LOG ENTRY: SOL 207 (Jun. 5, 2036) I spent the last week recovering from back problems. The pain wasn’t bad, but there aren’t any chiropractors on Mars, so I wasn’t taking chances. I took hot baths twice a day, laid in my bunk a lot, and watched shitty ’70’s TV. I’ve already seen Lewis’s entire collection, but I didn’t have much else to do. I was reduced to watching reruns. I got a lot of thinking done. I can make…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 201 (May 30, 2036) Yeah, I definitely pulled something in my back. I woke up in agony. So I took a break from rover planning. Instead, I spent the day taking drugs and playing with radiation. First, I loaded up on Vicodin for my back. Hooray for Beck’s medical supplies! Then I drove out to the RTG. It was right where I left it, in a hole 4km away. Only an idiot would keep that thing near…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 200 (May 29, 2036) I hauled rocks today. I needed to know what kind of power efficiency the rover/trailer will get. On the way to Pathfinder, I got 80km from 18kwh. This time, the load will be a lot heavier. I’ll be towing the trailer and all the other shit. I backed the rover up to the trailer and attached the tow clamps. Easy enough. The trailer has been depressurized for some time now (there’s a couple…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 199 (May 28, 2036) I’ve got it. I know how to power the Oxygenator and Atmospheric Regulator. The problem with small pressure vessels is CO2 toxicity. You can have all the oxygen in the world, but once the CO2 gets above 1% you’ll start to get drowsy. At 2% it’s like being drunk. At 5%, it’s hard to stay conscious. 8% will eventually kill you. Keeping alive isn’t about oxygen, it’s about getting rid of CO2. I…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 198 (May 27, 2036) I’ve had a breakthrough with the Oxygenator! I spent most of the day looking at the specs. It heats CO2 to 900C, then passes it over a zirconia electrolysis cell to yank the carbon atoms off. Heating the gas is what takes most of the energy. Why is that important? Because I’m just one guy and the Oxygenator was made for six. 1/6th the quantity of CO2 means 1/6th the energy to heat…

Chapter 18 LOG ENTRY: SOL 197 (May 26, 2036) Sigh… Just once I’d like something to go to plan, ya know? Mars keeps trying to kill me. Well… Mars didn’t electrocute Pathfinder. So I’ll amend that: Mars and my stupidity keep trying to kill me. Ok, enough self-pity. I’m not doomed. Things will be just be harder than planned. I have all I need to survive. And Hermes is still on the way. I spelled out a Morse Code message…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 196 (May 25, 2036) I fucked up. I fucked up big time. I made a mistake that might kill me. I started my EVA around 08:45, same as always. I got my hammer and screwdriver and started chipping the trailer’s hull. It’s a pain in the ass to make a chip before each drilling, so I make all the day’s chips in a single go. After chipping out 150 divots (hey, I’m an optimist), I got to…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 195 (May 24, 2036) Another day, another bunch of holes. 145 this time (I’m getting better.) I’m half-way done. This is getting really old. But at least I have encouraging messages from Venkat to cheer me on! [17:12] Watney: 145 holes today. 357 total. [17:31] JPL: We thought you’d have more done by now. Dick. Anyway, I’m still bored at night. I guess that’s a good thing. Nothing’s wrong with the Hab, there’s a plan to save…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 194 (May 23, 2036) I average a hole every 3.5 minutes. That includes the occasional breather to let the drill cool off. I learned this by spending all damn day drilling. After 8 hours of dull, physically intense work, I had 137 holes to show for it. It turned out to be easy to deal with places I couldn’t reach. I didn’t need to modify a landing strut after all. I just had to get something to…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 193 (May 22, 2036) I managed to not kill myself today, even though I was working with high voltage. Well, it’s not as exciting as all that. I disconnected the line before I fucked with it. As instructed, I turned a rover charging cable into a drill power source. Getting the voltage was a simple matter of adding resistors, which my electronics kit has in abundance. I had to make my own 9 Amp breaker. I strung…