LOG ENTRY: SOL 71 (Jan. 17, 2036) As predicted, it took 12 hours to charge the batteries to full. I came straight home.  Time to make plans for Sirius 4. And I think it’ll be a multi-day field trip.  Looks like power and battery recharging is solved. Food’s not a problem; there’s plenty of space to store things. Water’s even easier than food. I need 2L per day to be comfortable.  In the long term, I’ll need to bring the…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 70 (Jan. 16, 2036) Today, I write to you from the rover. I’m halfway-through Sirius 3 and things are going well.  I set out at first light and drove laps around the Hab, trying to stay on untouched ground. The first battery lasted just under two hours. After a quick EVA to switch the cables, I got back to driving. When all was said and done, I had driven 81km in 3 hours and 27 minutes.  That’s…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 69 (Jan. 15, 2036) Found the RTG.  It wasn’t hard to find. I drove 4km south and saw the flag right away. Commander Lewis had buried it atop a small hill. She probably wanted to make sure everyone could see the flag, and it worked great! Except instead of avoiding it, I bee-lined to it and dug it up. Not exactly what she was going for.  It’s a large cylinder with heat-sinks all around it. I could…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 68 (Jan. 14, 2036) Well shit.  I came up with a solution, but… remember when I burned rocket fuel in the Hab? This’ll be more dangerous.  I’m going to use the RTG.  The RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) is a big box of Plutonium. But not the kind used in nuclear bombs. No, no. This Plutonium is way more dangerous!  Plutonium-238 is an incredibly unstable isotope. It’s so radioactive that it will get red hot all by itself.…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 67 (Jan. 13, 2036) Sirius 1 is complete!  More accurately, Sirius 1 was aborted after 1 hour. I guess you could call it a “failure” but I prefer the term “learning experience.” Things started out fine. I drove to a nice flat spot a kilometer from the Hab, then started going back and forth over a 500m stretch. I quickly realized this would be a crappy test. After a few laps, I had compressed the soil enough…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 66 (Jan. 12, 2036) The time has come (ominous musical crescendo) for some missions! NASA gets to name their missions after gods and stuff, so why can’t I? Henceforth, rover experimental missions will be “Sirius” missions. Get it? Dogs? Well if you don’t, fuck you.  Sirius 1 will be tomorrow.  The mission: Starting with fully charged batteries, and having the solar cells on the roof, drive until I run out of power, and see how far I…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 65 (Jan. 11, 2036) The solar cells were a lot easier to manage than the battery. They’re thin, light, and just laying around on the ground. And I had one additional bonus: I was the one who set them up In the first place. Well, ok. It wasn’t just me. Vogel and I worked together on it. And boy did we drill on it. We spent almost an entire week drilling on the solar array alone. Then…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 64 (Jan. 10, 2036) Sometimes things are easy, and sometimes they’re not. Getting the battery out of Rover 1 was easy. I removed two clamps on the undercarriage and it dropped right out. The cabling is easy to detach, too. It’s just a couple of complicated plugs.  Attaching it to Rover 2, however, is another story. There’s nowhere to put it! The things is huge. I was barely able to drag it. And that’s in Mars gravity. …

Chapter 7  LOG ENTRY: SOL 63 (Jan. 9, 2036) I finished making water some time ago. I’m no longer in danger of blowing myself up. The potatoes are growing nicely. Nothing has conspired to kill me in weeks. And ‘70’s TV keeps me disturbingly more entertained than it should. Things are stable here on Mars. It’s time to start thinking long term.  Even if I find a way to tell NASA I’m alive, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to…

Jan. 7, 2036 (Sol 61) “I’m getting sick of daily press conferences,” Venkat said. “I’m getting sick of hourly press conferences,” Annie countered. “Sorry I’m late,” Teddy said, entering the crowded press room.  Managers from every department stood shoulder to shoulder in the back, while reporters crammed the pit.  Teddy pulled some flash cards from his pocket, then cleared his throat.  “In the nine days since announcing Mark Watney’s survival, we’re received a massive show of support from all sectors.…