LOG ENTRY: SOL 543 (May 16, 2037) I’m… done? I think I’m done. I did everything on the list. The MAV is ready to fly. And in 6 sols, that’s just what it’ll do. I hope. It might not launch at all. I did remove an engine, after all. I could have fucked up all sorts of things during that process. And there’s no way to test the ascent stage. Once you light it, it’s lit. Everything else, however, will…

May 9, 2037 (Sol 536) [19:22]JOHANSSEN: Hello, Mark. [19:23]MAV: Johanssen!? Holy crap! They finally letting you talk to me directly? [19:24]JOHANSSEN: Yes, NASA gave the OK for direct communication an hour ago. We’re only 35 light-seconds apart, so we can talk in near-realtime. I just set up the system and I’m testing it out. [19:24]MAV: What took them so long to let us talk? [19:25]JOHANSSEN: The psych team was worried about personality conflicts. [19:25]MAV: What? Just cause you guys abandoned…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 529 (May 2, 2037) I’m turning my pee in to rocket fuel. It’s easier than you’d think. Urine is mostly water. Separating hydrogen and oxygen only requires a couple of electrodes and some current. The problem is collecting the hydrogen. I don’t have any equipment for pulling hydrogen out of the air. The Atmospheric Regulator doesn’t even know how. The last time I had to get hydrogen out of the air (back when I turned the Hab…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 526 (Apr. 29, 2037) There aren’t many people who can say they’ve vandalized a three billion dollar spacecraft. But I’m one of them. I’ve been pulling critical hardware out of the MAV left and right. It’s nice to know that my launch to orbit won’t have any pesky back-up systems weighing me down. First thing I did was remove the small stuff. Then came the things I could disassemble. Like the crew seats, several of the back-up…

Apr. 28, 2037 (Sol 525) “You killed Watney,” Lewis said. “Yeah,” Martinez said, scowling at his monitor. The words “Collision with Terrain” blinked accusingly. “I pulled a nasty trick on him,” Johanssen said. “I gave him a malfunctioning altitude readout and made engine 3 cut out too early. It’s a deadly combination.” “Shouldn’t have been a mission failure,” Martinez said. “I should have noticed the readout was wrong. It was way off.” “Don’t sweat it,” Lewis said. “That’s why we…

Apr 8, 2037 (Sol 506) “So is it ready?” Venkat asked. “Yes, it’s ready.” Bruce said. “But you’re not going to like it.” “Go on.” “Bear in mind,” Bruce said, producing a booklet from his briefcase, “This is the end result of thousands of hours of work, testing, and lateral thinking by all the best guys at JPL.” “I’m sure it was hard to trim down a ship that’s already designed to be as light as possible,” Venkat said. Bruce…

Apr. 7, 2037 (Sol 505) The MAV waited in southwestern Schiaparelli. It stood an impressive 27 meters tall, its conical body gleaming in the midday sun. The rover crested a nearby dune with the trailer in tow. It slowed for a few moments, then continued toward the ship at top speed. It came to a stop 20 meters away. There it remained for ten minutes while the astronaut inside suited up. He stumbled excitedly out of the airlock, falling to…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 504 (Apr. 6, 2037) Holy shit this is awesome! Holy shit! Holy shit! Ok calm. Calm. I made 90km today. By my estimate, I’m 50km from the MAV. I should get there some time tomorrow. I’m excited about that, but here’s what I’m really stoked about: I caught a blip from the MAV! NASA has the MAV broadcasting the Ares 3 Hab homing signal. Why wouldn’t they? It makes perfect sense. Unlike my worn out shit, the…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 503 (Apr. 5, 2037) I didn’t get as much recharge I usually would yesterday. Because of my extended driving time, I only recharged to 70% before night fell. So today’s driving was abbreviated. I got 63km before I had to camp out again. But I don’t even mind. Because I’m only 148km from the MAV. That means I’ll get there the sol after tomorrow. Holy hell, I’m really going to make it!

[Moderator’s note: Today’s entry is two hours delayed to offset yesterday’s triple post. Enjoy!] LOG ENTRY: SOL 502 (Apr. 4, 2037) Every Thanksgiving, my family used to drive from Chicago to Sandusky, an 8-hour drive. It’s where Mom’s sister lived. Dad would always drive, and he was the slowest, most cautious driver who ever took the wheel.Seriously. He drove like he was taking a driver’s test. Never exceeded the speed limit, always had his hands at 10 and 2, adjusted…