The Martian

I got bounced around a lot, but I’m a well-honed machine in times of crisis. As soon as the rover toppled, I curled in to a ball and cowered. That’s the kind of action hero I am.

It worked, too. Cause I’m not hurt.

The pressure vessel is intact, so that’s a plus. The valves that lead to the trailer hoses are shut. Probably means the hoses disconnected. And that means the trailer junction snapped. Wonderful.

Looking around the interior here, I don’t think anything is broken. The water tanks stayed sealed. There aren’t any visible leaks in the air tanks. The bedroom came unfolded and it’s all over the place, but it’s just canvas so it can’t have gotten too hurt.

The driving controls are ok, and the Nav Computer is telling me the rover is at an "unacceptably dangerous tilt." Thanks, Nav!

So I rolled. That’s not the end of the world. I’m alive and the rover’s fine. I’m more worried about the solar cells I probably rolled over. Also, since the trailer detached there’s a good chance it’s fucked up, too. The balloon roof it has isn’t exactly durable. If it popped, the shit inside will have flung out in all directions and I’ll have to go find it. That’s my critical life support.

Speaking of life support, the rover switched over to the local tanks when the valves shut. Good boy, Rover! Here’s a Scooby-Snack.

I’ve got 20L of oxygen (enough to keep me breathing for 40 days) but without the Regulator (which is in the trailer) I’m back to chemical CO2 absorption. I have 312 hours of filters left. Plus I have another 171 hours of EVA suit CO2 filters as well. All told, they’ll last 483 hours, which is close to 20 sols. So I have time to get things working again.

I’m really damn close to the MAV now. About 220km. I’m not going to let something like this stop me from getting there. And I don’t need everything to work at top form anymore. I just need the rover to work for 220 more kilometers and the life support to work for 51 more sols. That’s it.

Time to suit up and look for the trailer.

LOG ENTRY: SOL 498 (2)

I had an EVA and things aren’t too bad. Mind you, they’re not good.

I trashed 3 solar cells. They’re under the rover and cracked all to hell. They might still be able to piss out out a few watts, but I’m not holding out much hope. I did come in to this with one extra solar cell. I needed 28 for my daily operations and I brought 29 (14 on the rover’s roof, 7on the trailer’s roof, and 8 on the makeshift shelves I installed on the sides of both vehicles.)

I tried pushing the rover over, but I wasn’t strong enough. I’ll need to rig something to get a leverage advantage. Other than being on its side, I don’t see any real problems.

Well, that’s not true. The tow hook is fucked beyond repair. Half of it ripped clean off. Fortunately, the trailer also has a tow hook, so I have a spare.

The trailer’s in a precarious situation. It’s upside-down and sitting on the inflated roof. I’m not sure which god smiled down on me and kept that balloon from popping, but I’m grateful. My first priority will be righting it. The longer it puts weight on that balloon, the  larger the chances it’ll pop.

While I was out, I collected the 26 solar cells that aren’t under the rover and set them up to recharge my batteries. May as well, right?

So right now, I have a few problems to tackle: First, I need to right the trailer. Or at least get the weight off the balloon. Next, I need to right the rover. Finally, I need to replace the rover’s tow hook with the one on the trailer.

Also, I should spell out a message for NASA. They’re probably worried.

Mindy read the Morse code aloud. “Rolled. Fixing now.”

“What? That’s it?” Venkat said over the phone.

“That’s all he said,” she reported, cradling the phone as she typed out an email to the list of interested parties.

“Just three words? Nothing about his physical health? His equipment? His supplies?”

“You got me,” she said. “He left a detailed status report. I just decided to lie for no reason.”

“Funny,” Venkat said. “Be a smart-ass to a guy seven levels above you at your company. See how that works out.”

“Oh no,” Mindy said. “I might lose my job as an interplanetary voyeur? I guess I’d have to use my Master’s degree for something else.”

“I remember when you were shy.”

“I’m space paparazzi now. The attitude comes with the job.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Venkat said. “Just send the email.”

“Already sent.”

LOG ENTRY: SOL 499

I had a busy day today and I got a lot done.

I started out pretty sore. I had to sleep on the wall of the rover. The bedroom won’t work when the airlock is facing up. I did get to use the bedroom, somewhat. I folded it up and used it as a bed.

Anyway, suffice to say the wall of the rover wasn’t made for sleeping on. But after a morning potato and Vicodin, I was feeling much better.

At first I figured my top priority was the trailer. Then I changed my mind. After taking a good look at it, I decided I’d never be able to right it by myself. I’d need the rover.

So today was focused on getting the rover righted.