Three die, two hurt in Mars orbital accident
Fatal cargo yard mishap
MARS CAROUSEL, Feb. 24 - Two orbital workers died, and three were injured when their mini-shuttle was struck by a cargo crate and debris near the spaceship Vespera, Pontus Caelestis (Carousel) Manager Johannes Tycho said Friday.
“It’s a tragic loss, and for the orbital workers, it feels like a family loss,” Tycho told the Chaos Courier late Friday. “We’re investigating the accident, but so far it just looks like a thankfully rare and fatal mishap.”
The six-person shuttle was taking the five workers from the orbital crew quarters to the Vespera to supervise the unloading, Orbital Cargo Supervisor Espen Trym said.
“We were having some glitches with the cargo pods in the Vespera, and the crew was headed over to trouble shoot,” Trym said.
A pod self-ejected from the ship as the mini-shuttle was coming around the stern, slamming into the partially open cargo hatch.
That broke open one end of the 15m-long pod and damaged the hatch, sending metal debris and two cargo crates toward the mini-shuttle, Trym said.
The shuttled dodged the first crate, but got hit by the debris, and the second crate.
The 15m-long pods each hold twelve 5m by 4m crates.
The two workers who died were struck in the head. The other three suffered bodily trauma, including broken bones.
“We don’t know why the pod self-ejected,” Trym said. “We suspect that it had become stuck during the original loading and the built-up tension sent it out with a lot of force.”
The exact cause won’t be known until the investigation is completed, Trym said.
Another mishap linked to November supply fleet
The names of the dead and injured workers were being withheld until the families are notified on Luna and Earth are notified.
It was the first fatality since August for Martius Endeavours, which built and owns the Carousel and the cargo yards as well as industrial and mining facilities on the surface.
A Martius worker died in a crane accident at the new Ares Port orbital shuttle terminal on the surface in August.
The Vespera is being moved outside the cargo yard for further inspection of the cargo hold and pods.
That may be a long process as the 500m cargo ships, such as Vespera, can carry 2,000 pods each, and only a few hundred pods have been unloaded so far.
“That might take a while,” Trym said. “We’ll go as slow as we need to keep the crews safe, but we will find out the origin of the problem.”
The accident marked another mishap for the November supply fleet and for Mars transport over the last annos.
In November, an explosion aboard the spaceliner Wandering Star on approach to Mars forced the evacuation of 274 passengers and crew.
The fast packet suffered total engine failure in its June 101 approach to Mars, and was rescued by private explorers.
Martius Planetary Manager Elric Balvicar wrote that the company’s overall safety record remains excellent.
“Considering the work we do, our safety record is enviable,” Balvicar wrote. “Safety is and will always be our prime concern when it comes to our employees and passengers.”
Insurance scheme launched for Mars-based ships
Llewellyn's will consider trans-lunar coverage
COPRATES, Feb. 22 - An insurance scheme for Mars-based explorers is officially in business as of this week, group leader Rhian Llewellyn told the Chaos Courier on Wednesday.
The group includes investors from across the Valles Marineris as well as explorers Attracta and Electra O’Ceileachair (O’Kelleher), who are building a growing space business from Mars orbit and targeting the Asteroid Belt.
“We also have backing from Earth orbital investors and insurers and some shipping firms,” Llewellyn said.
The scheme was first announced in June by the group, which meets in person and remotely at the Phobos Coffee House in Chandrasekar Dome here. The Coprates-based protection and indemnity club chose Llewellyn’s as its name.
“I was outvoted on that,” Llewellyn said. “I don’t own the coffee shop and I’m just one of a number of members."
The group did not consider either Phobos or Deimos as names.
"We're about overcoming fear and terror with sound risk management," Llewellyn said.
The insurance club will encourage Mars-based exploration and development of the Asteroid Belt, said Llewellyn who was elected to the Coprates Council in November.
“The big companies like Martius can insure their fleets with Earth-based firms or with government backing, but local explorers don’t have that option,” Llewellyn said. “By definition what they do is very risky, and losses can be fatal and total.”
Local ships first in line
The group’s first insureds include three ships owned by the O’Ceileachair Exploration Group, the Beansí, Boudicca and the Pilgrim, formerly the fast packet Caraval, which the group salvaged after a total engine failure in June on approach to Mars.
The explorer scout Fortuna, owned and captained by Bartolomeo Vasco, will also be covered. The Fortuna recently returned from a 3-annos (5-1/2 year) survey of the asteroid belt, centered on Vesta.
“For now, we’re limiting coverage to the hulls and cargo,” Llewellyn said. “We don’t have the capacity to insure personnel at this time.”
The group’s initial focus is on working with owners with a positive history.
“We need to know the ships, their construction, their operation, their captains,” Llewellyn said.
That said, the group is also considering insuring fast packets operated by Luna Orbital, though with the same exclusions for passengers and crew.
“That’s not immediate as they won’t send any ships while Earth is still running away from Mars,” Llewellyn said. “We may also offer coverage for some of their autonomous ships, though again, it depends on the construction, engines and operating plans.”
The participation of shipbuilders and explorers in the club provides crucial expertise when it comes to underwriting ships, Attracta O’Ceileachair told the Chaos Courier
“We’ve got people who know spaceships inside and out, engines, environmentals and hulls,” O’Ceileachair said.
The O’Ceileachairs are building a space station from four former spaceliner and cargo hulls and maintains a ship repair and refurbishing service adjacent to the existing Martius shipyard. The group also provides the shuttles for the new Air Mars city-to-city shuttle service.
“Right now, all of those things are too big for our insurance group,” O’Ceileachair said. “We’re just focusing on the ships, but also negotiating more capacity to move beyond that.”
City plans rest camp, discusses air shuttle port
A local travel options for residents
TITHONIA, Feb. 23 - The City Council voted 4-2 on Thursday to move ahead with a plan to set up a vacation camp for contract workers residents and corporate staff on a ridge east of the City.
The council also resumed discussions on a potential new air shuttle terminal that would be able to accommodate the smaller Air Mars shuttles expected to come into service later this annos (year).
The proposal for the City vacation camp won quick approval, although it will require a detailed plan before any work commences.
“We first agreed on the need for this in September, and that hasn’t gone away,” said Councillor herald Severus who raised the proposal last week.
The proposal was first discussed by the Council in September as the City was seeking ways to retain workers who leave for other Valley cities when their contracts expire.
“We still need to address the issue of retaining highly skilled workers,” Severus said. “The camp would provide a bit of an outlet for residents and workers, even as the rest of the Valley is seeing more opportunities for travel.”
The Council directed Tithonia Building Chief Shigeru Kashira to develop a detailed plan for remodeling and expanding the former exploration station, which was designed to house 150 researchers and was built a decade (19 years) ago in the early 90s.
Kashira said the station’s footprint makes it possible to expand it to accommodate 300 visitors with room for a small permanent site.
The station sits on a saddle atop a 1,700m transverse ridge that separates Tithonia from the larger eastern portion of the chasma.
A cable car system could be built to bring visitors from the chasma floor to the ridge, Kashira said.
City shuttle port not so easy
The City would be better putting the time and resources into building a shuttle port for the newer Air Mars shuttles, said Councillor Tiberia Hernandez, who had opposed the original proposal and voted “no” on Thursday.
“We don’t need to build hotels for people who live nearby, and it’s not like we’re going to get a lot of tourists if they have to spend 270 sols just getting to Mars,” Hernandez said.
Councillor Beatta Bakken also opposed the project, saying residents could get a great view of the chasma around Tithonia from the Sky Terrace in the WestHill section of th City.
“We don’t need to put that much time and effort into what is essentially a day trip for workers,” Bakken said.
Council President Luca Matteo argued that the proposed vacation camp would likely prove attractive to Mars’ developer Martius Endeavours, which could bring orbital workers down for temporary visits.
“That would help us earn some separate income in addition to the room and board we provide for their workers,” Matteo said.
The corporation had voiced support for the vacation camp proposal when it was first raised in September, saying it would be a positive and welcome benefit for contract workers on accrued rest time, Mayor Claude Paddingbury said.
Martius, however, would likely support the rest camp proposal, but would need more convincing before permitting the establishment of an air shuttle port near Tithonia.
“Ares Port handles all the orbital shuttle traffic as well as the air traffic for the Valley at this point, and most of that is for their own workers and scientists,” Paddingbury said in his first official meeting as mayor. “They have exclusive rights for shuttle traffic here at the moment and that’s going to be a harder sell.”
Noctis approves shuttle port
Building a transport hub
LABYRINTHIA, Feb. 25 - The Noctis Labyrinthus Council voted Saturday to build a shuttle port near the Grange Hall to accommodate the lighter shuttles that Air Mars is going to bring in to replace the Class 4 orbital shuttles that they’re now using.
The project marks a potential advantage for Noctis, as Mars’ largest city Tithonia, doesn’t have its own shuttle port and would need the approval of Ares Port owner Martius Endeavours to build one, Noctis Councillor Asterios Lyra said at Saturday’s council meeting.
“Air Mars doesn’t stop at this end of the Valles,” Noctis Councillor Asterios Lyra said at Saturday’s council meeting. “They don’t go further west than Ius and that’s 650 km east of here.”
Since the City is only a five-sol drive, from the Grange Hall, Noctis could see increased visitors and trade by building a transport hub nearby, Council President Catarina Morelli said.
“We’ve already seen more traffic since we opened the Grange Hall in July,” Morelli said. “This will make this a transport hub for all the Valley.”
The Hall’s location near the spot where long-distance supply routes meet has proved an advantage
The Grange Hall acts as a combination supply depot, transport hub and hotel, providing temporary housing for long-distance cargo caravans, travellers and researchers.
The Noctis shuttle port would be modeled on the larger one that recently opened at Orson Welles, some 2,800 km east-northeast of Noctis, that can handle the larger Class 4 orbital shuttles currently being used by Air Mars.
The construction is fairly simple, Councillor and Supply Capt. Icario Fletcher said, estimating that a late June opening date was reasonable.
“We have to print out a landing pad and the walls around it, and print a dome around a large bubble hab,” Fletcher said. “It’s pretty much the way many of the habs here have been built, so we definitely have the skills.”
Quasars make it two wins in a row
TITHONIA, Feb. 23 - The Hab 3 Quasars notched their second win in as many weeks, outpacing the Fabrica Sprockets through all four periods to win 63-55.
Enthusiasm proved a definite advantage for the Hab 3 side as they took an early lead and the lackluster Sprockets, who haven’t won since their round one opener seven weeks ago and were coming off a three-week rest.
“We were getting some very good looks, and hitting more of them,” Quasars Forward Shivam O’Brian said. “Last week was a real confidence booster, and the crowd helped.”
The Quasars improved to a 2-2 record in front of a largely home-hab crowd of 313 at the Hab 3 Terrace One Arena on Thursday.
The Fabrica side, which hasn’t won since it overpowered the Ares Port Orbits in January, was coming off a three-week rest after a loss to the league-leading Pulsars and fell to 1-3.
“They came out strong and we got off to a slow start,” Sprockets Forward Kiernan Shah said. “The inside game is our strength, and we weren’t scoring meteors, let alone comets.”
The Quasars improved to 2-2, while the Sprockets fell to 1-3.
Next week, the unbeaten WestHill Pulsars face the 1-2 Hab 2 Dust Devils
- Deroy Duval, Sports Correspondent.
Calendar
City Council special election Feb. 35
City Logistics Chief Helen Matara faces former Councillor Marcus Wu and Hab 1 plant scientist Belinda Patel in the election to replace Mayor Claude Paddingbury on the City Council in the Feb. 35 special election. Matara came in just under 800 votes short of Paddingbury in the mayoral round Feb. 7 and more than 10,000 ahead of Wu. Patel won nearly a thousand write-in ballots in the mayoral vote and is seen as making a test run for a future Council seat.
City Council seeks shuttle port
The City Council will continue discussions about building an intercity shuttle port, which will require the approval of Ares Port and orbital operator Martius Endeavours. Council Hall, Hab1 Terrace 8 Thursday 19:00
City Brew Pub opens
City Council meeting or Brew Pub? Make a choice on Thursday night when the new Hab 3 brew pub opens Thursday night in Hab 3 Canteen 17 on the first level terrace near the Terrace One Arena at the north end of Hab 3. Pub manager Jorgen Juhl and brewmaster Mette Ernsthof promise to come up with a clever name. From 20:00.
Ius Council considers tram
Ius residents might have a more scenic option when it comes to climbing from the chasma floor to the Geryon Agora. The Ius Council will discuss building a tram to take residents back and forth between the upper and lower sections of Mars’ second largest city. Ius Forum Wednesday 19:00.
Love is a rebellious bird
City Singers and City Strings join up as Opera Tithonia to bring selections from “Carmen,” including Habanera and Toreador. Stage 1 Hall, Terrace 8, HabTube 1, Sunday 15:00
“The Mad Harper”
Romantic threedee. You’ll go mad about the music Stage 3 Hab 1 Terrace 8, Feb. 30-36, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
The Rosettas at the Pub Seventeen
The Rosettas bring their Marsbeat sound to the Hab 3 brew pub near the Terrace One Arena. Friday and Saturday from 20:00.
Cubby Samba
City Residence hosts the weekly Cubby part with the City Samba. Friday, Cubby Terrace at 20:00 Friday. Hab 1 Terrace 3. All resident are welcome.
Geryon Song Share
Acoustic players swap songs. Geryon Agora. Two sessions. Saturday 16:00, 20:00
City Social
Mix and mingle with new arrivals and old hands. Hab 2. Terrace 4, by Tithonia Gardens. Friday 17:00
City Farmer’s Market
Saturday. Stalls available by appointment. Fabrica (Industrial) Tube Terminal Saturday 0900-1500
Marsball Week 11, Round Four
The unbeaten WestHill Pulsars face the 1-2 Hab 2 Dust Devils. Thursday 20:00 Hab 3 Terrace One Arena
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
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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