Mars colony illustrations by Luis Peres

Nice illustrations of a human colony on Mars by Portuguese fantasy artist Luis Peres for "Generation Mars: Book One - Scratching the Surface" by Douglas Meredith. The goal of this book (published on August 2019) and its upcoming series is to provide younger readers with more serious and realistic science fiction that still tackles the main “what if” quality of the genre. It gives a glimpse into what life on Mars might be like for kids just like them.

The main character, Cas, is the first human child ever born on Mars. Martian kids are living what is, to them, ordinary lives in their underground colony, but for the first time they will be allowed to see and explore the surface of their homeworld. The details of the habitat, its life-support systems, and surface suits are rooted in realistic science and technology, with further details explained in a postscript to the book. Future books of the series will address fundamental issues of survival on Mars: air, shelter, water, food, etc.

Cover of the book: