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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…
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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. …
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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…
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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.…
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Dec. 31, 2035 (Sol 54) “Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Annie said. “We have an important announcement to make. If you could all take your seats,” “What this about, Annie?” A reporter asked. “Something happen with Hermes?” “Please take your seats,” Annie repeated. The reporters mingled a bit, argued over seats for a short time, then finally settled down. “This is a short, but very important announcement,” Annie said. “I won’t be taking any questions at…
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Dec. 30, 2035 (Sol 53) “Nothing? Nothing at all?” Venkat groaned. “Are you kidding me? You had 20 experts working for 12 hours on this. We have a multi-billion dollar communication network. You can’t figure out any way to talk to him?” The two men in Venkat’s office fidgeted in their chairs. “He’s got no radio,” said Chuck. “Actually,” said Morris, “He’s got a radio, but he doesn’t have a dish.” “Thing is,” Chuck continued,“without the dish, a signal would…
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Dec. 29, 2035 (Sol 52) Mindy stared at the ceiling. She had little else to do. The 3am shift was pretty dull. Only a constant stream of coffee kept her awake. Monitoring the status of satellites around Mars sounded like an exciting proposition when she took the transfer. But the satellites tended to take care of themselves. Her job turned out to be sending emails as imagery became available. “Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering,” she grumbled to herself. “And I’m…
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Chapter 6 Dec. 28, 2035 (Sol 51) Venkat returned to his office, dropped his briefcase on the floor, and collapsed into his leather chair. He took a moment to look out the windows at his scenic view of the Johnson Space Center. Glancing at his computer screen, he noted 47 unread emails urgently demanding his attention. They could wait. Today had been a sad day. Today was the memorial service for Mark Watney. The President had given a speech, praising…
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LOG ENTRY: SOL 42 (Dec. 19, 2035) I slept in late today. I deserved it. After four nights of awful sleep in the rover, my bunk felt like the softest, most profoundly beautiful featherbed ever made. Anyway, I dragged my ass out of bed and finished some post explosion cleanup. I moved the potato plants back in today. And just in time, too. They’re sprouting. They look healthy and happy. This isn’t chemistry, medicine, bacteriology, nutrition analysis, explosion dynamics, or…
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LOG ENTRY: SOL 41 (Dec. 18, 2035) I spent the day running full diagnostics on every system in the Hab. It was incredibly boring, but my survival depends on these machines, so it had to be done. I can’t just assume an explosion did no long-term damage. I did the most critical tests first. Number one was the integrity of the Hab canvas. I felt pretty confident it was in good shape, cause I’d spent a few hours asleep in…
Releasing the original blog version of The Martian by Andy Weir, as it happens.
