Caraval comes home after ship misses Mars
Fast packet gets a lift from an explorer scout
MARS CAROUSEL, Aug 9 - Captain Peregrinus Aeolus strode smiling onto the observation deck of the Pontus Caelestis orbital with its stunning view of the Valles Marineris below and waved to the crowd welcoming him home after eight tense weeks aboard a spaceship with no working engines.
Wearing a standard white shipsuit, the tall, dark-haired spacefarer walked to the gallery windows and looked down at his home planet for a long moment before addressing his welcomers.
After flying by Mars without working engines nearly three weeks ago, the crew of the fast packet Caraval and its rescuers returned home on Friday to a warm welcome.
“It took a little longer than expected, and it was a little more exciting than strictly necessary, but everyone made it home with the help of friends and our team here. And it’s great to be home,” Aeolus said to cheers from the waiting crowd.
The Caraval was returning from the Astra Earth orbital station with 12 passengers and five crew aboard when it first experienced engine trouble seven weeks ago.
The dozen passengers were brought to the Mars Carousel by the Beansí and its sister ship Boudicca after four of the explorer scouts’ crew swapped places with passengers.
Onboard the Carousel, Aelous looked back to the hallway and gestured to his crew and their rescuers to join him, among them shipyard welders Dominique Martel and Jason Ferrario, who worked outside on the ship’s hull as it flew through space with Alexis Aurora, the engineer of the explorer scout Beansí.
“It’s one thing to go extra-vehicular in the shipyard, but it takes a lot of courage to do that on a spaceship with failed engines that just flew by Mars,” Aeolus said. “And we’re all extremely grateful to the captains of the Beansí and Boudicca and their crew, who somehow reached us in time. The modifications they made to their ships saved our lives and our ship and should be a model for future Mars ships.”
He pointed to Electra and Attracta O’Ceileachair, skippers of the explorer scouts Beansí and Boudicca, as they walked into the gallery to another round of cheers and applause.
Rescue force gets ready
Asked if he had worried that the ship would simply continue on like the Planitus Barsoom which went silent as it approached Mars some 30 annos ago with 97 people on board and was not heard from again, Aeolus said there were a lot more resources in Mars orbit today.
“A lot has changed in three decades,” Aeolus said. “We have the Mars Orbital now, and its orbital shipyard and we have ships that can chase and catch stray spaceships and at least bring the people back. Back then, they bet it all on the one ship.”
“And now, we’re going to have dedicated rescue ships as well,” Aeolus said, gesturing to Pontus Caelestis Manager Johannes Tycho, who four weeks ago (Issue 09) announced the formation of a stand-alone rescue service ahead of the late November arrival of the Earth cargo and supply train carrying 103 crew and 2,500 immigrants.
“We plan to begin this week to modify the Jove for rescue duty, and we expect that to be finished by October,” Tycho said, referencing the scout that was sent to rendezvous with the Caraval in addition to the Beansí and Boudicca.
“We’re going to use the O’Ceileachair ship pairing design, which they’ve offered at no cost to our new Space Rescue force,” Tycho said. “We’ve seen it in action. We’e seen it work, and we’ve seen how it can be adapted in flight, thanks to the bravery of Alexis Aurora, Dominique Martel and Jason Ferrario.”
Before it sailed to the Belts, the Beansí added two strips of exterior lattice, built to connect to special attachment points on its sister ship Boudicca so that both ships could rescue the other if necessary. During their journey, the two nearly identical scouts traveled and maneuvered jointly a number of times.
Space Rescue is also modifying a ship now under construction to use as a tug to bring back errant ships and also to move larger supply train ships into and out of anchorage around the Carousel.
Asked if they had learned yet what caused the engine failure aboard the Caraval’s engines, Aelous simply shook his head. “Well, they stopped working and wouldn’t start again. That much, we know. Electra’s the one who really knows rocket engines. That’s why their ships are so fast.”
O’Ceileachair shrugged her shoulders, and said, “I couldn’t figure it out, so that makes me think it’s a software issue, but that’s only a guess.”
Journey's end for Caraval?
The Caraval is likely to be replaced with a ship currently under construction rather than repaired, Mission Control Cmdr. Ceres Piazzi said.
Since the Beansí and Boudicca salvaged the ship and brought it back, the O’Ceileachairs and crew will get a salvage bonus, Piazzi said.
“We’d have to completely take apart and rebuild or replace the engines. That’s a lot of time, so we might considering selling it for the right offer, “Piazzi said, looking directly at the O’Ceileachair sisters.
“We might consider offering it to private explorers with a proven ability to rebuild and refurbish ships, though we would like to know what they did to their engines,” Piazzi said. “I said they couldn’t get to the Caraval in time, but I was wrong. They did, and they brought everyone back with the ship.”
That sparked another round of applause from the crowd.
“We would have chased Perry all the way to the belts if we had to, but I’m glad we caught him close to home,” Attracta O'Ceileachair said.
“Heck, we’d follow him to Jupiter,” Electra O'Ceileachair chimed in, drawing laughs, before adding, “We’re more than happy to license our engine technology to Mars-built ships to accelerate the growth of Mars, its own shipbuilding industry and for the development of the Belt.”
The two spacefarers said they would seriously considering the purchase of the Caraval. They had previously bought and refurbished their own two explorer scouts.
“We’ve found some very attractive resources on our survey of the asteroids that we believe will be instrumental in developing space from here to the Belts and the Mars-based industry and shipyards to support that,” Attracta O’Ceileachair said. “If we get another ship, we’ll need a captain who can face anything space throws at him and still come back smiling, and ready to for his next mission.”
Aeolus laughed and said he was looking forward to visiting the City, and then Ius and Coprates for a rest.
“First, I want to see my friends and family on Mars. I want to walk on Mars. Then, I want to go back out into space,” Aeolus said. “I’ll see what turns up next.”
Chasmata wary of City call for Valley Council
Want to do it their way
COPRATES CHASMA, Aug. 7 - A City proposal to establish a Valley-wide council to oversee growth across the entire length of the Valles Marineris from Noctis Labyrinthus at the western end through Coprates Chasma was met with skepticism from councillors from the various chasmata at a joint remote meeting on Wednesday.
“We all want to see our own hometowns flourish and we all want Mars to grow,” Coprates Councillor Angus Raju said in the threedee meeting, which showed the councillors seated together in a virtual panel. “I agree with what City (Urbs) Councillor Eugenia Velazquez said, that the Valley will grow organically through local efforts. I also think a one-size fits all approach will prove self-defeating.”
While Urbs Vallis (the City) remains by far the largest settlement, growth in other chasmata has outpaced the City in recent years.
Of the 122,100 people in the Valley area, about 58,000 live in Urbs Vallis and a total of about 64,000 in Noctis and the other chasmata, with 23,000 in Ius and Geryon Montes, according to Census Mars.
Among developments in the last annos, Ius has launched ambitious growth plans for Geryon Montes; Candor is ramping up its industrial base; and Melas is launching a large-scale water-mining project to support its own growth and potentially Ius.
For its part, Coprates is close to a decision to build a “ring” city inside the walls of the 24km diameter chasma-bottom crater that houses most of its 14,000 residents, Raju said. That would include covered agricultural corridors with small villages linking a number of domes like the exiting Chandresekar dome.
Melas Councillor Bryce Margate cited the Melas water mining project that will start with test drilling later this annos as well as the proposal by Ius and Noctis for a paved 750 km linking the settlements with a 200 km extension to Ares Port.
“We are in fact, growing organically. While taking different paths, our combined projects support one another,” Margate said. “Candor’s industrial expansion will help us all. We already owe much of our own development to the BarVoom compact fusion units developed there.”
City Council President Claude Paddingbury on Aug. 1 suggested the November election include a proposal to establish a formal Valley-wide council instead of the current informal meetings among the chasmata.
“Development is becoming chaotic with projects that overlap and compete with what we’re doing here and with each other as well as what Mars DevCo is looking to accomplish in orbit and on the ground,” Paddingbury wrote. “We need a unified approach that better matches our shared goals for the growth of Mars.”
Paddingbury cited what he called haphazard homesteading in Noctis Labyrinthus and Orson Welles Crater as well as overly ambitious development plans in Ius and Candor.
Ius Councillor Seamus Mitsutomi said he was open to the idea of regular consultation among the chasmata but that he opposed formal City oversight and the establishment of a separate governing body once removed from the citizens of Mars.
“We only need look to Earth to see how ideas of cooperation among independent entities turn into a non-responsive government that sets its own agenda without regard to the wishes of the people,” Mitsutomi said. “We should avoid that mistake here on Mars.”
Ius resident Rick Zheng, who is leading a cooperative brew pub in Geryon, said while the City had built a beautiful habitat, it can be stifling for residents seeking to start independent endeavors.
“There’s no denying that the City is beautiful, but not everyone wants to be that strictly regulated in their work and in their life. Let each of the settlements follow their own path,” Zheng said.
Noctis Labyrinthus has little interest in a unified council and will continue to develop independently, Noctis Councillor Blythe Gunther said.
“We have grown through small settlements, and while we are interested in larger projects, such as the Grange Hall that we built on our own, or the road project with Ius, we have no intention of putting ourselves under City control,” Gunther said.
While the City and Ares Port are the main settlements and gateways to the Valley and Mars beyond, that does not mean that they should control development hundreds of kilometers distant, Candor Councillor Griffin D’Armagnac said.
“Ius is 400 km by air from the City, Candor is 1,000 km; Melas about 1,000 km and Coprates 1,600 km,” D’Armagnac said. “Like the City, we are small compact outposts on a vast and empty planet. It makes sense to consult where necessary but not to cede control of our future.”
Supply train gets stuck in sand dune
A wrong turn at night
MELAS CHASMA, Aug. 10 - A 12-vehicle supply train became mired in a Melas Chasma dune field about 250 km west of Corprates and 400 km east of Melas near the north rim of the eastern side of the chasma after making a wrong turn in the dark, a Melas official said.
The supply train, consisting of two tractors pulling five wagons each, was en route to Candor from Corprates when the lead tractor become stuck in the area about 175 km from the turn northwest into Candor Chasma, Melas Supply Chief Vita Rivenhill said.
“The lead train strayed a little north of the route and got caught between some linear dunes,” Rivenhill said. “Unfortunately, the rear train followed the leader.”
The second tractor attempted to back out of the dune field, but that last two of its wagons got stuck in a 4m dune, locking both trains in between two parallel dunes, Rivenhill said.
“They’re going to have to take both sections of the train apart and pull the vehicles out one by one and then re-assemble the train and move on from there,” Rivenhill said.
The self-powered Candor-based supply train, which was seven days into the 21-day trek for the roughly 800 km land route between Coprates and Candor, has sufficient supplies for the ten crew members.
All of the wagons are capable of limited self propulsion, which should aid in freeing them.
“They might not have to winch them all out, which will make it faster,” Rivenhill said.
The supply train made the wrong turn after nightfall.
“Generally, the supply trains only travel in daytime because even with the best night vision equipment, there are too many hazards,” Rivenhill said. “Holes, cave-ins, rocks, landslides, sand dunes.”
Contract Chaos - No Breaks
URBS VALLIS, Aug. 9 - The City Labor Council rejected an application for a contract sabbatical from a shuttle mechanic seeking a temporary transfer to the Mars Orbital shipyard.
Engine specialist Astron Moore, who has less than one annos left on his original contract, had requested a 330-sol sabbatical from his contract to fill a temporary vacancy in the orbital shipyard, saying it offered training that would augment his skills.
“It would benefit the shuttle port, particularly as they bring on the new Class 5 shuttles in January. I’d be back on the ground in February to fill out the final 500 sols of my contract,” Moore said.
The Council said while it was sympathetic to Moore’s desire to augment his skills, such a sabbatical would set a binding precedent that could be used in less compelling cases.
The decision is open to appeal, the Council noted.
- Mirihi Merced
Calendar
Coprates to unveil development plans
The Coprates Chasma Coucil will discuss plans to embark on an ambitious plan to build a 'ring' city around their home crater. Wednesday Aug. 21. Council Hall. 19:00
Wildflower Meadow
Walk through a wildflower meadow at the Tithonia Gardens and soak up the beauty and tranquility. Learn all about the Mars-adapted wildflowers on the docent tours on the even hours in the afternoon on Saturday. Through August. Habtube 2, Terrace 4
Redwood Walk
Learn all about the tallest trees on Mars. Get the guided tour of the City’s growing Redwood Grove and sit beside a running stream. Hab 1. Terrace 1. Saturday-Sunday Aug.17-18
Marvel at the spheres
The Tithonia Museum is hosting an exhibition of an exquisitely detailed orrery with spheres that mimic the view from orbit of each of the planets. The distances and size aren’t to scale, since Jupiter and Saturn wouldn’t fit, but the detail is amazing. Through early September. East Terrace 12
Geryon Pub Crawl Real home brews brewed at home, Open table area. Brew master Rick Zheng leads a discussion on the brewers art, Geryon Agora. Saturday 17:00
"Double Star" A science fiction adventure threedee set on a planet with two suns. It will pull you two ways. Stage 3. Hab 1. Terrace 8. Aug. 15-Aug. 21, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
City Strings Selections from the Mozart's Viennese Quartets. Indulge your ears. WestHill Terrace 4 Friday-Sunday Aug. 16-18 19:00
Song Share Acoustic players swap songs. Geryon Agora. Two sessions. Saturday Aug. 17 16:00, 20:00
City Social Mix and mingle with new arrivals and old hands. Hab 2. Terrace 4, by Tithonia Gardens. Every Friday 17:00
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
The Chaos Courier helps you over the rough spots.
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ENGINEER. Exterior construction projects. Long term. Ex-contract only NOCTIS 260 82658
APPRENTICES Recycling systems. 8 annos and up. IUS 278 98559
APPRENTICES Metal smith, forging, casting, 8 annos (14 years) and up. URBS 269-37728
APPRENTICES Aquaculture. 8 annos and up. URBS 269 62128
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DANCING. All styles for adults. Hab 3 Rec Center. URBS 269 10311
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The header photo is the iconic mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars from 2,500 km above the surface taken by the Viking Orbiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
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Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech