meet the weirdest crew on mars

Marsus is the weirdest kid on Zyphora (that’s Mars to humans). His inventions explode, his teachers sigh, and his dad… well, let’s just say “proud” isn’t on the list. When a human spaceship crash-lands in his backyard, Marsus teams up with two Earth kids, a color-changing puffball, and a snarky old rover. Their mission?

Oh, nothing major. Just… terraforming Mars.

But with secrets buried beneath the red dust and danger around every crater, Marsus has to choose: stay the outcast everyone thinks he is, or embrace his weirdness to save a dying world.

Rise of the Explorers is a funny, heartfelt, STEM-fueled adventure that proves being weird might just be the most powerful superpower of all.

the Crew

  • Animated green alien boy with purple hair and spots, in orange space suit, standing in a red planetary landscape with a spaceship in the background.

    Marsus

    Outcast. Engineer-in-the-making. Awkward.

    His brain runs faster than his body can keep up, face-planting has basically become his career path, and his heart? Easily the biggest in the galaxy.

  • Animated robot with a boxy body and large wheels, set in a high-tech laboratory with glowing machinery.

    Oppy (aka Opportunity)

    Snarky. Smart. Slightly Stressed.

    An ex-NASA rover with a superiority complex and sarcasm levels permanently stuck at 1000%. He’s Marsus’s robot bestie and unofficial science teacher — though he panics every time Marsus touches the control panel.

  • A cute, fluffy, round creature with large blue eyes and a small smile, standing in a futuristic control room with glowing blue and purple panels and high-tech equipment.

    Blorp

    Fluffy. Bouncy. Snack-obsessed.


    A chaotic puffball whose fur changes color with his emotions. Equal parts adorable and unpredictable. May (or may not) be the emotional core of the team — depending on snack availability.

  • Animated female astronaut running on alien landscape with spaceships and a nebula in the background

    Lily Carson

    Smart. Kind. Fearlessly Organized.


    The brainpower of the crew and the unofficial captain when things get chaotic (which is always). She’s analytical, confident, and secretly doubts herself sometimes—but you’d never know it. Can fix absolutely anything… except Jake’s impulse control.

  • Animated boy in a space suit running on desert landscape with small flying saucers and rocks in the sky.

    Jake Carson

    Adventurous. Impulsive. Big-hearted.


    Explorer first, thinker second. Always ready for the next challenge and determined to be first at everything. He might not always have a plan, but he’s the heart that keeps the team going.

Book cover titled "Rise of the Explorers: A Weirdo’s Guide to Terraforming Mars" featuring animated characters on a red volcanic landscape with a colorful explosion, mountains, and cosmic background.
Book cover titled 'Rise of the Explorers: A Weirdo’s Guide to Terraforming Mars' with the Amazon logo at the top, and the text 'Available Now' above it.
Buy the book

Join the crew! 🚀

When you join the crew, you’ll get a free chapter of Rise of the Explorers beamed straight from Mars—plus STEM facts from Oppy (our resident know-it-all rover), mood updates from Blorp (his fur changes color when he’s excited), and top-secret sneak peeks before anyone back on Earth even knows they exist.