The Third and Fourth Tries

 

Dr. Allan Fernwood is best known around Gordo Station as a racquetball champion.

However, most people off Mars know him as the director of the Jezero 20 Telescope, a monster telescope with a 20 meter wide mirror. It is responsible for finding the first exoplanet with the best biosignatures so far.

A biosignature is something like a chemical compound that suggests that a planet has life. It is not proof of life, but it is an indicator that life might be present.

If you were an alien looking at Earth from trillions of kilometers away, you might see color changes that indicate water, land, and clouds. You might be able to analyze the light shining through the atmosphere to find gasses created by life. But, you probably couldn't know that Earth has dogs and spiders and racquetball players.

Dr. Fernwood's mirror was built from glass made right on Mars. 

Launching a mirror the size of a tennis court from Earth was not gonna happen - way too costly. So Dr. Fernwood worked with engineers to find the best local sand to make the best glass.

They had lots of setbacks (like the time a Marsquake disrupted the mirror grinding machines, and they had to start over). But they worked together and kept trying. It took a while, but Dr. Fernwood and his team didn't quit.

Dr. Fernwood has a sign over the telescope airlock entrance with a quote from James A. Michener: "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries."