Posted by tourdemars to Mars Society at October 17, 2002 12:00 PM

There is now at least one good reason for even the most avid space nut NOT to covet the honor of the first footstep on the Red Planet: there's not much original left to say. Over the last ten days 1,547 people around the world (Earth) entered 3,673 possible "First Words" that might be fitting to say upon taking that next small step. The winning entries ranged from enraptured soliloquies to snappy one-liners.