The Understanding

04 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, astronauts, counseling, Counselor, crew morale, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, inquiry, Jenna Wade, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, stowaway, Wendy Stevens, Zeke Jackson

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Wednesday, Sol 60 (1.1.60) 16:31 NST
Earth Date/Time: Friday, 4 March 2016 2:00 PM PST
Distance traveled: 26,135,496 kilometers Time Delay: 84 secs
Distance to Mars Rendezvous: 366,274,256 kilometers

Zeke sat facing Jenna’s workstation in her quarters. On the monitors were Commodore Dubois and Director Castillo. In front of him were four other people. Rear Admiral Wade, Commodore Hart, First Officer Flores, and Wendy Stevens were all focused on him. For Zeke, it was Judgement Day.

Jenna started by saying, “Zeke, I’m think I know how you did it, but would you explain how you got from the brig on Earth Prime to the Sagan?

Zeke replied, “Yes, Ma’am. I was able to get out of the brig by detaching the storage locker in the room from the wall. The locker was locked, but if you lift it from one of the front corners and pull out at the same time, It will usually pop out. They don’t have a wall cover behind the storage locker so I was able to get into the wall. Once in the wall I could get almost anywhere on that deck.”

Jenna interjected, “Why did you come out where Security could see you?” Zeke replied, “I didn’t come out where they could see me. I had to go to the pods first and program the one pod and prep both of them. After that I went back to get their attention. I needed them to know I had escaped. I then worked my way back….”

Claude’s delayed question interrupted him, “How did you call Earth Prime from the pod that burned up?” Zeke replied, “I called you from the pod I was hiding on, but I routed the transmission through the other, sir.”

Jenna asked, “How did you get to the Sagan?” “I undocked at the same time Davis undocked,” Zeke replied, “I assumed that if anyone noticed they would think the two pods were leaving to chase the other pod. I held my position for a few minutes and then drifted along the structure and up the Sagan. I was docked, unloaded all my equipment, and settled in by the time the other pod burned up.”

Wendy spoke up, “What happened during acceleration? You were hit with more G’s than the human body was designed for.”

Zeke smiled, “I pulled some of the hab insulation out of storage and created a compression bed. It took a little time to rig it up, but I had the time. It was tough, but …”

Again, Zeke was interrupted by the delayed question, this one from the Director, “What was your plan if Jenna hadn’t figured out that you were already on the ship?” Zeke responded, “I wasn’t going to surprise them. I planned on calling them once the Sagan caught up to them.”

Jenna leaned forward, “Zeke, you understand that no one is condoning what you did.” Zeke answered, “Oh no, Ma’am. I expect to be punished.”

Jenna said, “Zeke, would you tell us about your role in the merger of the two ships.” Zeke looked confused and said, “Uhm, after we merged the hab sections I met up with the crew and I started talking to Keira…uhm, the pilot. I told her that at Earth Prime the engineer’s procedures were based on human docking practices and didn’t account for the computer’s capability of multitasking. The First Officer joined the discussion and pretty soon we were creating procedures on how to speed up…expedite the assimilation process. Anna, uhm..the First Officer showed our plan to Commodore Hart, who showed it to you.”

Anna interrupted, “Actually, Zeke says it was our plan, but it was Zeke’s knowledge of ship construction that helped lay out the new procedures. He had every procedure in his head and we wrote it down. In the end, he had not missed a step that needed to be done.”

Zeke looked a little embarrassed, and then said, “May I say something?” Jenna said, “Yes.” Zeke looked at Claude and said, “Commodore Dubois, I enjoyed working under your command, and I hope you do not think that I wanted to trick or deceive you. I’m sorry that I put everyone in a bad position, but I really hope that you don’t think I was ungrateful for the opportunities you gave me on Earth Prime.”

Jenna waited for a time in case Claude wanted to respond, and when he didn’t Jenna said, “Zeke, we have made it official that you are on our crew and under our command. Do you understand that you are obligated to follow our orders and abide by our rules?” Zeke nodded his head and said, “Yes, Ma’am. If I didn’t I might jeopardize everyone’s life.”

Jenna then added, “We appreciate your work you have done since you’ve been on our crew. You will have a work detail and expected to perform to the highest standards.”

Zeke said, “Yes, Ma’am” Jenna then said, “Zeke, thank you. You’re dismissed.” Zeke said, “Thank you, Ma’am.” and stood up and walked out of Jenna’s quarters.

Jenna turned toward Wendy and said, “Your assessment.” Wendy said, “Based on his history and his interactions with the crew, he genuinely wants to be a part of our team. I think his rebellion was not a rebellion, but a reach for a dream.”

Anna jumped in and said, “I was very skeptical about him, but his work and his understanding of our ships gives us an advantage on this mission I never knew was missing. He is a resource…” She was interrupted by Commodore Dubois, “Zeke was the….I’m sorry…I’ll go ahead and continue since I’ve already interrupted, I was going to say, Zeke was our best crew member in thinking outside the box. He could take the most difficult problem and come up with a brilliant solution. I will miss him; however, I suspect we will benefit from his work on your crew….again, sorry.”

Anna looked at Claude on the monitor and said, “No problem, I really said I’ll I had to say.”

Jenna said, “Nick, unless you have a problem with it, I think we burn his past. If he was a normal person I’d put him in a pod and say good luck, but I agree with Anna, he’s too valuable of an asset to waste time and worry about punishment.” Everyone in the room nodded, and then looked at Nick’s monitor for his response. A little over three minutes later Nick smiled and responded.

“Why are we still talking about this?”

Plan Delta

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, assimilation, astronauts, Code Alert, communications, crew morale, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, Jenna Wade, JPL, light speed, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, reconfiguration, ship merger, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, stowaway, time delay

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 57 (1.1.57) 18:27 NST
Earth Date/Time: Tuesday, 1 March 2016 2:00 PM PST
Distance traveled: 15,320,808 kilometers Time Delay: 48 secs
Distance to Mars Rendezvous: 377,088,944 kilometers

Jenna tapped the blinking icon on her workstation on the Command deck. It was the Comm Center. “Is it the Director?,” Jenna asked. Naomi said, “Yes. The message just came in.” Jenna asked, “Are you ready?” Naomi again said, “Yes.” Jenna looked over at Ken and he nodded to her. Jenna looked back at Naomi’s image on her monitor, “Okay, let’s do this. Run the Director’s first message and then set us up for concurrent transmission.”

The ESS Queen Elizabeth II and the ESS Carl Sagan had rendezvoused last night and the crew had moved the rotating hab sections over from QE II and merged them into the Sagan forward of the its rotating hab section. It had gone smoothly and within an hour the merge was secure. This left the QE II in two sections alongside the Sagan. Her Core Command section was about one hundred meters in front of the cargo and ICP drive sections.

The next step was to merge the rest of the QE II to the Sagan. As of last night the plan was to do it all today, which was considered to be a week’s worth of work. The Ken and Jenna had planned to begin again this morning, but instead after some discussion the plan was changed. The crew spent the day working out the details of the plan and now they were about to do something that had never been done before…and ESEP had no clue about the change.

The engineers at ESEP were already in opposition to the plan to do the rest of the merger of the ships in one day, but they could only advise, not make demands or restrict the crew or its command. In addition, the two ships had traveled almost 15 million kilometers in less than a week and the time delay in radio signal transmission was 48 seconds one way. The authority of the Admiral and Commodore were absolute by right and by reason.

Jenna could see Naomi tap her console and instantly Nick’s image was up at her secondary monitor. Nick said,

“Good evening, Jenna. I hope you got some rest today. Congratulations again on merging the QE II hab section with the Sagan. Our engineering team down here is reluctantly praising how quickly and smoothly it went. That said, they would like to see a formal plan of the rest of the assimilation, and they would like to advise a less ambitious schedule than trying to finish the job in one day. I’m assuming that you intended to begin tomorrow, but if you need another day of rest, that would be fine with everyone here. They have reminded me that you have three and a half months before you get to Mars. Also, the Counseling team is concerned about any mishap that might occur in a rushed schedule. They feel it might impact crew morale. As for me, do whatever you think is best and I’ll work it out with the people down here. I trust your judgement. It would help me if you send a plan so I can occupy them with something. Thanks!”

Nick’s image was replaced by a “Ready for concurrent transmission – time delay: 48 seconds,” which meant that she had an open channel to ESEP on Earth but the delay would be 48 seconds between her transmission and its arrival to Earth, plus the time it took for them to respond, plus the 50 seconds for their signal to reach her.

Jenna began to send her response to Nick,

“Good morning, Nick. We did sleep, but we’ve had a very busy day. As far as our formal plan of assimilation, Naomi is sending that to you now. It is a complete step-by-step process and has been reviewed and approved by the Command team. As for the ground Counseling team’s concern of our crew’s emotional state I asked Wendy and Dr. Summers to perform a crew readiness evaluation today and their reports are also being transmitted as I speak. You asked me to forewarn you when we might endanger the health of your engineering team, so please consider this your warning. In the report you have received you will learn that today the crew banded together to put into motion a different plan for the ship merger. As soon as I’m finished here we will announce a Code Alert for our ships and ESEP divisions concerned with the ship operations. We will then begin a continuous feed until the assimilation is complete. Our entire crew will be dedicated to this effort, so we have assigned Ms. Pierce as ESEP liaison. She will monitor and control all communications with ESEP. We are now on Priority Comm protocols. With that, Naomi, a Code Alert please.”

Naomi announced, “All stations, all hands, CODE ALERT from Rear Admiral Wade.”

Number 29

28 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, communications, counseling, Counselor, crew morale, death, Earth, Earth Space Exploration Program, engineering, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, Jenna Wade, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, physician, Quill, science, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, stowaway, Zeke Jackson

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Friday, Sol 55 (1.1.55) 19:44 NST
Earth Date/Time: Sunday, 28 February 2016 2:00 PM PST
Distance traveled: 9,089,555 kilometers

Anna replied, “Commodore, I can’t bring the lights up in that section.” Ken looked at Jenna and she said, “That rat bastard!……Anna, keep the lights up and Naomi, would you connected me to that section.” The Comm Director tapped a few commands on her tablet and monitor next to the one with Nick’s confused face on it came up black. Naomi said, “You’re patched in, Admiral.”

Jenna then said, “Zeke, what are you doing on my ship?” The black screen started to have patches of light on it, then they could see a gloved hand removing something over the lens. Someone gasped. Finally the monitor showed the bewildered face of Zeke Jackson in a low pressure suit floating in front of the camera. Zeke opened the faceplate of his helmet and you could see his breath in the cold, stagnant air as he said, “Admiral, ah…how did you know?”

Ken walked away from the group as he was starting to laugh. Everyone else but Jenna was in shock. Jenna said, “JACKSON, I’ll be doing the talking! You are on my ship and that makes you part of my crew! You will report to the hab section in Quill 1C where Anna will assign you quarters! I want you fed and rested and ready for duty at eight AM tomorrow! Is that clear!”

Zeke looked more confused and then a smile began to grow until it looked like it might break his face. He said, “YES Ma’am! Thank you, Ma’am! You won’t regret this!” He then disappeared.

Ken said, “Anna, turn up the life support in Quill 1C and assign quarters to Zeke Jackson.” Nick tried to protest, “But we can’t let him get away with this.” Jenna smiled and said, “That ship has literally already sailed. He’s mine now for the next two years.” Nick said, “ESEP will still want to press charges when he comes back to Earth.” “Nick, I might suggest that ESEP begin looking at it as if it were our plan all along. Otherwise, the public might think we’re so incompetent that we let a stowaway get on board the first mission to Mars.” Nick suddenly realized the public relations disaster waiting for them, and said, “GOOD point. We can credit Mr. Duncan,….for this elaborate test of our security. Oh, this is going to kill him when he finds out.” Jenna laughed.

The Command Team had gathered around Jenna. She looked at Naomi and said, “Naomi, would you raise Earth Prime Actual. I need to talk to Claude.” Jeanna said to Ken, “Can you build duty schedule for Zeke? I’d like to put him under Anna for the time being.” Ken said, “We’ll have him wake up the Sagan for us.” “Good,” Jenna replied, “He’s a good asset and we want him working for us rather than against us.”

Jenna then looked at Wendy and Kayla, “Kayla, he just went through an acceleration that wasn’t designed for humans. You’ll need to check him out when we rendezvous with the Sagan. Wendy, I think I understand Zeke, but I’ll need your assessment to make sure I’m not being influenced by his charm.”

Jenna was now speaking to the entire Command team, “We now have 29 members in our crew. We need to assess what that means for the mission. As far as number 29, Zeke had straight A’s in his engineering minor, but was on a basketball scholarship. He didn’t have a chance for an advanced degree. Everything in his work record indicates he is a brilliant learner. We should consider him as a graduate student and use him as such.”

Jenna was interrupted by Naomi, “Admiral, I have Commodore Dubois.” Jenna said, “On monitor two.” Claude’s image came up on a monitor and he said, “Good evening, Admiral. How can I help you?” Jenna said, “Claude, we found your missing equipment.” Claude looked knowingly, “Yes. My apologies. We’re still not sure how it was left on the Sagan.”

Jenna smiled, “Oh, you’re talking about the pod. Yes, we know how that happened, too.” Claude looked confused.

Au Revoir

23 Tuesday Feb 2016

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, Claude Dubois, communications, construction pod, counseling, Counselor, crew morale, death, Earth, Earth Prime, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, HD cameras, Jenna Wade, JPL, loss, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, science, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, Zeke Jackson

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 50 (1.1.50) 22:56 NST
Earth Date/Time: Tuesday, 23 February 2016 2:00 PM PST

Commodore Dubois voice was loud and insistent, “MR. JACKSON, RETURN THAT POD TO EARTH PRIME, NOW!” Jenna could tell by the video that Claude knew his only option was to talk him back on the spaceport. Then Zeke Jackson’s image came up on the Command deck’s primary monitor. He was in the pilot’s seat of a construction pod. Jackson looked calm…too calm. Jackson looked at the camera and said, “Commodore Dubois, it has been a pleasure serving under you….but if I’m not going to Mars, I’m definitely not going back to Earth….at least in one piece….au revoir!”

The monitor changed to an image of a small construction pod moving away from the spaceport and heading straight down toward Earth. On the Command deck a voice said, “Sir, he’s turned off the Comm.” Then another voice said, “Sir, Davis is in a pod and he is going to pursue.” A second pod was now in the image and it was following the path of the first one, but by now the first pod was almost too small to see.

From the second pod Davis reported, “I have him in sight, but I think he has used all his fuel to accelerate. I can keep him in sight with my camera, but I’ll never catch up to him.” Claude’s voice was now resigned. “Stay with him if you can, but don’t go out of safety limits.” Everyone realized that no one could stop Zeke now.

The Command deck’s main monitor now switched to the camera on the chase pod. It was continuing towards Earth. For the next 45 minutes the chase pod kept recording the fate of Zeke Jackson. Every few minutes someone on the Command deck could be heard trying to call him, knowing his Comm was turned off. As Zeke’s pod began hitting the outer atmosphere it started gyrating and then spinning. Claude ordered the monitor to be shut down, and then he left the Command deck.

This was the third time she had watched the video of the events leading up to Zeke’s death. The first was with Wendy and Ken last night less than an hour after it happened. The second was this morning when she played it for the crew, and now she was alone in her quarters and had to see it again. She knew how much it meant to Zeke to go to Mars, but no one had anticipated that he was suicidal. It made sense now that it happened, but Zeke was too full of life to think that he might end it for any reason.

But this was not a time Jenna could dwell on Zeke Jackson’s suicide. Yesterday the Earth Prime team closed out the ESS Carl Sagan and earlier today it undocked and moved into a similar type of orbit as the QE II, but they were thousands of kilometers apart. The QE II’s orbit was set to use the Moon to boost it on the correct trajectory, while the Sagan was taking a more direct path.

Tomorrow the QE II will fire a series of pellets to accelerate out of Earth’s gravitational pull. Then two days later it will accelerate again to approximately 100,000 kilometers per hour. A few hours before the second firing, the Sagan will begin a series of firings to accelerate to 150,000 kilometers per hour. A few days later the Sagan will catch up to the QE II and it will accelerate to match the speed of the Sagan. Then during the next week the two ships will become one.

There will be a time to mourn for Zeke, but it will have to wait a couple of weeks. Now, Jenna needed to sleep.

Leaving Port

22 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, communications, counseling, Counselor, crew morale, Earth Prime, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, HD cameras, Jenna Wade, JPL, loss, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis of Mars, Noctis Standard Time, NST, science, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, Wendy Stevens, Zeke Jackson

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Saturday, Sol 49 (1.1.49) 23:35 NST
Earth Date/Time: Monday, 22 February 2016 2:00 PM PST

Earlier today the ESS Queen Elizabeth II undocked from Earth Prime and moved into a higher orbit. Everything proceeded smoothly and now the QE II has settled into an orbit that is 5,174 kilometers at apogee, and 3,317 kilometers at perigee. The ship’s current speed averages a little over 22,000 km/hr.

The QE II used chemical propulsion to move away from the spaceport, but once the ship was 400 kilometers away from the Earth Prime spaceport it test fired one of the small propulsion pellets for the Impulse Cycle Propulsion or ICP followed by the firing of a larger pellet almost three hours later. The ship will now remain in this orbit for two days before leaving Earth for Mars.

After Jenna had found her would-be stowaway on her ship again, she asked Commodore Claude Dubois, the Commander of Earth Prime spaceport to have a constant guard on Zeke Jackson. She also asked to have Zeke somewhere she could see him as the QE II moved away from the spaceport. She meant somewhere there was a camera so she could visually know he was still on the spaceport and hadn’t snuck on her ship again.

Claude did her one better. As the QE II drifted away, Jenna, and everyone on the Command deck saw three people in pressure suits outside the core Command deck of Earth Prime. One of them was strapped down to the bulkhead, and when she zoomed in she could see Zeke Jackson’s face in the suit that was strapped down. Zeke had a big smile and gave the QE II a thumbs up, which caused an outbreak of uncontrolled laughter on the ship and back on Earth Prime.

That was thirteen hours ago. Now it was quiet. There were no issues or crises. The ship was on its own power and they were now the farthest human beings from Earth.

ESEP recognized that the first mission to Mars would inflict psychological and emotional stress on the crew. That’s why the schedule was designed in stages. Like someone testing the water, then wading in it, then swimming in it. In future missions the closeout, undocking, moving to a higher orbit, and firing for the orbital transfer will likely happen in a ten-hour period.

But this mission has taken one major step at a time and grow accustomed to it, then take the next step. Jenna wondered if that was a form of cruelty for the crew. The feeling of being slowly torn away from everything and everyone they know.

Jenna was in mid-thought when a quiet knock came on her door. She didn’t say anything, she just walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Wendy with a bottle of wine. Wendy said, “I know it’s late, but…” Just then Ken opened his door just below and across from her. He apparently thought the knock was at his door. Wendy, saw him and asked, “The more the merrier?” Jenna nodded ‘yes’ and waved for Ken to come up.

In a few minutes they were all sitting and drinking a glass of wine. Ken said, “What was the deal with Zeke Jackson? I thought he would be unhappy to see us leave.” Jenna said, “I think I’m starting to understand him. He really likes us and while he wishes he could be going with us, he wants to see us succeed.” Ken shook his head, “Interesting guy.” Jeanna smiled and said, “You don’t know the half of it.”

Wendy said, “Did you know how many of the crew are friends with Zeke?” “No,” replied Jenna. Wendy continued, “Everyone I’ve talked in the last few days knows him and most refer to him as ‘Space Angel.’ He apparently got to know the entire crew and is, well, was the person to go to if you needed anything from the construction crew.”

Jenna became serious and looked at both of them and said, “Are we ready? Is the crew ready?” Ken spoke up first and said, “Yes, We are. We’ve had some distractions, but I think getting away from the spaceport will be good for us.”

Wendy waited for Ken, then said, “I agree with Ken, but maybe from a different perspective. We all knew that this phase of the mission would be one of the hardest. The closeout and undocking are two physical manifestations of separation from everyone we know. We expect some emotional trauma and I will be in constant contact with the crew. Honestly, that’s why I came here tonight. I needed to see how you’re doing,…so, how are you doing?”

Wendy wouldn’t normally put someone on the spot in front of another person, but Jenna and Ken are a team, and this was a perfect situation to let them establish a bond and push Ken into a more realistic perspective of what was happening to the crew.

Jenna understood Wendy, and she knew why Wendy was skating close to the edge of counseling protocols. This was an important moment for her and Ken. Jeanna paused and said, “I’m the type of person that lives through the emotions of the people I care about. I can separate my feelings from theirs, but it is important for me to see things from their viewpoint. I wouldn’t have wanted them to deal with the last-minute issues we have dealt with, but I’m fairly confident these experiences will be valuable later in the mission. It is highly probable that we will lose someone in the next two years, actually the projections are that we will lose three, but we will have to bear down and move on…”

At that point Jenna was interrupted by a tone from her workstation. Comm Center was trying to reach her. She stood up and crossed to her workstation and touched the blinking icon, “What’s up, John” John was the Comm Specialist on duty. He replied, “I’m sorry. We have an urgent call from Commodore Dubois. He asked me to wake you.” “Put him through,” Jenna said. John looked down, touched something on the panel and his face disappeared and Claude’s face appeared and he looked pained. Claude said, “Jenna, I thought you would want to know. Zeke Jackson just killed himself.”

Security Breach

21 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, communications, counseling, Counselor, crew morale, Earth, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, HD cameras, interview, Jenna Wade, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, science, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, stowaway, Zeke Jackson

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Saturday, Sol 49 (1.1.49) 00:13 NST
Earth Date/Time: Sunday, 21 February 2016 2:00 PM PST

Jenna was still awake. In two days they would be leaving Earth orbit and the cord would be cut. There would be no turning back. It is what she had been working towards for years, but she had let the lack of issues during the last few months lull her into believing that they would be immune to last-minute problems.

The ship was in great shape. They were ahead of schedule on almost every checklist and if they had to leave a this moment, they could. What she didn’t expect was the personnel issues. Her crew was fine and had recovered from a last few days change in the pilot, but she didn’t anticipate a stowaway issue.

What really bothered her was that the stowaway, Zeke Jackson, was the type of person she would have selected for her crew….except she never saw his application because he only had a bachelor’s degree and it was in physical education with a minor in engineering. He also had barely passing grades…in his major, but straight A’s in his minor.

Zeke was on a basketball scholarship and apparently he was barely able to stay in school because he missed the workouts and sometimes practices. His coaches threatened to pull his scholarship if he didn’t focus on basketball. His distraction was his love for engineering, but they couldn’t offer him a full ride scholarship.

He graduated but getting an advanced degree was out of the question. He wormed his way into an ESEP job and quickly worked his way into space. His superiors always praised his work, but without at least a master’s degree he was lucky just to be on the construction crew. He was an expert in piloting several types of pods used in the construction of the ships, and was fully qualified for pressure suit work.

He was able to avoid detection when he was preparing the cargo section by using his skills as a pilot and his inch by inch familiarity with the ship. Zeke able to pilot a pod to the QE II using various structures to cloak his movements. He then docked to the cargo section and entered from the pressurized pod into the pressurized section.

Zeke only had one camera to fool, and once that was done he was undetectable. He was very careful and knew that if anyone suspected they might put a hidden camera in place. When Duncan had one installed in an attempt to catch him, Zeke recognized the fake component and created a new video loop of the scene from its perspective. He then used two tablets to fool both the original camera and the hidden one. Zeke’s only mistake was to think that the tablet blocked the motion detector.

Jenna realized that she hadn’t had anyone recheck the Zeke’s stowaway compartment to be sure everything was ready for departure. She was about to contact her Peyton Rhodes, her other reserve crew member who was on night shift, but then she decided she wanted to see it for herself.

She climbed up to the Command deck and checked in with the crew on duty, then continued up to the core. In the last section she was almost weightless, which is a relatively rare feeling on ships designed to have the crew work in a gravity environment.

The quill of the cargo section had been sealed, but she knew that it was still pressurized and heated so she opened the hatch and floated down into the quill. She noticed a light was on and someone was in the third section. She decided to find out why one of her crew was in the section, so she quietly approached. Zeke saw her staring at him as he turned around and he jumped and fell.

“How the HELL did you get away, and on board my ship???” she said with the best fake anger she could muster. He stammered, “I’m sorry, Ad..Admiral. I..I..did it the same way.” Jenna looked at him with genuine concern, “What did you do to the Security team?” Zeke was still rattled and said, “NOTHING, no nothing…they always stay outside the room…they don’t know I’m gone.” Jenna was relieved, and then said, “You are going to go right back and get in your bed. I am going to call them in thirty minutes and have them check on you. AND DON’T GET CAUGHT!”

Zeke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He should be shoved out an airlock but the Admiral was giving him the chance to make this second violation go away without reporting it. He almost shouted, “Yes Ma’am!…and thank you, Ma’am!” Zeke began gathering up the equipment he’d brought over and when he looked up again Jenna was gone.

As promised Jeanna contacted the Security team and asked them to check on Zeke. In a minute the guard called back and said, “He’s sleeping. Do you want me to wake him up?” “Nope, but I would like one of you stay inside the room with him for the night,” she replied.

Red Handed

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, communications, counseling, crew morale, Earth, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, HD cameras, Jenna Wade, JPL, Mars, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, science, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, Time

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Friday, Sol 48 (1.1.48) 00:52 AM NST
Earth Date/Time: Saturday, 20 February 2016 2:00 PM PST

It was almost one AM NST and Zeke Jackson had been under questioning for twelve hours. He was caught in a cargo area on the QE II and accused of attempting to be a stowaway on the first mission to Mars.

Mr. Duncan had both of his Security Officers on Earth Prime questioning Zeke and he was watching from his monitor in his office in Peru. Zeke flowed through the stages of interrogation. First he denied everything, then he acted annoyed, then he went silent, then he got angry, now he was back to silence.

Nick had told Duncan that he had to end the interrogation at midnight, but Duncan had interpreted that to mean that when his staff took an hour for a meal break, he could leave Zeke handcuffed at the table and add an hour on to the interrogation. Despite their efforts, they hadn’t learned much more than they could figure out on their own.

Duncan was feeling frustrated and his Security team was feeling cruel. They were leaving Zeke sitting at the table and going to bed, but then Claude Dubois walked into the room. Claude looked at the monitor at Duncan and said, “What have you learned?” “Not much,” Duncan replied. Claude looked at his exhausted former employee and said, “Has he been fed?” The Security team both shook their heads, ‘no.’ Claude then said, “Take him to the Commons area and feed him, and then let him clean up, then put him in Section J in one of the quarters. I’ll send two people to watch over him tonight and you two can get some sleep.”

Duncan did not agree with the Claude’s orders, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Claude was the Commodore of the spaceport and he could release Zeke if he wanted, or have him put to death. Duncan had pushed it farther than he should and ESEP was not an organization that condoned torture of anyone regardless of what they had done.

Duncan was embarrassed. He almost failed to catch Zeke and his failure was in front of three of the most important people in ESEP. Duncan didn’t like being embarrassed.

Closeout of QE II had gone ahead as scheduled. Jenna went off ship to see talk with Claude before the closeout. She had wanted to interview Zeke, but Duncan asked for him to be isolated for a few hours. The fear that he was some kind of terrorist was Jenna’s greatest concern, but after talking to Claude and reviewing Zeke’s history she was convinced he didn’t fit the profile.

Under Claude’s orders, Zeke was allowed to sleep until eight AM NST, dress, and eat. Duncan had planned to start the interrogation at five AM, but he discovered that Claude had talked to Nick about his methods and Duncan was ordered to stand down. Claude would take charge of the prisoner and Security would only be allowed to guard Zeke.

Nick, Claude, and Jenna had decided she would interview Zeke at ten AM. Jenna’s skill at assess someone in a short period of time was a natural ability that had only improved with her years of experience in solving people issues. She wanted to do this face-to-face, which involved her going off ship. After closeout, no one was supposed to cross the ship/spaceport barrier unless it was mission critical. They decided this was mission critical.

Claude had Zeke brought to his quarters and asked the guards to wait outside. Nick was present via the video monitor. Claude asked Zeke to sit down and asked him if he wanted anything to drink. He shook his head ‘no.’ Zeke was unsure what was going on. He expected the interrogation, but this was more like a friendly conference.

The door opened and Jenna walked in. Zeke immediately stood up and faced her. Jenna said, “Have a seat Zeke.” Claude asked her if she wanted anything and she said, “If you have tea, that would be great.” She turned to Zeke and said, “Zeke, do you want something?” Zeke said, “Ah, tea would be great.” Claude smiled. Already she had gotten farther with Zeke than Security and she had just walked in the door. He began preparing the tea.

Jenna sat down, looked Zeke in the eye and began, “First, I apologize for your treatment yesterday. What you’ve done is a major violation of our program, and you will answer for that in court; however, you were mistreated last night. That is unacceptable.” Zeke shook his head, and said, “Admiral, I deserved what I got, and I know I will be punished. I am sorry I have created a problem for you.” Jenna was not expecting Zeke’s humble attitude. She skipped her lead in questions and went to the heart of the matter, “Zeke, …why?”

Zeke looked down for a moment and then looked back at her and said, “You’re the best. Not only you, but your entire crew. I want to go to Mars and I want it to be with your crew. I would stay in a food locker the entire trip if it means I can go to Mars with you and your crew. If I had the chance…I’m sorry,…I would do it again.” Jenna said, “Why didn’t you apply for the crew?” At that moment Claude interrupted and said, “He can’t.”

Rat Trap

19 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Book, Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, communications, Earth, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, Jenna Wade, JPL, Ken Hart, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, Mr. Duncan, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, security, space, space travel, spacecraft, stowaway, Time

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Thursday, Sol 47 (1.1.47) 01:30 NST
Earth Date/Time: Friday, 19 February 2016 2:00 PM PST

CODE ALERT! Text in three parts to follow:

CODE ALERT – PART ONE: Closeout of ESS Queen Elizabeth II will occur today at 16:00 NST. All Earth Prime team members should have inspected and finalized all areas on the ship by 13:00 NST. No non-mission equipment should be left on the ship. Please account for all tools, suits, and other Earth Prime equipment and notify the Earth Prime Director’s Office of any missing items.

CODE ALERT – PART TWO: All non-essential personnel should be off ship by 12:00 NST today. Final inspections of all cargo areas will occur from 08:00 to 11:00 NST and Hab area inspections will occur between 10:00 and 13:00 NST. Inspection teams will work from stern to aft closing out areas behind them.

CODE ALERT – PART THREE: Security personnel will be at both entrance hatches at 12:00 NST today. All personnel must have proper authorization to enter the ship. At 16:00 NST all hatches will be closed and sealed. No one may enter the ship without pre-authorization of the Nick Castillo, Director of ESEP, Rear Admiral Jenna Wade, Commodore Ken Hart, AND Commodore Claude Dubois. Ship will depart from port at 10:35 NST on Sol 49.

The Code Alert was broadcast at 01:30 NST. It was now 05:34 NST and Jenna was rereading the Code Alert. She had read it yesterday after Duncan sent the final draft to her, Nick Castillo, and Claude Dubois. As she sipped the morning tea she wondered if it would work.

Early yesterday morning one of her crew had discovered evidence that someone was trying to stowaway on her ship. The person had left equipment in a cargo area that would keep him or her alive in an unheated and stagnant air environment.

In three days the ESS Queen Elizabeth II will leave the Earth Prime spaceport and because she will be under her own power, life support functions such as circulating air and heat will be shut down in some cargo areas. It was in one of these sections that equipment had been found that would keep someone alive for a few days.

Whoever was responsible was clever. They chose an area that none of the crew would have reason to enter. They had some type of quick attachment device that allowed them to put a tablet in front of the camera playing a loop of the cargo bay. A person would have to be the monitor to catch them putting the tablet in place and with almost 100 cameras in place, no one was going to catch it.

It took several replays of the video of the cargo area to catch the moment the tablet was put in place and it was not removed for 29 hours, so it was impossible to track down the person based on the time the camera was disabled. The person also managed to avoid all other cameras leading to that section. This person was good.

After the equipment was discovered yesterday morning, Duncan ordered it left in place. He had a hidden camera with a motion detector installed with a view of the equipment. Duncan left two security people hidden away near the cargo quill ready to arrest the person if they came back to check on the equipment. The perpetrator didn’t.

Time was running out. The person would likely board the ship just before departure from the spaceport. That would make him or her easier to catch, but it would mean the QE II would have to return and redock, which had never been done before. Ships are constructed with the first section already docked at the spaceport. Docking the mass of the entire ship would be nearly impossible. They had to catch the person before the QE II undocked.

Duncan decided to try to trap the person at the closeout. By having the inspection of the cargo areas end at 11:00, and the putting Security in place at the ship entrance hatch at 12:00, he felt that the potential stowaway would try to check on his or her equipment during the hour after the end of the cargo inspections, but before Security took positions at the hatches.

Jenna, Nick, and Claude all agreed, but now Jenna was having doubts. This person was not stupid and they had avoided detection on a ship covered in cameras. Somehow it didn’t make sense that they would fall for the trap.

Jenna dressed for the day and headed to the Command Commons area to grab some breakfast. Only Ken, Nick, Claude, and her knew about the plan to catch the stowaway. One of her reserve crew members knew about the equipment, but he was told to not discuss the situation with anyone. Most of the Command staff came to the Command Commons area while Jenna was there, but she kept the conversation on the closeout events, and avoided any hints that a significant security issue was overshadowing the day.

The morning kept the crew busy with the closeout procedures, but at 11:00, Jenna and Ken announced that they would have a working lunch in her quarters. The two of them climbed down to the Commons area to get a lunch ration, prepared it, then headed down to her quarters.

Once there she contacted Duncan and Nick and pulled up the camera feed from the hidden camera. Jenna knew that nothing had happened or else she would have been called. She looked at both of Duncan and Nick on the monitors and said, “You don’t mind if we eat, do you?” Nick said, “No.” Duncan was unresponsive. Jenna was concerned that if they didn’t catch him or her the departure schedule might have to be pushed back, but at this point it was up to Duncan, and she and Ken would just have to focus on their jobs.

Over the next hour Ken, Nick, and Jenna talked about mission issues. None of them were significant, but lately all their conversations had been about major issues. This was one of the rare times when they could chat about the mission rather than discuss the mission.

At 11:58 NST, Nick said, “It looks like our person didn’t take the bait.” Duncan replied, “It doesn’t make any sense. He has to know that his stuff could have been found. He should have come.” Jenna joined in, “May he’s changed his….” Jenna looked closer at the monitor and then said, “Mr. Duncan, what is that flashing icon at the bottom of the screen?” Duncan casually answered, “That’s just the motion detector icon.” Jenna tried again, “But why is it flashing.” Duncan thought for a moment, “Uhm, well it flashes when it senses….wait, we would see the person…unless….but he couldn’t have…he doesn’t….” Jenna interrupted him, “Mr. Duncan, he has fooled your camera and he’s there.”

Before Jenna had finished Duncan had sent the signal to his staff on board. Hopefully, it would not be too late.

Commissioning Ceremony: Queen of Mars

05 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, astronauts, crew morale, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, Governor of Mars, Jenna Wade, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, NASA, science, space, space travel

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 29 (1.1.29) 1:41 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: Monday, 1 February 2016 2:37 PM PST

The promotion of Captain Hart to Commodore presented an interesting problem. Normal navy ranking placed a Commander below the rank of Captain. This had not been an issue as Commander Jenna Wade had been placed as the ranking officer of the Mars Mission and Captain Hart’s ships were to serve that mission.

However, as Commodore, Hart’s rank was two steps over Commander Wade and the difference would be hard to ignore as both Hart and Wade were both former naval officers. Wade was not the type to be concerned with a rank or title, but it did raise the question of what would happen if Hart and Wade disagreed on an issue?

The crew may have been aware of this issue as quiet discussions among them continued after the applause died down. Castillo became aware of this and decided he needed to keep the ceremony moving. The Director of ESEP once again gave Mr. Duncan a signal. Mr. Duncan moved forward to the edge again and then announced, “COMMANDER WADE, REPORT!”

Mr. Duncan’s attempt to bring order to the section have the effect it should have so the new Commodore stepped forward next to Mr. Duncan and announced, “CODE ALERT!” The crew instantly returned to attention as Mr. Duncan and Commodore Hart stepped behind Castillo. By this time Wade had arrived at the side of the ESEP Director who began again,

Commander Wade, the Earth Space Exploration Program has designated you as Commander of the Mars Mission. We also designate your crew of 27 astronauts listed in your orders, and any subsequent additional and/or replacement personnel to be under your command until such time as you are relieved of you duties on the Mars Mission.

Unlike the promotion of Captain Hart to the rank of Commodore, this announcement was merely a formality. Jenna Wade had been their leader for the past year and she had already been designated as the Mars Mission Commander. There was polite applause, but it wasn’t the wild applause of the last announcement. Castillo quickly waived for the applause to stop and then resumed,

However, in order for you to fulfill your responsibilities we are promoting you to the rank of Rear Admiral in accordance to naval tradition.

The Command deck exploded with applause as Wade’s new rank was not only deserved, but necessary. Castillo was not finished and he continued,

Jenna Wade, ESEP has decided that while the Mars Mission is one of exploration, it is also one that must consider the human and societal aspects of creating a community on another planet. Therefore, on the day that the first plant sprouts in any habitat on Mars, that location will be considered a colony of Earth and you are designated to act as Governor of Mars until such time as relieved of that duty by order of ESEP.

Castillo had done it again, but this time surprise was more of shock. All the discussions of ESEP’s mission to Mars had carefully avoided the mention of colonization for fear of reviving memories of disastrous efforts on Earth to colonize less developed countries in past centuries.

However, there was a reality that the ESEP administrators knew had to be addressed. Three more missions would arrive at Mars while Wade’s team was still there. Would the new missions have a different command, and how would each mission integrate with the priorities established by the first mission? Someone had to be that leader and the highest ranking officer of the first mission was the logical choice.

Commander Wade’s personality and background also qualified her for the position. The problem was that no one had discussed this with her, and making the announcement to the world at the same time she learned of it was forcing her to accept the decision.

She knew she would be the ranking officer until she returned to Earth and she knew she would have the most information and knowledge of any mission Commander, but Governor of Mars was a more powerful position and it came with more responsibilities.

Still, the declaration was a smart move for ESEP. It gave them over two years to assess the situation and determine who should be the next Governor of Mars. When she returned to Earth they would have a new Governor in place and the program would move on. With Wade as Governor, it effectively ended any issues of an arriving Commander conflicting with the established procedures and protocols.

Still, Wade was caught off guard. She felt flashes of embarrassment, pride, and anger. She knew the public announcement was meant to avoid discussion and forced her to accept the decision, but to the people watching it was a great honor that was being given to a rising hero of humanity.

She composed herself and fought back the emotions. At this moment she must show humility and acceptance of this honor. Later she would take Castillo to quiet place and inform him of her displeasure of how this was handled.

Commissioning Day: A New Command

04 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, astronauts, Captain Ken Hart, Commodore Hart, crew morale, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, NASA, science, space, space travel, spacecraft

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 29 (1.1.29) 1:29 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: Monday, 1 February 2016 2:25 PM PST

The possibility that carbon dioxide was building up to dangerous levels in the Command deck once again crossed Castillo’s mind. He shook off the thought and continued the ceremony. He leaned to Mr. Duncan and quietly gave him a ‘go’ signal.

Mr. Duncan was a former Marine and he was all business. His function at ESEP was Director of Security. Castillo knew Duncan was the person to bring order and dignity to this ceremony.

Duncan marched to the edge of the platform, looked straight ahead and announced, “CAPTAIN HART, REPORT!” Captain Hart, also former military, moved to Castillo and stood at attention. Castillo began,

Captain Kenneth Hart, you are given the command of the Queen Elizabeth II and also of the Carl Sagan. Upon arrival at Mars you will establish and assume command of Mars Spaceport Prime.

However, we have learned we have a problem.

When her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth was briefed on this mission she apparently pointed out an issue we have overlooked. She asked how can one person be Captain of two ships. She is, of course, correct. For this reason ESEP has promoted you to the rank of Commodore effective immediately.

During the enthusiastic applause Castillo took a small open box with his Commodore’s new insignia and a folder containing documentation of his new rank and his written orders and gave it to Hart.

Hart was not forewarned that he was being promoted. As he absorbed the announcement he realized that ESEP had solved an issue that he hadn’t thought of before. His status as Commodore would place him in charge of all activity to and from Mars Spaceport Prime, which would be odd for a Captain. Promoting him to Commodore made perfect sense.

Castillo reached out and shook Hart’s hand and warmly congratulated him, then leaned into him and quietly asked, “Are we going to have a carbon dioxide issue in here?” Hart replied, “You mean too many sets of lungs in here?” Trying not to show concern Castillo said, “EXACTLY!” Hart leaned into the Director’s ear and said, “No, we’ve upped the air. We’re good.” The Director smiled with relief and said, “Oh thank goodness, the last thing we need is alarms going off during the ceremony.” Hart replied, “Oh we turned off the alarms. If there is a problem we’ll all just die.” Hart smiled and backed away. Castillo hoped he was joking.

Commissioning Day: Queen Elizabeth II

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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artificial gravity, astronauts, Commissioning, communications, crew morale, engineering, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Standard Time, NST, Pacific Standard Time, Queen Elizabeth II, science, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, Time, Time Zones

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 29 (1.1.29) 1:10 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: Monday, 1 February 2016 2:06 PM PST

Many of the same people present on the Command deck of the ESS Sagan were now present on the Command deck of the ESS Queen Elizabeth II. The main difference was the presence of all 28 members of her crew. QE II Plaque

For years engineers, scientist, and crafts people had been thinking, planning, designing, and building on a dream to send humans to Mars. Now the entire program became real. Today, two ships and a crew of 28 would officially become Earth’s first interplanetary ambassadors.

Commander Jenna Wade began the final Commissioning ceremony with a nod and one word, “Captain.” At that Captain Ken Hart followed the same procedure he had done earlier in the day and broadcast a “Code Alert,” which meant everyone to standby for an important message to the crew.

As the Captain, anyone on his ship, with the exception of Commander Wade, was subject to his orders; however, this ceremony included many more people than those standing in the Command section. Around the world millions of people watched as this group of people orbiting 2,500 kilometers above Earth were witness to history. Today Earth would commission the ships and crew to be committed to take humanity to the fourth planet.

After this morning’s ceremony Earth had commissioned the ESS Carl Sagan. Now, the second ship, the ESS Queen Elizabeth II and the entire crew would be commissioned.

Again, it was Nick Castillo, the Director of the Earth Space Exploration Program or ESEP, that would conduct the ceremony. In his hands he held two cloth covered plaques. Everyone knew one was the ship’s plaque, but the other object was a mystery.

Castillo stepped to the edge of the platform near the center of the Command deck and began,

For over a century we have pretended that we still had ‘frontiers’ on Earth. There are many things we still need to explore and understand on our planet, but no place on Earth is really a frontier. This ship and crew, along with the sister ship the ESS Carl Sagan, are reviving the exploration of a true frontier.

Since 1960, Earth has sent 46 unmanned missions to Mars. Only one-third of them made it. The ones that did make it have given us volumes of data; however, the knowledge we have gained about Mars and interplanetary travel will double within one year after we set foot on Mars.

Human exploration is the most efficient way to truly explore a frontier as vast as Mars, and now we are ready to step past the millions of kilometers between Earth and Mars and write the next chapter of human knowledge.

Castillo paused as the everyone applauded. He looked around and realized that this was the largest group of people to ever gather in space. At that moment it hit him. His smiled suddenly disappeared. What would happen if the carbon dioxide in the air rose to toxic levels? He briefly considered stopping the ceremony, but then quietly reassured himself that alarms would go off if there was a problem, so he continued and hoped that the ceremony wouldn’t end in an embarrassing scramble for oxygen,

On the 24th Earth day of this month, and the 51st Mars day of Sur One, this ship will lead humans to another world and they will do so on a ship named after one of history’s most constant leaders, Queen Elizabeth II. For over sixty years she has served as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Today we thank her for service to humankind and name this ship in her honor.

Castillo removed the cloth from one of the covered objects and held it up for the remote cameras to zoom in on while the section was filled with clapping. He then handed to plaque to one of the ESEP VIP’s standing behind him, and then Castillo continued,

As the first ship to begin our human journey to Mars it has been designated as the Flagship of Earth’s coming fleet of ships. It will pass this designation to the ESS Carl Sagan once the two ships integrate, but it will retain Flagship status anytime she flies as an independent ship.

It has also been decided that the ESS Queen Elizabeth II will be the first ship to carry back a crew from Mars in April 2017.

He unveiled the second plaque designating the QE II’s Flagship status and again held it up for all to see. After a brief period of applause Castillo handed the second plaque to the man behind him and turned to one of the other ESEP VIP’s who looked more serious than the rest and said, “Mr. Duncan, if you please.”

Commissioning Day: Seeking the Incredible

02 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, Carl Sagan, communications, crew morale, engineering, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, HD cameras, High Definition, JPL, Mars, science, space, space travel, spacecraft design, Time

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 29 (1.1.29) 9:10 AM NST
Earth Date/Time: Monday, 1 February 2016 10:06 AM PST

Several of the remote-controlled cameras inside the Auxiliary Control Deck, or ACD, were active and broadcasting the scene on the ESS Carl Sagan. One of them zoomed in on a man standing on the sixth deck of the ACD holding a flat object covered in a soft cloth. He was Nick Castillo, the Director of the Earth Space Exploration Program or ESEP. Castillo looked at the 21 people in the Command Deck and then began,

Carl Sagan said, ‘Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.’ Today, I stand on the Command Deck of a ship that will take us in search of the incredible. Often space programs justify their existence by explaining that what we learn out there will help us better understand our world. This is true, but the exploration of space elevates us as a species.

We are not merely seeking a better understanding of Earth, but a better understanding of the human being and the context in which we all exist.

The incredible awaits us and now we have Archimedes’ lever that will take us there. This ship, the Earth Space Ship Carl Sagan, is that lever that is big enough to move our world to Mars.

Almost fifty years ago we took a step off our home world and landed on the Moon. The impact of taking that small step has carried humans into a new age of technology and economic success. It is long overdue for us to take the next step.

The Carl Sagan will not take our crew to Mars to touch it and quickly run back home. Almost all of this ship will stay in orbit around Mars, or serve as human’s first habitat on the surface of another planet.

With this ship we honor Carl Sagan for his vision, his brilliance, and his love for humankind. Without people like Carl Sagan we would still be nomadic tribes subject to the whims of nature and superstition.

And so, on behalf of the Earth Space Exploration Program, I commission the Earth Space Ship Carl Sagan. May she take us to the incredible and beyond.

As everyone applauded he uncovered a plaque that had the name of the ship and an image of the man for which it was named. People moved to Castillo and shook his hand.

Captain Hart moved over to Commander Wade and said, “Do you suppose Carl Sagan ever imagined this?” Wade looked at him and said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he meets us on Mars and offers to show us the sights.”

Commissioning Day: The Carl Sagan

01 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, artificial gravity, astronauts, communications, crew morale, engineering, ESEP, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, gravity, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Standard Time, NST, science, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, Time, Time Zones

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 29 (1.1.29) 9:04 AM NST
Earth Date/Time: Monday, 1 February 2016 10:00 AM PST

There was no doubt this was the Auxiliary Command Deck or ACD, but it was odd. It was designed to be functional in a weightless or gravity environment. It was a ten meter diameter section with multiple layers of control stations down its thirty meter length. It looked like a nine-story silo with partial decks reaching out to the center. On each deck there were chairs facing the outside wall.

The walls had video displays that extended up to the ceiling and on each screen were live images of inside sections of the ship, the view around it, data or information vital to ship operations, or personnel on the QE II, Earth Spaceport Prime, or at one of the ESEP Earth-based Centers.

Each deck hung in space. They extended toward the center, but stopped leaving a two meter circular corridor the length of the Command section. In addition, each floor had three gaps with ladder-like rungs protruding out of the wall to allow crew members to easily move between floors.

Only six mission members were in the ACD of the Earth Space Ship (ESS) Carl Sagan, named for the famous scientist who rebooted science in the minds of millions of people.

Eight more managers and directors of Earth Spaceport Prime were also loitering in the ACD. They needed no tour because most of them had been intimately involved with configuring both ships in advance of this first human mission to Mars.

The rest of the crew was on board their sister ship, the ESS Queen Elizabeth II or QE II. In three weeks all 28 crew members would leave Earth orbit for Mars. This ship would be piloted by remote control to meet up with the QE II a few days after it left Earth orbit.

Carl Sagan, 1934-96, Scientist, Author, Educator, Visionary

Ann Flores, the First Officer, kept checking her monitor. She was following the progress of the VIP tours being conducted by Captain Ken Hart and Commander Jenna Wade. They were leading six Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) executives around the ship in two groups. The ESEP Center Director, Nick Castillo, was with Captain Hart’s group and they were returning down the Quill to the ACD.

Captain Hart and his tour slowly descended down the guide pole in the central corridor into the ACD. Flores quickly turned from her monitor and stood at attention and announced, “CAPTAIN ON DECK!” Immediately the crew moved to the edge of each of their floors and stood at attention.

The Captain said, “At ease.” and then he looked at Flores and frowned. “We’re not going to do that all the way to Mars are we?,” he asked. “It is protocol, sir,” she replied.

The Captain moved his VIP’s to the Command Floor. Just as they settled in on the Captain’s section Flores announced, “COMMANDER ON DECK!” Again, the crew stood at attention as Commander Wade and her tour descended to the Commander’s section across from the Captain.

Wade looked at the Captain and said, “That’s going to get old, quick.” Hart replied, “She’s enthusiastic,” and then added, “Today is a day for formality. I’m sure we won’t be ‘announced’ once were underway.” “Good.” Wade said, “This isn’t the Enterprise.”

Castillo interrupted, “I believe it’s time.” Wade looked at Castillo and nodded, then turned back to Hart and said, “Captain.” At that the Captain pulled out his tablet and hit the COMM icon and said, “All hands, all ships, this is the Captain, CODE ALERT!” At that all the crew members on both ships stood at attention their stations watching the screen in front of them. Around the Command Deck life-sized screens showed astronauts at attention on both ships ready for what was to come.

Hart then announced, “Crew of the Carl Sagan and Queen Elizabeth II, standby for an announcement by ESEP Director Nick Castillo.”

Celebration Surprises

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Saturday, Sol 28 (1.1.28) 1:42 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: Sunday, 31 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Today is a day of celebrations. In a surprise arrival, ESEP Mission Director, Nick Castillo and five other ESEP executives ferried up to Earth Spaceport Prime. Castillo sent over a temporary crew to the QE II and ordered all 28 crew members to join the executives and spaceport astronauts for a pre-commissioning party.

Celebration party set up for Spain ESEP Center

On Earth, the families and friends of the crew were invited to a ESEP party at one of the three ESEP Centers in the United States, Japan, and Spain/France. All four parties were connected through video links on human sized monitors around each room and allowed everyone to interact across the planet and in space.

With the ESEP personnel in orbit, tomorrow’s commissioning of the ships and crew will be done in person, rather than by video link. The idea of sending up the ESEP executives was discussed two months ago, but it was contingent on how tests and drills on the ships went in this last month.

Tonight the crew will return to their ship and will have dinner with the Commander and Captain as hosts. Castillo and the ESEP team were also invited to join the crew. After dinner there will be short team meetings to review tomorrow’s schedule of events, responsibilities, and requirements, then all crew members will be in quarters by 21:00 NST.

On Mars Time

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Earth Space Exploration Program, Mars, Mars 2016, Mars calendar, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Friday, Sol 27 (1.1.27) 2:21 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: Saturday, 30 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

The Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) is now officially on Noctis Standard Time (NST). This is the time zone on Mars that the primary landing sites for Mars Mission 2016, near the Noctis Labyrinthus feature.

The Noctis Labyrinthus Time Zone on Mars

It also means we are now on the Mars calendar and today is Friday, Sol 27, Sur One. There are sixty days in this month. The orbital transfer to Mars will begin later this month and the crew will arrive in Mars orbit in the third month, or Sur Three.

The crew will not start shift rotation until Sunday, Sol 29, after the ship and crew have been commissioned. Most of the crew will either the 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM shift or the 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Two astronauts will be on duty on the Command Deck from 4:00 PM to 12:00 midnight, and another two from 12:00 midnight to 8:00 AM.

Sur One

Each crew member will have three days of light duty in every ten days. Light duty may mean shorter hours of scheduled work, a lighter workload, or assignment to a special duty. Whenever possible, the team members work together to plan a group schedule so that tasks can be planned based on the number of team members on duty at any given time.

Tomorrow crew members will be preparing for Sunday’s (Earth’s Monday) commissioning ceremonies both ships and the crew will be commissioned.

Finals Week

29 Friday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Thursday, Sol 26 (1.1.26) 2:59 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: Friday, 29 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Today the crew is finished testing on the systems on ESS Queen Elizabeth II and the ESS Carl Sagan. As the crew is currently on board the QE II, a crew of spaceport astronauts filled in for the testing on the Sagan.

A mishap did occur during Thursday’s test of the Sagan’s Impulse Cycle Propulsion (ICP) pellet propulsion. An astronaut broke his leg when a pellet moved into position for firing. The situation was investigated and it was determined that the astronaut had not notified the Pilot on QE II that he was in the loader area. New requirements were instituted to require video monitoring of the propulsion section by at least two crew members during any use of the propulsion drive on either ship.

Sagan ICP Gun Section near where an astronaut broke his leg this week

With the exception of Thursday’s accident this week’s testing has gone well. The crew has run simulated test firings of the propulsion systems of both ships without actually launching a pellet or detonating it. All other systems are ready for the orbital transfer to Mars.

The next few weeks the crew will be loading in final supplies, running drills, and preparing to leave Earth for a minimum of 21 months. The crew is ahead of schedule and tomorrow will be light duty before Monday’s commissioning of both ships.

Also, tomorrow the entire program switches over to Mars time. This date was selected to give the crew adequate time to adjust before orbital transfer and it will have minimal impact on the crew. At 12:00 PM PST the clocks will convert to 12:21 PM NST.

Mars Calendar: 12 Long Months

28 Thursday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 25 (1.1.25) 3:38 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 28 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Creating the Martian calendar required understand why Earth’s calendar is divided into units. In some cases there is a clear astronomical reason (one planet rotation equals a day,) but other units, such as weeks, have no celestial cycle to establish the unit.

However, the month and year on Earth can be traced to certain astronomical patterns.

MONTH and YEAR
Earth months are loosely based on the orbit of the Moon. The Moon orbits Earth more than twelve times per year, but there is a clear link between the phases of the Moon, and the length of a month.

Mars has two Moons, but they’re orbits are not useful in establishing a time unit similar to Earth’s month standard; however, because Mars is tilted on its axis similar to Earth, it does experience seasons. Those season’s can be measured by the two equinoxes and two solstices.

Earth’s division of seasons

Mars division of seasons

However, because the orbit of Mars takes almost twice as many days (Earth days) than Earth, the seasons are almost twice as long and they have more variance (length) than Earth’s seasons.

Mars takes almost twice as long as the Earth to orbit the Sun, and Mars orbit is more non-circular than Earth's

Mars takes almost twice as long as the Earth to orbit the Sun, and Mars orbit is more eccentric than Earth’s

To establish a Mars month, ESEP divided the Mars year (one orbit around the Sun) into four seasons. Each of those seasons are divided into three, roughly equal months. The full Mars calendar can be seen here.

ESEP began the calendar on the Winter solstice for the Southern Hemisphere, which occurred on 3 January 2016 (Earth Date.) The first six months are measured by the Winter and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere (called Sur) and the second six months are measured by the Winter and Spring of the Northern Hemisphere (called Nor.)

: Sur One

: Sur Two

: Sur Three

: Sur Four

: Sur Five

: Sur Six

: Nor One

: Nor Two

: Nor Three

: Nor Four

: Nor Five

: Nor Six

Mars Calendar: Why Seven Days Make a Week

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 24 (1.1.24) 4:16 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 27 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

As we have noted, a calendar is a human device, not a scientific one. This is especially true when it comes to the construction of a week. A day is determined by the time it takes a planet to make one rotation on its axis. A year is determined by the time it takes a planet to make one orbit of the Sun.

A week = 7 days because our ancestors saw seven significant moving objects in the sky.

However, a week has no astronomical cycle. It is simply a device humans created. A calendar doesn’t have to be divided into weeks; however, over time we have allowed the ‘week’ to define a boundary between work and rest. For this reason alone it would create problems to revise or eliminate the use of the ‘week’ concept in the Mars calendar.

WEEK
Humans have divided the Earth calendar into weeks simply because they knew of seven moving heavenly bodies in the sky. Those seven objects were the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The Latin/Spanish names for those objects are Sōlis/domingo, Lūnae/lunes, Martis/martes, Mercuriī/miércoles, Iovis/jueves, Veneris/viernes, Saturnī/sábado. The English version of the days of the week were heavily influenced by the germanic language; however, the names still correspond to the names of the seven moving objects in our sky.

The first month of the Mars year is 60 days long and has 8 1/2 weeks.

A week is simply a repeating pattern of the names of seven objects in Earth sky. If Earth had two Moons, or if Uranus or Neptune were in an orbit close enough to be visible to the naked eye, we might have an eight-day week, instead of seven.

Despite its simplistic invention, the week is an important part of how humans note time, so ESEP has chosen to keep the same convention for the Mars calendar; however, because a day on Mars is 40 minutes longer, the days of the week are not in sync. On any given day, the days of the week will not usually be the same on Earth and Mars. When it is Friday on Earth, it is probably not Friday on Mars.

Some discussion occurred regarding changing the name of Tuesday (Martis in Latin) to Terra, since Tuesday was named for Earth’s perspective of Mars, and from Mars perspective, Earth would be one of the significant moving objects in the sky. The idea was rejected.

Mars Calendar: What’s in a Day

26 Tuesday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 23 (1.1.23) 4:54 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 26 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

It is important to remember that a calendar is a human device, not a scientific one. Humans have divided time into units in order to keep track of the past, present, and future events, and science has worked to make time units more precisely measured. Thus, creating time units for Mars is to establish the standard for humans to use to reference past, present, and future events.

There are many possible ways to establish time units on Mars, but the Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) determined that fusing elements of Earth time units with the characteristics of Mars would be the most efficient.

An Earth Day is defined by one rotation of the planet

DAY
One Earth day is based on one rotation of our planet. It is divided into 24 increments, called hours. Hours are divided into 60 minutes, and minutes are divided into 60 seconds.

One Mars day is also based on one rotation of the planet; however, compared to Earth, Mars rotation takes approximately 24 hours and 40 minutes. Because it is so close, and we are accustomed to the 24 hour clock, scientists have established a “Mars clock” that also has a 24 hour day. They did this by making each second of Mars time slightly longer than an Earth ‘second,’ so there are still 60 seconds to a Mars minute, and 60 minutes to a Mars hour, and 24 hours to a Mars day.

A Mars Day is about 40 minutes longer than Earth’s

However, this makes a Mars day out of sync with an Earth day, but that is unavoidable. Earth rotates faster than Mars, therefore, Earth days occur faster than Mars.

Space, Oxygen, and the Botany Challenge

25 Monday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 22 (1.1.22) 5:33 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 25 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Most of us take plants for granted. Earth’s supply of plants seems inexhaustible, and if you garden, you might believe that some plants (weeds, in particular,) cannot be killed.

However, plants and humans have a bond that cannot be severed. Plants provide food, remove carbon dioxide, and most importantly, they produce oxygen. Humans cannot live without plants.

Sending humans to Mars presents a difficult challenge in that relationship as the demands of plants for light, water, and care is high. At the same time, their output of oxygen and food is minimal in small environments. This is why most human environments in space have used chemical reactions to remove carbon and produce oxygen and water.

Since plants can’t replace more efficient chemical processes in space travel, the botanist challenge is to compete with the chemical processes, and the Botany Division of ESEP has taken on that challenge.

Carbon taken from the air is the source of all plant growth. Faster growing plants absorb more carbon.

Our ships rely primarily on chemical processes to create oxygen and to remove carbon; however, air is circulated through the botanical sections to give plants the first opportunity to remove carbon from the air. In addition, plants are part of every inhabited section of the ship, including all crew quarters.

Mostly bamboo plants are used outside of the botanical areas and they are automatically maintained by a computer program that senses soil moisture and analyzes soil content. When the bamboo plants reach a certain height, a member of the Botany team harvests the wood, stows it, and replants a seedling. The wood will be processed on Mars at the first extraterrestrial woodworking shop.

Botanists cannot yet replace the need to produce oxygen through chemical reaction, but their priority is to make humans less dependent on the chemical process to produce breathable air by incorporating natural, biologic sources of oxygen into the human environment.

All On Board

24 Sunday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 21 (1.1.21) 6:12 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 24 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Yesterday was Crew Emplacement Day. That means all 28 crew members reported for duty on the ESS Queen Elizabeth II. Most of the crew of 28 was already on board; however, a few people were working out of other locations. With one exception, the crew has been in orbit for over six months.

South Pacific from the International Space Station (credit: NASA/ISS Live 23 Jan 2016)

Two of the engineering crew and our Pilot were still wrapping up preparations on our sister ship, the ESS Carl Sagan, and three members of the Communication staff, and two members of the Science staff moved over from Earth Spaceport Prime. The final person on board was Wendy Stevens, our Mission Counselor.

During this next week the crew will be conducting tests of all the ships systems. They have one week to address any last-minute problems before the ships and crew are commissioned on 1 February.

This weekend the crew has a loose schedule in order to prepare their living quarters and their work areas. On Sunday night the Commander has a celebration dinner planned for the entire crew. This may be the first and last time the crew will be able to have two hours of time together. Once the ship is commissioned part of the crew will always be on duty at all times, and once they arrive at Mars, part of the crew will live on the surface while some remain in orbit.

The Mars Mission 2016 is starting to become a reality now that the ship has its crew. Soon our first human ambassadors will be on their journey to Mars.

Who’s In Charge?

23 Saturday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 20 (1.1.20) 6:51 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 23 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

When the United States went to the Moon they were guided by ‘Mission Control.’ In many ways the astronauts were dependent and subservient to the people on the ground. In part, that was because the critical information that supplied data about ship operations was in the massive computers on the ground.

Mars Mission is not controlled from the Earth-based control centers. The mission crew does work with ground based centers; however, those perform an advisory role, not an authoritative one. When the ships and crew are commissioned, Commander Jenna Wade will be the final authority on all ship and mission decisions.

Earth to Mars in 110 days

This is not an arbitrary decision, but one of necessity as time delay between Earth and Mars could mean the difference between life and death for the crew. In addition, the crew will almost always have more information about a situation than anyone on Earth.

That is why 1 February is more than just ceremony when the ships and crew are commissioned. The mission actually begins on that day and when ESS QE II departs orbit on 24 February, it will just be another day for the crew…well, maybe another BIG day.

It Takes More Than Just Being Smart

22 Friday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 19 (1.1.19) 7:29 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 22 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

It is Rocket Science, so you would expect that the Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) would have really smart people…and we do.

But that isn’t enough. Many of the hundreds of thousands of people who work for and with ESEP have advanced degrees, but in an endeavor that has never been done before you have to have people who go beyond smart. As the program has grown ESEP has sought out people who were leaders in their field, but not all of them are still with the program.

Dr. Werner von Braun with President Kennedy (credit: Space.com)

When the United States was designing ships to go to the Moon, Dr. Werner von Braun, the most experienced rocket scientist at the time, ridiculed an engineer that proposed building a separate ship (the Lunar Excursion Module or LEM) that only landed on the Moon and then brought the astronauts back to the main ship (the Command Module.) In the end von Braun realized he was wrong and accepted the engineer’s plan as the best, and possibly only workable concept.

In space, nothing is straightforward or easy. People have to have the ability to do more than just the math. People have to apply skills that they don’t have and see a larger viewpoint than just the problem they’re trying to solve.

Everyone on the crew has spent time in other positions with ESEP. As the ship came together, so did the people who would be crew members. Often the person selected to be on the crew was also the person who was integrally involved with planning, designing, or building the function of the ship that they will responsible for on the mission. The 28 crew members are the best of the best and know more about the history of every part of the ship than almost anyone else.

These people didn’t just learn how to take tests in school, they learned to question, to examine, and rethink any problem. In many ways they are not ‘good employees’ that follow instructions, because they often possess more information about their part of the ship than their superiors. They are creative monsters of thinking and we wouldn’t be going to Mars without them.

The Laundry Challenge

21 Thursday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 18 (1.1.18) 8:07 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 21 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

One problem that was never been solved in all our decades in space is doing the laundry. The astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) never washed their clothes. They wore them as long as they could stand and then they put the dirty clothing on the Russian Progress vehicle that brought supplies to the station. Then the Progress vehicle would undock and burn up in the atmosphere in a planned return designed to destroy the craft.

On the International Space Station the laundry challenge was solved by not doing any

That works when you’re in 400 km in orbit above Earth and you have a resupply ship coming every few weeks. It doesn’t work millions of miles away from Earth, you have 28 astronauts on board, and all of them will be on the mission for a minimum of 21 months.

To go to Mars we had to solve the problem and we did by rethinking the cleaning process. Solving the gravity issue has helped because even a little gravity keeps water from free-floating; however, the real solution was making laundry a continuous process that washes one item at a time.

Our space washing machines are not what you will find in your home. Our Attire Washing Systems (AWS) are high-efficiency machines that are designed to save energy, time, and save and recycle water.

The difference is that the AWS is more like a conveyor process where each clothing item is processed one piece at a time. Only this conveyor is circular and wraps around itself in an enclosed system that clothes enter, are processed, then come out dry and clean.

Cloth fed into the center of the machine is infused with the cleaning solution as it goes up and over the top of the entry point. Near the top the cloth is pressed to push out dirt and the cleaning solutions. As the cloth come down it is rinsed. At the bottom of the cycle the cloth is then pressed again to push out as much water as possible. As the cloth rises up and over the washing cycle it is travels through a chamber that briefly exposes it to a micro-vacuum environment that sucks out most of the remaining water. On the way back down it is exposed to dry heated air that finishes the process and is expelled into a basket for the astronaut to collect.

It takes about four minutes to load a week’s worth of personal laundry. Once the clothing, sheets, and/or towels are fed into the AWS, the first item comes out in three and a half minutes, and in a little over ten minutes the astronauts laundry is done.

The ultimate test for the AWS will be the fine grit of Mars; however, our rover missions have given our engineers good information on what to expect once humans are on the planet. Fortunately, most of the dust will be on the suits, not inside them.

Quill Length and Gravity

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 17 (1.1.17) 8:46 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 20 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

In a previous article we discussed the importance of a gravity environment (SEE: The Need for G’s.) We explained that the “Quill” sections are perpendicular to the core and rotate to create an artificial gravity environment for the astronauts.

However, spinning something doesn’t create gravity. It creates a force that can imitate gravity if the spin rate is correct for distance from the axis (or core.) In the case of our ships, we spin the Quill sections at two revolutions per minute.¹

Spinning a structure like a spaceship will create an outward force that can feel similar to gravity; however, near the axis or core of the ship (core sections are 30 meters in diameter, so the radius is 15 meters) the effect is barely noticeable. As an astronaut moves farther into a Quill, and away from the core, the effect increases until, at 224 meters, the astronaut experiences the equivalent of Earth’s gravity, or 1G.

GRAPH 1.0 – G Force and Rotational Speed versus Radius from the Axis

Since each Quill section is 33 meters, it requires seven Quill sections to reach the distance needed for a 1G environment. This means that Quill sections designed for human habitation are seven Quill sections long with the crew quarters in the sixth and seventh Quill.

Work stations are in sections three, four, and five where gravity is equal that on Mars (.38G) or greater. The ladder tube (a two meter diameter corridor with a ladder) that runs the length of each Quill has color coded lights that indicate the percentage of G force at that point. (SEE: Table 1.0)

TABLE 1.0 – Color Codes For Gravity Environments

RED: 0 to .19 G

ORANGE: .20 to .3.9 G

YELLOW: .40 to .59 G

GREEN: .60 to .79 G

BLUE: .80 to 1.00 G

VIOLET: +1.00 G

The Command Section at the front of the ship is part of the core, but does not rotate with the rest of the ship. This means it is in a weightless environment; however, because the ship uses cameras instead of windows, there is no reason for the Command team to be In the Command Section during the orbital transfer from Earth to Mars; therefore, an Auxiliary Control is in the fourth section of a Quill. The Command Team operates out of Auxiliary Control for almost the entire trip.

¹The Coriolis Effect is a force that acts on a body at a right angle to the downward force of the spin. In this case, spinning the Quills too fast would cause a human to feel ‘the spin’ as well as the downward force. Humans do not tend to sense spin rates of two revolutions per minute or less.

Blast Propulsion

19 Tuesday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 16 (1.1.16) 9:24 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 19 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Both the ESS QE II and the ESS Sagan are have blast propulsion, known as Impulse Cycle Propulsion (ICP). This consists of a series of explosions behind the ship that push it forward.

Artist rendition of a Blast Propulsion Drive

Each bomb, or pellet is pushed out of the engine section of the ship and is attached be a wire or tether. When the pellet reaches the correct distance the tether pulls taught and signals the ship. At that millisecond the computer on the ship sends the detonation code to the pellet and it explodes. The strength of the explosive force on the ship is determined by the pellet type and size, and the length of the tether. Acceleration of the ship is determined by explosive force and the frequency of pellet deployment.

The engine section consists of a blast plate and blast umbrella that absorbs most of the blast. The blast plate and umbrella is connected to the ship by sixteen resistance rods, or shock absorbers, that both cushion the shock of the pellet detonation and generate power using electrostatic generators on each rod that produce electricity from friction.

The blast umbrella plates also have electrostatic generator shock absorbers rods that also generate electricity for the ship as well as absorb more of the pellet blast to propel the ship.

The ship also has the more traditional chemical-based engines to correct and alter course. Each Quill section has it’s own engine and it is tied into the Command section. The engines on the Quill sections are primarily for landing on Mars.

Acceleration of the ESS QE II is designed for 9.81 meters per second per second, which is equal to 1 g (the same gravity force of Earth at sea level.) It can accelerate up to 2 g; however, the needed speed to accelerate to 150,000 km/hr (41.67 km/s) only requires 4.25 seconds of acceleration at 1 g, so 2 g acceleration is not needed. In fact, the QE II will accelerate to 45,000 km/hr on the first day, then evaluate the ship’s performance. It will then accelerate to 100,000 km/hr on the third day, and then match speed with the ESS Sagan on the six day.

The ESS Sagan will leave orbit two and a half days after the QE II departs, but will accelerate to 150,000 km/hr over a 12 hour period. It will overtake the QE II. The QE II will disassemble and recombine with the Sagan creating one larger ship. The combined ships will continue their 110 day trip to Mars. Other than course corrections, the ships will not use the ICP engine again until it is time to decelerate for Mars orbit.

Death In Space?

17 Sunday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 14 (1.1.14) 10:40 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 17 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

There were 27 people on the nine Apollo missions that went to Moon. We will exceed that total in our first mission to Mars. The total time for all the Apollo Moon missions was 91 days. The crew of the ESS Carl Sagan won’t even reach Mars in that time. The Apollo missions were all considered high risk, and one mission to the Moon almost lost three crew members. Our missions elevate that risk by a factor of ten.

NASA Memorial to the 24 astronauts who gave their lives in service to the United States Space Program

We will do everything in our power to prevent anyone dying in space; however, with crews of 28 astronauts or more, most of whom will be in space for over two years, death is a real possibility. All crew members know that losing a fellow astronaut is part of the risk of space travel and like every other potential crisis, we plan for the possibility.

If a crew member dies in mission and their body is recoverable, the body will be cremated. Each crew member has declared what they wish to be done with their ashes, and every effort will be made to honor their request. The Counselor and Captain will designate someone to collect the personal items of that crew member and pack it for return to Earth.

Assuming the mission is not in a crisis, the crew members will be follow a ‘significant loss’ protocol (also used for crew members before and after their crewmates return to Earth) that involves formal and informal discussion, remembrance , and ceremony of that crew member or members.

All crew members who had a significant relationship with the deceased crew member(s) will have counseling and evaluation. If the loss is too difficult for a crew member they will be reassigned and/or scheduled for return.

There is no way to know how much the loss of a crew member(s) will impact a mission; however, the Captain and Counselor have broad authority to make adjustments and reassignments after the loss of crew.

The Earth/Mars Dance

16 Saturday Jan 2016

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Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 13 (1.1.13) 11:19 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 16 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

Any journey begins with a beginning point and an ending point. Our journey to Mars is no different; however, in this case the beginning point and the ending point are in motion and the distance between them varies depending on where each planet is in their orbit.

Launch Day

Closest Approach

Mars and Earth will be at their closest point on 30 May 2016. To take advantage of this the ESS Queen Elizabeth II and the ESS Carl Sagan will depart for Mars in late February and arrive in June. We call this a “up” orbital transfer because the ships are coming up from behind the planet to meet it in its orbit.

However, we will also be using a “head” orbital transfer in future missions. This is when the departure planet is ahead of the destination planet. It requires more fuel in most cases; however, it gives us more opportunities to send ships between the two planets. The next three missions to Mars will be using the head orbital transfer.

Because Earth moves faster than Mars, an up orbital transfer to Earth is impractical once it is ahead of Mars in orbit. For this reason the first return mission to Earth will be a ‘head’ orbital transfer in April 2017, and that mission won’t arrive at Earth until November 2017.

Earth Space Exploration Program

15 Friday Jan 2016

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2016, Earth Space Exploration Program, ESEP, international, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, NASA, space, space travel, spacecraft

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 12 (1.1.12) 11:56 PM NST
Earth Date/Time: 15 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

The Mars Missions are government funded operations from 23 different member countries that established the Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP). Each country must fund two years of operations in advance, and must commit to funding for an additional five years. Current annual funding (2016) is $850 million/per country/per year and it increases by $50 million each year.

The countries are as follows:

Australia
Brasil
Canada
Chile
China (中国)
India (इंडिया)
Indonesia
Italy (Italia)
Germany (Deutschland)
France
Japan (日本)
Mexico (Méjico)
Netherlands (Nederland)
Nigeria
Panamá
Perú
Philippines (Pilipinas)
Saudi Arabia (المملكة العربية السعودية)
South Korea (대한민국)
Spain (España)
Thailand (ประเทศไทย)
United Kingdom
United States of America

No one country has more authority than any other and only scientists are allowed to be on the governing body. Russia is notably absent from the program because they did not accept the seven year funding commitment and the equal partnership of the member countries. China and the United States also hesitated; however, both countries found the funding formula allowed them to continue most of their current space programs, while taking part in the most significant space exploration effort in history.

The program is not a plan of several individual missions, but rather it is a series of overlapping missions with some people staying on Mars, while others return to Earth. Decisions of who is to stay and who will return are to be made in the months leading up to a return mission. In the case of the first mission, it is expected that only one-quarter to one-third of the crew will be members of the first return mission.

At least fifty percent of the crew from each mission will remain at Mars (on the surface or in orbit.) At least another twenty-five percent will remain longer than two return-to-Earth missions. Any crew members remaining at or on Mars for more than two return-to-Earth missions will have priority for the next return mission; however, no one is required to return to Earth unless the Mission Commander, the Mission Counselor, or the Mission Physician orders them to return.

The goal of the Earth Space Exploration Program is to follow the example of the International Space Station and provide ongoing occupation and exploration of Mars. It is projected that by the end of the first year on Mars we will have tripled our knowledge and understanding of space, space travel, living in space, and of the planet. By the end of the second year we will have doubled that knowledge of the first year, and by the end of the third year we will have a permanent, self sufficient, residency on Mars that will have established its own social, economic, and political identity.

Decades ago Carl Sagan said, “Space calls to us…” We believe it’s time we answered that call.

What Time Is It?

14 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Mars, Mars 2016, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Mars time, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Standard Time, NST, Pacific Standard Time, PST, space, space travel, spacecraft, Time

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 12 (1.1.12) 12:36 AM NST
Earth Date/Time: 14 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

There are several versions of Mars Clock apps

As humans expand their reach, time becomes a major issue. Before the invention of machines that could transport people over long distances in a short time period, all time was local. When the Sun was directly overhead in a village, it was noon.

However, as transportation and communication advanced, so did our recognition that the time of day was different depending on the location. The railroads in Europe were the first to establish a ‘standard time’ that later became know as Railway Time.

However, with space travel, a time standard based on Earth isn’t compatible with keeping time on another planet. We’ve already discussed this issue in a previous article (SEE: A Matter of Time,) but there is more to this issue than just when the Sun rises and sets on two different planets.

The Mars Mission has four Earth-based Operation Control locations. (San Jose, California, USA; Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan 熊本市; and the twin Operation Centers in Figueres, Spain and Perpignan, France.) In addition, we have our launch facility near Arica, Chile. For simplicity the workers and crew have been on Pacific Standard Time; however, on 30 January all mission operations on Earth, and in orbit will switch to Mars Noctis Standard Time (NST.)

This will eliminate confusion by Earth-based operations as to what time it is for the Mars Alpha Base (once it is established) and avoid interruptions during their sleep cycle. As teams for previous robotic missions to Mars have known, this creates and odd situation for them, because of a forty-minute difference between a day on Earth and a day on Mars. All Mars Operation Control locations will be on shifts of six hours and ten minutes each (plus a one hour briefing before each shift,) with the next day beginning 40 minutes later.

For the crew and the support staff of the Mars Mission, the question: “What time is it?” will require knowing what time it is on Mars at that moment.

Crew Training and Alert Drills

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Mars, Mars 2016, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, Alerts, Code Alerts, Crew Status, Crew training, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, NASA, space, space travel, spacecraft

Mars Date/Time: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 11 (1.1.11) 1:16 AM NST
Earth Date/Time: 13 January 2016 2:00 PM PST

The ESS Queen Elizabeth II will depart Earth orbit in exactly six weeks. Currently the 28 crew members are in orbit preparing both the ESS QE II and the ESS Carl Sagan for departure.

In the next few weeks the crew will be stocking the ship with the more perishable items, perform final tests on ship systems, and conduct training aboard both ships.

Our emergency codes are not to prepare for battle, but to save lives

Part of the training will be drills in the event of a crisis. Each crew member is assigned areas of responsibilities in an emergency. In some situations the crew members will be required to seal up the compartment they are in and shelter-in-place; however, some situations will require all crew members to take action to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible.

Among the emergency codes are:

Code Command – All Command Staff are to report in to the Command Module and/or move to that section. All other staff is to stand by for further instructions. (Normally for a crisis requiring an immediate decision from the Command Staff regarding an imminent threat to ship or crew.)

Code Alert – All crew members report to assigned stations, secure the area and await further instructions. Code Alert is also the call to prepare to abandon the ship.

Code Med (Location) – Medical staff to identified area.

Code Tag – All team members call or report to their Director or Commander immediately.

Code Air (Location) – Pressure leak within the ship or habitat or other environmental threat that may endanger the crew and/or ship. Each member to seal doors, report, and await instructions.

Code Fire (Location) – A fire or threat of fire exists. A crew members are trained to take specific actions based on the location of the fire.

Code Green – A threat to the Botanical section of the ship or habitat. Usually this would be a computer generated alert when sensors indicate a severe problem.

Mars Alpha Landing Sites

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Mars, Mars 2016, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, Cráter de Tormenta, JPL, Landing sites, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, NASA, Noctis Labyrinthus, space, space travel, spacecraft, Storm Crater

Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 10 (1.1.10)

The Alpha Landing Sites near Noctis Labyrinthus (Image credit: Mars Trek/NASA)

A few days ago we announced the four possible landing zones on Mars. Today we are looking at the primary zone (Alpha) and the four possible landing sites within that zone. These for sites will have to be eliminated by the crew before they would consider landing at any of the three other sites.

The Alpha sites are located in a transition region between the Tharsis Volcanic Plateau and Noctis Labyrinthus. The first Mars landing site will likely become a major hub for exploring the features in a 2,000 kilometer radius around it. Access to and from the site will be important, and the Alpha sites have been selected with that in mind.

In addition, a community as large as 500 scientists may be living at the Alpha landing site within eight years, so a roughly level area with room to expand is vital to the first ‘city’ on Mars.

Alpha Site 1A and 1B are located near a small impact crater west of Noctis Labyrinthus. This crater has been designated as Cráter de Tormenta or Storm Crater. The 200 meter deep crater will give scientists immediate access to areologic (geologic) information about the area. The crater may also play a role in development of the colony by providing sloped areas with good exposure to the Sun for solar panels and the botanical structures.

The details of each site are as follows:

Site Elevation Longitude Latitude Distance from 1A

Alpha 1A 6,483 m -108.58° -4.61°

Alpha 1B 6,504 m -108.66° -4.54° 6.4 km

Alpha 1C 6,513 m -108.34° -5.06° 34.0 km

Alpha 1D 6,496 m -108.37° -4.72° 13.5 km

No Windows = A Better View

11 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Mars, Mars 2016, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, crew morale, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, HD cameras, High Definition, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, Monitors, NASA, space, space travel, spacecraft, spacecraft design, windows

Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 9 (1.1.9)

Windows are a relic of primitive space travel. When building a spacecraft in the 20th century the astronauts had to see outside the ship, so windows were installed. They had to be a heavy, thick, and transparent material because the lack of pressure outside meant that any normal window would explode.

Windows on the International Space Station (ISS)…great when there is something to look at, but not so much in the black of space

Windows didn’t help the astronauts see any better than normal vision and restricted the view to the direction the window faced. Windows also didn’t record the view, so the benefit of a window was completely dependent on an astronaut looking out of it.

When Neil Armstrong dirtied his boots on the Moon, everyone else saw a grainy image of shadows and light that looked vaguely like something hopping down a pole. Today, a moon landing today would have three or four high-definition (HD) cameras fixed on an astronaut’s descent down the ladder, and there might even be a drone with a camera using thrusters hovering over the event. We would watch in amazement on an HD screen that would make us feel like we were there on the Moon, looking through a window at the historical moment.

The fact is that using today’s HD cameras gives us a better view than any window ever designed. In addition, we can use cameras that can see in the dark, and see in different wavelengths of light outside of normal human vision.

Designing a spacecraft with windows makes no sense when cameras can provide better imaging and can do more than the human eye. For that reason we have almost no windows on our ships, and we have a better view of the outside.

No fewer than eight cameras provide our command ships with a forward view. Each of those cameras can be tilted, panned, and zoomed. Normally all eight cameras are focused ahead with approximately the same view. Four of the eight cameras ‘see’ in a different wavelength than the visible spectrum and all eight cameras can be used to look at independent views.

In addition we have over 50 cameras on the core section that give a 360°/360°/360° (X/Y/Z axis) view of the ship and it’s surroundings. The Quills each have 24 outside cameras that, like the cameras on the Core Sections, can be viewed by anyone, on any monitor on the ship.

The Command Deck is an array of monitors that allow the crew to visually observe the outside of the spacecraft, however, the system is not dependent on a crew member staring at a monitor. Computer programs track and alert the crew of any unusual movement outside and/or near the ship using a broad light spectrum and radar. The view of each camera on the ship is recorded and can also be accessed after an event that requires investigation.

However, the crew will not have much to look at during the transfer from Earth to Mars. Months of looking at a mostly black background would likely reinforce the isolation of the astronauts. To address this issue, interior monitors can also be switched over to recorded video of a landscape or place that will give an astronaut a sense of being back on Earth.

There are three windows in each Command Module that will allow human eye observation of the outside; however, it is unlikely that they will be of much use to the crew until they are in orbit above Mars. Even then, the camera system will give better, more detailed images than the windows will provide.

Mars Mission 2016: The Crew

11 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Mars, Mars 2016, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, areography, astronauts, biology, botany, communications, engineering, ESS Carl Sagan, ESS Queen Elizabeth II, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, NASA, physician, science, space, space travel, spacecraft

Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 8 (1.1.8)

The finalized crew of the Mars Mission 2016 has been announced. There is still the possibility of changes in the next few weeks; however, at this time these are the 28 primary crew members that are training for the 24 February departure. MM2016 Org Chart

(NOTE: EMT = Estimated Mission Time)

Mission Commander – Jenna Wade (EMT: 27 months)
Jenna will command all aspects of the mission and will be stationed at Mars Alpha Base (2nd Landing.)

Team

Lanny Deaton-Science Director
Roman Guzman – Engineering Director
Naomi Pierce – Communications Director
Ken Hart – Captain/Mars Port Commander
Wendy Stevens – Counselor
Kayla Summers – Physician

Science Director – Lanny Deaton (EMT: 27 months)
Lanny will oversee all science programs for the mission and will be stationed at Mars Alpha Base (1st landing.)

Team

Steve Conner-Areology Officer
Jacob Reese-Archeology Officer
Alexander Rivera-Biology/Environment Officer
Sying Wang-Botany Specialist
Heidi Massey-Botany Specialist

Engineering Director – Roman Guzman (EMT: 27 months)
Roman will direct all construction, maintenance, and repair during the mission and will be stationed at Mars Alpha Base (1st landing.)

Team

Lanita Case-Engineering Officer
Jeramy Prater-Munitions Officer
Tory Hankins-Plant Officer
Ling Cho-Logistics Officer
Abdul Karem-Logistics Specialist

Communication Director – Naomi Pierce (EMT: 27 months)
Naomi will oversee all communications, data collection, and mission reporting and will be stationed on the Mars Port in orbit.

Team

Paige Flores-Comm Officer
John Schultz-Comm Specialist
Krista Parker-Comm Specialist
Jennifer Nagi-Data/Record Specialist

Captain ESS QEII/Sagan, Mars Port Commander – Kenneth Hart (EMT: 27 months)
Ken will Captain the ESS Queen Elizabeth II, then take command of the ESS Carl Sagan when the ships merge. Upon arrival at Mars he will become the Commander of the Mars Port and be stationed there.

Team

Ann Flores-First Officer/Mars Orbit Control Director
Dane Paris-Pilot

Mission Physician – Kayla Summers (EMT: 27 months)
Kayla oversee and monitor the health of the mission crew and she will be stationed at the Mars Alpha Base (2nd landing.)

Team

Jai Wong-Nurse Practitioner
Alberto Sowers-Nutritional Officer

Counselor – Wendy Stevens (EMT: 27 months)
Wendy will assess the mission crew on an ongoing basis and will make recommendations for crew changes, mission assignments, and crew returns. Wendy will be stationed at the Mars Alpha Base (2nd landing.)

Team

Ian Banks-MET Reserve
Peyton Rhodes-SKY Reserve

Mars Geography: Five Things To Know

10 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by Paul Kiser in Mars, Mars 2016, Science Fiction, Space, Space, Virtual Adventures

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2016, areography, Ares, datum, Hellas Planitia, JPL, Mars, Mars Mission 2016, MOLA, NASA, Olympus Mons, sea level, space

Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 7 (1.1.7)

The geography of Mars is complex and unique, but there are five things every human should know about Mars.

One: It’s Called Areography
The word ‘geo’ refers to ‘of Earth.’ The study of the surface structures of Mars is called areography after the Greek god of war, Ares, counterpart of the Roman god of war, Mars.

Two: Mars is Two-Faced
The northern hemisphere of Mars can best be described as a big ocean bottom. Much of the northern hemisphere is a low flat plain with few craters. We don’t know for sure what happened, but the best theory is that Mars was hit by a Pluto-sized dwarf planet at about a 45° angle early in its formation.

Credit: Wikipedia/JPL/NASA

Credit: JPL/NASA

In contrast the southern hemisphere consists of elevated areas, including one of the highest mountains in our solar system, large regions of crater impacts, and surface canyon features that can be easily seen from orbit.

Three: ‘Zero’ Altitude on Mars is Not Based on Sea Level….Obviously
On Earth we have a hypothetical average sea level based on 19 years of recordings to serve as our ‘zero’ altitude standard. On Mars there is no ‘sea level,’ so scientists developed a standard based at the air pressure level that water becomes unstable (the triple point of water.)

However, in 2001, scientists adopted a new standard based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimiter (MOLA) mission. This standard, called the datum, or datum point, cannot be explained in one paragraph. Suffice to say there is a ‘zero’ elevation on Mars, and like Earth, it is not based on any particular areographic feature, but on a hypothetical altitude determined by scientists.

Four: Olympus Mons is Really That Big
Mars is half the size of Earth and has an extinct volcano that is twice as high as Hawai’i’s Mauna Kea (from seabed to the highest point) and three times the height of Mount Everest (Nepal’s Sagarmāthā). It is so tall that the the top of it remains in sunlight long after the Sun has set in the lower elevations surrounding it.

Olympus Mons at the upper left

Olympus Mons is 21 km (13 m) above the Mars global datum, or zero altitude. It is the biggest of four massive volcanoes in what is known as the Tharsis region.

Five: The Big Hole
The equator and southern hemisphere of Mars is areographic candy store of features, but after Olympus Mons, the one that is hard to miss is Hellas Planitia.

Hellas Planitia: Almost all of the Hawi’ian Island chain could fit inside

Hellas Planitia is a massive impact crater near the South Pole of Mars. It is about 2,100 km (1,400 m) across and is approximately 9,000 m (30,000 ft) deep. It is an uncharacteristic low spot in the southern hemisphere.

Noctis on Mars

~ A Real Time Virtual Mission To Mars

Tag Archives: JPL

The Understanding

Plan Delta

Number 29

Au Revoir

Leaving Port

Security Breach

Red Handed

Rat Trap

Commissioning Ceremony: Queen of Mars

Commissioning Day: A New Command

Commissioning Day: Queen Elizabeth II

Commissioning Day: Seeking the Incredible

Commissioning Day: The Carl Sagan

Celebration Surprises

On Mars Time

Finals Week

Mars Calendar: 12 Long Months

Mars Calendar: Why Seven Days Make a Week

Mars Calendar: What’s in a Day

Space, Oxygen, and the Botany Challenge

All On Board

Who’s In Charge?

It Takes More Than Just Being Smart

The Laundry Challenge

Quill Length and Gravity

Blast Propulsion

Death In Space?

The Earth/Mars Dance

Earth Space Exploration Program

What Time Is It?

Crew Training and Alert Drills

Mars Alpha Landing Sites

No Windows = A Better View

Mars Mission 2016: The Crew

Mars Geography: Five Things To Know