Q&A with John E. Moores, Jesse Rogerson, and Michelle D. Parsons

 

John E. Moores

 

 

John E. Moores and Jesse Rogerson are the authors of the new book Daydreaming in the Solar System: Surfing Saturn's Rings, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration. Michelle D. Parsons illustrated the book. Moores is the York Research Chair in Space Exploration at York University in Toronto. Rogerson is Assistant Professor at York University. Parsons worked as an engineer and project manager before turning to full-time science art.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Daydreaming in the Solar System, and how was the book’s title chosen?

 

A: We both sought to create something we had difficulty finding out in the world: a book that talked about the environments of other planets not only with the precision and accuracy of what we know about them from robotic exploration, but also with the engagement and awe of science fiction.

 

The title is a suggestion of Jesse’s – we had originally titled the book Flights of Fancy but when that suggestion fell flat, the two of us brainstormed other ideas and this one was truly inspired.

Jesse Rogerson

 

Q: How did you collaborate on the book? What was your writing process like?

 

A: At the start it was just Jesse and John. We settled on a rough idea in 2019 but didn’t start writing until the fall of 2020, during the pandemic. Typically, we were meeting once a week for a couple of hours after which we would go back to our own bubbles to write on our own.

 

For each chapter there were two sections: the story and the science and we identified one of us as the lead on each one. John wrote most of the stories and Jesse wrote most of the science sections. This allowed the two halves of each chapter to be in dialogue with one another since we were coming into the project with different knowledge bases.

 

Once we completed drafts, these would go to the other to read over and comment.

Early on, we realized that we were still missing an element: that of visualization. We decided to bring Michelle onboard to provide science illustrations, diagrams, and watercolour visions of the environments we were describing.

 

Q: What do you think Michelle’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: These were key to producing the book that we all wanted. Firstly, for the diagrams, there are ideas in science that are so much easier to express using a picture than in words – and Michelle was the one who allowed the three of us to have this deeper conversation with the reader.

 

Secondly, the visualizations set the tone for the book which is softer than many science fiction pieces. We foreground the experience of the protagonist, alone in the vastness of each environment, and not the technology that allows that experience to be realized.

 

Michelle got that approach, and her watercolor plates communicate that to the reader right from the start with her amazing cover.

 

Lastly, we hope that these visualizations will help to jump start the reader in their own visualizations of these places. I know that they helped Jesse and John immensely.

 

While there were times when the science inspired the story and the story inspired the specific science we wanted to present, there were also times when one of Michelle’s watercolors helped us to crystalize exactly what we were going for with a chapter.

 

Q: Author and scholar Sara Seager said of the book, “Our solar system through a space tourist's eyes--a unique, captivating view.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: We absolutely love it; we’re so happy that Sara had a chance to engage with our writing and we think her comment is particularly insightful! Her wording captures something very key about our book that distinguishes it from many other science fiction short stories.

 

The stories of these other authors are often about initial exploration and discovery – the experience of being the first person to go to a particular place or to experience a particular environment. These stories then, by necessity, forefront the technology on whose bleeding edge the exploration is enabled and the resulting risk.

 

But in our book, the emphasis is on personal exploration and discovery, more akin to visiting a national park.

 

Some reviewers have felt that without the risk, our book lacks excitement, but is your first trip to a sublime natural place – say Yosemite Park in California, for example – any less impactful because others have been there before you?

 

If anything, we feel that you might be even more conscious of place when your primary concern isn’t just survival.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: John is working on a solo book about methane, a gas whose distinct signature in the atmospheres of other planets might tell us if life exists elsewhere in the cosmos. That is, if this gas doesn’t poison our own atmosphere first!

Jesse just welcomed his second child into the world, Riley!

Michelle was inspired by our project to pursue science illustration full time. She had a solo exhibition earlier this year in Toronto for her nature journaling pieces and wildlife watercolours. She is currently planning on attending graduate school for science illustration to deepen her expertise.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The book is written in the second person, like the “choose your own adventure” series of novels. We did this for two reasons.

 

First, we wanted the reader to really see themselves at the center of the stories rather than experiencing them at a remove. Secondly, this stylistic choice allowed us to try and reach a broader group of readers.

 

When I mention the word “astronaut” to you, chances are that you think of a relatively small range of people in your head. While this has been improving lately, we wanted everyone – regardless of their background or ability – to be able to imagine themselves as explorers. The second person allows us to do this and to emphasize that we are all explorers of one kind or another.

 

We also grappled with the question of how to share and care for other planets. Are these places that have meaning only if they are developed to human use? Or should they be forever preserved in a pristine state?

 

We argue for a compromise: that it is worth visiting these places to experience and to understand them. Without these visits, they cannot live within human culture. But at the same time, we argue for travelling lightly upon the land.

 

We therefore made the choice not to foreground technology except for what was necessary for the protagonist to survive. We hope that this inspires our readers to explore and cherish the wild places that exist here on the Earth.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb