"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern" - William Blake

As far as we know, for all the planets in our galaxy and the galaxies beyond, our earth is the only planet which exhibits signs of life. The next closest planet in our galaxy that has even a remote possibility of exhibiting signs of life is Mars. Over the past decades, we have slowly but steadily marched forward in our search for life on Mars. In 'The Sirens of Mars', Sarah Stewart Johnson shares about these efforts thus far, weaving her own experiences into this grand and noble endeavour.

As the author reflects on those who have come before her and those who shall come after, I can't help but think about how insignificant our lives are in the grand scheme of things. Yet I know that this is not a reason to despair. We are all part of a plan that transcends beyond ourselves, and perhaps our little contributions to this world will be enough.

After reading this book, I decided to watch 'Hidden Figures' for the first time and 'The Martian' once again. Isn't it amazing, how much space has captivated our imagination? In a way it's also rather amusing, how for all the problems we have here on earth, it takes a common goal like the search for life on other planets to remind us that we are ultimately one and the same. And that when we see ourselves as a collective, we can achieve great things. It's similar to war I suppose - how it brings out the fervent desire for progress once the enemy has been identified.

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