LOG ENTRY: SOL 473 (Mar. 5, 2037) My fifth Air Day, and things are going well. I should be skimming south of Marth Crater tomorrow. It’ll get easier after that. I’m in the middle of a bunch of craters that form a triangle. I’m calling it the Watney Triangle because after what I’ve been through, shit on Mars should be named after me. Trouvelot, Becquerel, and Marth form the points of the triangle, with 5 other major craters along the…

Mar. 4, 2037 (Sol 472) “Did you read today’s updates?” Lewis asked, pulling her meal from the microwave. “Yeah,” Martinez said, sipping his drink. She sat across the Rec table from him. Carefully opening the steaming package, she let it cool for a moment before eating. “Mark entered the dust storm yesterday.” “Yeah, I saw that,” he said. “We need to face the possibility that he won’t make it to Schiaparelli,” Lewis said. “If that happens, we need to keep…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 468 (Feb. 28 2037) I managed to thread the needle between Rutherford and Trouvelot nicely. Admittedly, the needle was a 100km wide, but hey. I’m now enjoying my fourth Air Day of the trip. I’ve been on the road for 20 sols. So far, I’m right on schedule. According to my maps, I’ve traveled 1,440km. Not quite halfway there, but almost. I’ve been gathering soil and rock samples from each place I camp. I did the same…

Feb. 26, 2037 (Sol 466) Mindy Park zoomed in on the latest satellite photo with practiced ease. Watney’s encampment was visible in the center, the solar cells laid out in a circular pattern as was his habit. The bedroom was inflated. Checking the timestamp on the image, it was from noon local time. She quickly found the status report; Watney always placed it close to the rover when rocks were in abundance, usually to the north. To save time, Mindy…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 462 (Feb. 22, 2037) Another uneventful sol. Tomorrow is an Air Day, so this is kind of my Friday night. I’m about half-way through Mawrth Vallis now. Just as I’d hoped, the going has been easy. No major elevation changes. Hardly any obstacles. Just smooth sand with rocks smaller than half a meter. You may be wondering how I navigate. When I went to Pathfinder, I watched Phobos transit the sky to figure out the east-west axis.…

Feb. 19, 2037 (Sol 459) “Welcome back to CNN’s Mark Watney Report,” Cathy said to the camera. “We’re speaking with our frequent guest, Dr. Venkat Kapoor. Dr. Kapoor, I guess what people want to know is: Is Mark Watney doomed?” “We hope not,” Venkat responded. “But he’s got a real challenge ahead of him.” “According to your latest satellite data, the dust storm in Arabia Terra isn’t abating at all, and will block 80% of the sunlight?” “That’s correct.” “And…

Chapter 22 LOG ENTRY: SOL 458 (Feb. 18, 2037) Mawrth Vallis! I’m finally here! Actually, it’s not an impressive accomplishment. I’ve only been traveling 10 sols. But it’s a good psychological milestone. So far, the rover and my ghetto life support are working admirably. At least, as well as can be expected for equipment being used ten times longer than intended. Today is my second Air Day (the first was 5 sols ago). When I put this scheme together, I…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 449 (Feb. 9, 2037) Today’s the big day. I’m leaving for Schiaparelli. The rover and trailer are all packed. They’ve been mostly packed since the test run. But now I even have the water aboard. I spent the last several days running full diagnostics on everything. The Regulator, Oxygenator, RTG, AREC, batteries, rover life support (in case I need a backup), solar cells, rover computer, airlocks, and everything else with a moving part or electronic component. I…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 444 (Feb. 4, 2037) I’m getting pretty good at this. Maybe when all this is over I could be a product-tester for Mars rovers. Things went well. I spent five sols driving in circles; I averaged 93 km per sol. That’s a little better than I’d expected. The terrain here is flat and smooth, so it’s pretty much a best-case scenario. Once I’m going up hills and around boulders it won’t be nearly that good. The bedroom…

Jan. 30, 2037 (Sol 440) The crew of Hermes gathered in The Rec. “Let’s get through status quickly,” Lewis said. “We’re all behind in our science assignments. Vogel, you first.” “I repaired the bad cable on VASIMR 4,” Vogel reported. “It was our last thick gauge cable. If another such problem occurs, we will have to braid lower gauge lines to carry the current. Also, the power output from the reactor is declining.” “Johanssen,” Lewis said. “What the deal with…