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…

Chapter 17 LOG ENTRY: SOL 192 (May 21, 2036) Holy shit! They’re coming back for me! I don’t even know how to react. I’m choked up! And I’ve got a shitload of work to do before I catch that bus home. They can’t orbit. If I’m not in space when they pass by, all they can do is wave. I have to get to Ares-4’s MAV. Even NASA accepts that. And when the nannies at NASA recommend a 3200km overland…

May 20, 2036 (Sol 191) Everyone knew Brendan Hutch would be running missions soon. He rose through the ranks as fast as one could in the large, inertia-bound organization. Known as a diligent worker, his skill and leadership qualities were plain to all his subordinates. Brendan was in charge of Mission Control from 1am to 9am every night. Continued excellent performance in this role would certainly net him a promotion. It was already announced he’d be back-up Flight Controller for…

May 18, 2036 (Sol 189) Lewis: Hi, Commander. Between training and our trip to Mars, I spent 2 years working with you. I think I know you pretty well. So I’m guessing you blame yourself for my situation. Don’t. You were faced with an impossible scenario and made a tough decision. That’s what Commanders do. And your decision was right. If you’d waited any longer, the MAV would have tipped. I’m sure you’ve run through all the possible outcomes in…

May 16, 2036 (Sol 187) Beck: Hey, man. How ya been? Now that I’m in a “dire situation,” I don’t have to follow social rules anymore. I can be honest with everyone. Bearing that in mind, I have to say… dude…you need to tell Johanssen how you feel. If you don’t, you’ll regret it forever. I won’t lie: It could end badly. I have no idea what she thinks of you. Or of anything. She’s weird. But wait till the…

May 15, 2036 (Sol 186) Vogel: Being your backup has backfired. I guess NASA figured botany and chemistry are similar because they both end in “Y”. One way or another, I ended up being your back-up chemist. Remember when they made you spend a day explaining your experiments to me? It was in the middle of intense mission prep. You may have forgotten. You started my training by buying me a beer. For breakfast. Germans are awesome. Anyway, now that…

May 14, 2036 (Sol 185) Johanssen: Your poster outsold the rest of ours combined. You’re a hot chick who went to Mars. You’re on dorm-room walls all over the world. Looking like that, why are you such a nerd? And you are, you know. A serious nerd. I had to do some computer shit to get Pathfinder talking to the rover and oh my God. And I had NASA telling me what to do every step of the way. You…

Chapter 16 May 13, 2036 (Sol 184) Martinez: Dr. Shields says I need to write personal messages to each of the crew. She says it’ll keep me tethered to humanity. I think it’s bullshit. But hey, it’s an order. With you, I can be blunt: If I die, I need you to check on my parents. They’ll want to hear about our time on Mars first-hand. I’ll need you to do that. It won’t be easy talking to a couple…

May 12, 2036 (Sol 183) The Whiteroom was abuzz with activity as technicians sealed Iris in to the specially-designed shipping container. The other two shifts watched from the observation deck. They had rarely seen their own homes in two months; a makeshift bunkroom had been set up in the cafeteria. Fully a third of them would normally be asleep at this hour, but they did not want to miss this moment. The shift leader tightened the final bolt. As he…