An opera for the space-ages opens this weekend at the Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath. “One Way Trip to Mars,” written by husband and wife duo Peter Alexander and Johannah Harkness of Phippsburg, combines the story of one man’s epic journey to Mars, and his wife’s desperate attempt to chase after him.

“One Way Trip to Mars” follows the hero, Paolo, as he wins a worldwide competition to become the first human to travel to Mars. The mission is a one-way trip, so Paolo must relinquish everything he’s ever known — including his wife, Cassandra — for the glory of being the first man to reach the red planet. But on his way to Mars, nuclear war on earth knocks out communications to Paolo’s spaceship. In a last ditch effort to save humanity, the space agency sends Cassandra barreling toward Mars in her own spaceship, in hopes that the two will continue the human race on the red planet.

Alexander became inspired to write a rock opera a few years ago when he learned about the Mars One mission, which proposes to send everyday people from around the globe on a one-way trip to Mars. He’s also been intrigued by Space-X’s Elon Musk, and the billionaire’s plan to start a permanent colony on the red planet in the next few decades.

“It’s very timely,” said Alexander. “Tens of thousands of people have signed up to potentially go on this (Mars One) mission, knowing its a one-way trip and quite possibly a suicide mission. My wife and I were intrigued by this prospect. We were also intrigued about the (loved ones) left behind.”

Harkness felt the same way.

“I started thinking about what I’d heard in the news with Mars One,” Harkness said. “It’s so interesting and ironic, it’s Mars, it’s space travel, but how can people feel so excited when people are signing up for this thing to leave the planet forever, leaving everyone behind? You have some really extreme psychological experiences here.”

“It’s really a story of love and consciousness,” said Alexander, adding that he wants to provide the entire framework of the plot up front because the opera transpires through song. “When we first sat down and conceived the story, we thought of doing something with time travel. But we narrowed it down to realistic themes instead.”

“There’s an irony to space travel,” Harkness added. “It’s such an exciting thing but we have so much right here at home. We have this need for love, and if you’re out there in the universe you don’t have that.”

And at the end of the day, he said, love is the most universal of themes.

“One Way Trip to Mars” is told with an onstage chorus accompanied by a live band. Much of the story-telling is done visually with the projection of images, and there are only two actors, none other than Alexander and Harkness themselves. The duo came up with original songs as they were working out the opera’s plot, gearing each piece toward a specific plot point.

“This is our first time doing anything of this magnitude,” said Alexander. “We have produced an album together, but this is our first opera. Just like everything else, if we’d known how much difficulty there would be we probably wouldn’t have started. It was really hard for awhile … but everything is coming together now.”

Alexander said he has extreme confidence in his entire crew.

“There are way more pieces than we realized,” Alexander said. There is an eclectic combination of musicians who contribute to the opera, including Bath-based Hollowbody Electric Band, Raging Brass Horns, Vox Chamber Choir, a reggae band, classical cellists, a flamingo dancer and even rappers.

“We are really looking forward to presenting this to the public,” said Alexander.

Jennifer DeChant of Chocolate Church Arts Center said that “One Way Trip to Mars” is coming to the theater at the perfect time.

“We’re really interested in continuing to foster local endeavors like this,” Dechant said. “(The opera) is perfectly in line with our mission.”

Folks can catch “One Way Trip to Mars” on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance and $22 at the door. For more information visit chocolatechurcharts.org.

bgoodridge@timesrecord.com