Okay, here’s the (not so) fun part. For the next five-ish months, we’re not gonna hear from Watney and friends. I know, it’s sad. I’ll miss them too. Posts will pick back up on November 26 (more than a year after we started, can you believe it?) In the meantime… keep talking about Mars! A couple of suggestions: And of course, keep in touch on Tumblr! Share art, your favorite quotes, fun theories, and all things The Martian in our…

Jun. 11, 2036 (Sol 213) “Welcome to Jiuquan,” Guo Ming said. “I hope your flight was smooth?” Su Bin translated Guo Ming’s words as Teddy took the second-best seat in the observation room. “Yes, thank you,” Teddy said. “The hospitality of your people has been wonderful. The private jet you arranged to bring us here was a nice touch.” “My people have enjoyed working with your advance team,” Guo Ming said. “The last month has been very interesting. Attaching an…

Chapter 19 Jun. 10, 2036 (Sol 212) “Hey, Melissa…” said Robert. “Am I getting through? Can you see me?” “Loud and clear, babe,” said Commander Lewis. “The video link is solid.” “They say I have 5 minutes,” Robert said. “Better than nothing,” Lewis said. Floating in her quarters, she gently touched the bulkhead to stop drifting. “It’s nice to see you in real-time for a change.” “Yeah,” Robert smiled. “I can hardly notice the delay. I gotta say, I wish…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 211 (Jun. 9, 2036) I am smiling a great smile. The smile of a man who fucked with his car and didn’t break it. This is considerably more rare than you might think. I spent today removing unnecessary crap from the rover and trailer. I was pretty damn aggressive about it, too. Space inside the pressure vessels is premium. The more crap I clear out of the rover, the more space there is for me. The more…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 208 (Jun. 6, 2036) Today, it was time to experiment with the panels. First, I put the Hab on low power mode: No internal lights, all nonessential systems offline, all internal heating suspended. I’d be outside most of the day anyway. I detached 28 panels from the solar farm and dragged them to the rover. I spent four hours stacking them this way and that. The poor rover looked like the Beverly Hillbillies truck. Nothing I did…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 207 (Jun. 5, 2036) I spent the last week recovering from back problems. The pain wasn’t bad, but there aren’t any chiropractors on Mars, so I wasn’t taking chances. I took hot baths twice a day, laid in my bunk a lot, and watched shitty ’70’s TV. I’ve already seen Lewis’s entire collection, but I didn’t have much else to do. I was reduced to watching reruns. I got a lot of thinking done. I can make…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 201 (May 30, 2036) Yeah, I definitely pulled something in my back. I woke up in agony. So I took a break from rover planning. Instead, I spent the day taking drugs and playing with radiation. First, I loaded up on Vicodin for my back. Hooray for Beck’s medical supplies! Then I drove out to the RTG. It was right where I left it, in a hole 4km away. Only an idiot would keep that thing near…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 200 (May 29, 2036) I hauled rocks today. I needed to know what kind of power efficiency the rover/trailer will get. On the way to Pathfinder, I got 80km from 18kwh. This time, the load will be a lot heavier. I’ll be towing the trailer and all the other shit. I backed the rover up to the trailer and attached the tow clamps. Easy enough. The trailer has been depressurized for some time now (there’s a couple…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 199 (May 28, 2036) I’ve got it. I know how to power the Oxygenator and Atmospheric Regulator. The problem with small pressure vessels is CO2 toxicity. You can have all the oxygen in the world, but once the CO2 gets above 1% you’ll start to get drowsy. At 2% it’s like being drunk. At 5%, it’s hard to stay conscious. 8% will eventually kill you. Keeping alive isn’t about oxygen, it’s about getting rid of CO2. I…

LOG ENTRY: SOL 198 (May 27, 2036) I’ve had a breakthrough with the Oxygenator! I spent most of the day looking at the specs. It heats CO2 to 900C, then passes it over a zirconia electrolysis cell to yank the carbon atoms off. Heating the gas is what takes most of the energy. Why is that important? Because I’m just one guy and the Oxygenator was made for six. 1/6th the quantity of CO2 means 1/6th the energy to heat…