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Creation of Plastic: Part 4 The presupply probes for Ares-3 launched on 14 consecutive days during the Hohmann Transfer window. Presupply 309 was launched third. The 251 day trip to Mars was uneventful, needing only two minor course adjustments. After several aerobraking maneuvers to slow down, it made its final descent toward Acidalia Planitia. First, it endured reentry via a heat shield. Later, it released a parachute and detached the now expended shield. Once its onboard radar detected it was…
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Creation of Plastic: Part 3 The employees carefully folded the sheet, and placed it in an argon-filled airtight shipping container. Printing out a sticker, the man with the clipboard placed it on the package. “Project Ares-3; Hab Canvas; Sheet AL102.” The package was placed on a charter plane and flown to Edwards Air Force Base in California. It flew abnormally high, at great cost of fuel, to ensure a smoother flight. Upon arrival, the package was carefully transported by special…
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Creation of Plastic: Part 2 All chemical reactions complete, the sheet was sterilized and moved to a cleanroom. There, a worker cut a strip off the edge. Dividing the strip in to squares, he put each through a series of rigorous tests. Having passed inspection, the sheet was then cut to shape. The edges were folded over, sewn, and resealed with resin. A man with a clipboard made final inspections, independently verifying the measurements, then approved it for use.
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Diary of an Ass Can July 6th (Moderator’s Note: 130 Days Before Sol 6) This could be my last night on Earth. It’ll certainly be my last night on Earth for a long time. We launch tomorrow. They told me to get a good night’s sleep. Yeah. Right. I can’t take a sleeping pill. They don’t want any of us to have residual drugs in our system when we launch. Especially things that deliberately induce drowsiness. Makes sense, really. I…
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From the Files of Mark Watney Car Trouble (Moderator’s Note: ~220 Days Before Sol 6) Dear Mom Sorry it took me so long to write. Training has been kicking my ass. It’s pretty much non-stop, especially now that we’re three months from launch, and I’m almost a full day behind because my car is a piece of crap. I was driving from Site 14 back to Johnson Space Center, which is a four-hour drive through Texas wasteland, when the car…
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Welcome back to Martian Messages! If you’re new here, welcome! If you’re a returning fan, I’m so glad to see you here. Before we get started I want to provide a few disclaimers: COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: This production consists of the original blog writings by Andy Weir. The novel published by Random House is copyrighted, but the book presented here is permitted for distribution, given that said distribution is free and no person receives monetary gain from the release. Because this…
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Epilogue Watney finished his two slices of pizza and a coke. He had another half-hour to kill before going back to Johnson Space Center. Leaving the pizzeria, he sat on a public bench just outside. Next week would be busy. He would be meeting the Ares-6 Engineer. He had read her file, but had never met her in person. He wouldn’t get much time to relax after that. The following six weeks would be filled with constant training as he…
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LOG ENTRY: SOL 549 (May 22, 2037) I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shitting myself. In 4 hours, I’m going to ride a giant explosion into orbit. This is something I’ve done a few times before, but never with a jury-rigged mess like this. Right now, I’m sitting in the MAV. I’m suited up because there’s a big hole in the front of the ship where the window and part of the hull used to be. I’m “awaiting…
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May 21, 2037 (Sol 548) “All right,” Lewis said, “tomorrow’s the big day.” The crew floated in the Rec. They had halted the rotation of the ship in preparation for the upcoming operation. “I’m ready,” Martinez said. “Johanssen threw everything she could at me. I got all scenarios to orbit.” “Everything other than catastrophic failures,” Johanssen corrected. “Well yeah,” Martinez said. “Kind of pointless to simulate an ascent explosion. Nothing we can do.” “Vogel,” Lewis said, “How’s our course.” “It…
Releasing the original blog version of The Martian by Andy Weir, as it happens.
