First Woman on Mars - John Minichillo

At a major press conference, dressed in black and pacing in front of a forty-foot screen, Findability founder and CEO Maxim Brez announces to the world that he’s built a rocket to Mars, and he follows up with a second bombshell, that he's initiating a contest to take a member of the Findability family with him.

Suddenly the programmers and engineers are spending time at the gym, vying for the open seat and the chance to make history. Enter Peg Myers, meme specialist and lone female at the mostly male tech company. She’s making new friends but never really considers herself in the running until it becomes increasingly evident that, for the sake of P.R, Findability is about to land the first woman on Mars.

Now, Peg is training at Area 51, on a Mars set that looks too real, helmed by a famous sci-fi director who 'just wants to see how it looks,” casting uncertainty on the mission's authenticity.  Meanwhile, the would-be astronauts have also been told to expect alien contact...