quiet day on the anniversary front but I did manage to “unearth” this little nugget.

On October 20th 2012 a twinning ceremony took place in Glenelg, complete with a live link to NASA, to celebrate the twinning of the village with Glenelg on Mars!

Residents of Glenelg in Inverness-shire found fame with the landing of the robotic device, Curiosity, to search for life on the Red Planet, the vehicle made tracks to another Glenelg, within the planet's huge crater.

Pictures of the Mars mission were beamed around the world after they were transmitted to Nasa headquarters in the US, while the 350-strong Highland community, which has a pub, a community centre, shop and school celebrated the twinning with a ceremony that saw the village welcome visitors from around the globe, it is not thought any Martians made the event, but Nasa played a blinder by sending along an astronaut called  Bonnie Dunbar to the party! 

Oor Glenelg even boasts its own rover – the last working turntable ferry in the world which crosses over the sea to Skye.

At the time Christopher Main, director of the community interest company that runs the 43-year-old ferry commented; 

"The search for life on Mars has put our Glenelg on the map – at least on this planet, there is plenty of life in Glenelg – they may not find it on Mars but they would here. Glenelg had a population of around 4000 before the Clearances. The Vikings were here for 500 years. Life has been found here for centuries."

Mr Main added: "The population has fallen now to about 350 – but it is a very lively community. And we have our own rover – the ferry that roves across the narrows. She's doing well – and if the Mars robot lasts as long, they will be delighted. But our Glenelg could not be more different to the one on Mars. We have a very wooded, lush and pretty area. We wouldn't swap it for the world – or another world come to that!"

The Mars robot, which launched from Cape Canaveral in November 2011 landed on Mars  on 6th August 2012, it’s two year mission goals included an investigation of the Martian climate and geology, the mission was extended indefinitely and as of yesterday (October 19th 2021) Curiosity has been active on Mars for 3272 sols (3361 total days; 9 years, 74 days) since its landing. 

Curiosity is a sophisticated mobile science laboratory. It has been built to drive at least 20km across the Martian landscape to investigate if the planet ever had conditions necessary for life.

Dear Diary,

Today, Ceres was demoted by Earth to a mere asteroid. He tried to hide his feelings about it, but I could tell that he was pretty shaken up about it. I used to think Earth was pretty nice and I can’t believe that I used to have a crush on her! I was completely blind to how cruel of a person she is. Ceres is so kind to everyone and is an absolute sweetheart and I’m just so angry that she would do that to him. He told me that it’s no big deal and he doesn’t really mind, but it’s a big deal to me. Ceres is my best friend and it’s really hurting him. I want to be there for him. I know he’s hurting on the inside even if he tries to keep everything bottled up. I’m going to be the best fucking friend in the entire universe. Earth better watch the fuck out if she tries to hurt either of us again.

Dear Diary,

Earth is such a bitch, seriously. Why does she always have to put everyone else down for not having life? I mean we might not have life, but we all have our good points. I’m the brightest object in her night sky and all she can say is “Haha you should get a life. Oh wait you have none.” I know she’s trying to be playful and I insult her right back, responding with “At least I don’t have life that’s killing me slowly,” but the stuff she says is so annoying. And yet… I can’t help but love the way her oceans compliment her landmasses. The way her seas crash against the shores. How she glows with artificial light on whichever side isn’t facing the sun. And I complain about her and her insults, but she’s so independent and tough and I can’t help but love it. I’m so confused. What do I actually feel?