In CONCERNING MARS, the protagonist Eleanor is on day 1117 of the program. It is her last day of training and it is also going to be her last day on earth. Years ago, out of thousands of applicants, she had been selected to be part of the first manned, or in her case “woman- ned”, mission to Mars. Its goal was the establishment of a permanent human settlement on Mars. For Eleanor and her colleagues, it is going to be a one-way trip. Amid the chaos, excitement and tension of the final hours, Eleanor meets charismatic Mr. Rigby, a journalist from “Life Magazine”, for an all exclusive pre-launch interview. What starts as a regular Q&A session quickly dissolves into an exploration, not only of the possibilities of outer space, but of the infinite vastness of uncertainty and ignorance that constitutes the human condition. In a whirling dance, they are drawn into the deeper spheres of the human psyche. Again and again orbiting the question of “Why would you want to go to Mars?” and the counter question: “Why would you want to stay on earth?”