# Stand by for Mars! — Character guide

> Key figures in Stand by for Mars! by Carey Rockwell.

- [Tom Corbett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/tom_corbett.md): Tom is the steady center of the newly formed Polaris unit, the one Captain Strong calls a natural command pilot. His hunger to wear the blues of a Space Cadet is genuine, but so is his fear that Roger's arrogance and Ast
- [Roger Manning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/roger_manning.md): Roger can quote Builker and outthink half the classroom, and he knows it — he tells Tom the rules say 'no cabbageheads' with a grin. His refusal to pass the ball, his transfer request, and his sneer at the Academy hymn a
- [Astro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/astro.md): Astro is the muscle and the warmth of the Polaris unit, quick to hug Tom in triumph and quicker to threaten Roger with a head used as a ball. He argues that it's two against one, and he isn't wrong — but he also can't hi
- [Steve Strong](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/steve_strong.md): Strong is the Academy's conscience in uniform, the man who tells the Polaris unit they are 'real spacemen' and then quietly notices Roger's face darken. He fences with Manning over the meaning of a spaceman's life, and h
- [Warrant Officer McKenny](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/mckenny.md): McKenny is the practical, unsentimental hand of Space Academy training — the one who blows the whistle when Tom and Roger are snarling at each other on the mercury field, and the one Captain Strong sends the boys to see 
- [Dr. Joan Dale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/dr_joan_dale.md): Dr. Dale runs the testing room with a voice that cuts off Manning's needling and a calm that makes the green, blue, and purple slips feel like verdicts. She is also the colleague Captain Strong confides in when the psych
- [Tony Richards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/tony_richards.md): A cadet and friend of the main trio.
- [Commander Walters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/commander_walters.md): A high-ranking officer in the Solar Guard.
- [Al James](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/al_james.md): A cadet or crew member, appears in supporting roles.
- [Lady Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/lady_venus.md): A Venusian dignitary or figure encountered by the cadets.
- [Al Dixon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/al_dixon.md): A cadet or crew member with limited appearances.
- [Philip Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters/philip_morgan.md): A candidate at the academy, sometimes a rival.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stand_by_for_mars_se/characters