Mars greeter: Space Rescue flies off for first mission
Repurposed scout Jove to escort supply train into orbit
MARS ORBIT, Oct. 20 - Space Rescue’s first ship set out on its first mission Thursday with a few warm-up loops around its home planet.
With a final pass over the incomparable Olympus Mons, the Tharsis Montes and the great Valley itself slipping into night, the rescue ship Jove got ready to head out into space to greet the supply train fleet arriving from Earth on Nov. 30.
The incoming fleet comprises 10 passenger liners and 15 cargo ships, including four orbital manufacturing modules.
“Initiate exit burn,” Capt. Hayden Torbay ordered.
“Aye. Initiating exit burn,” co-pilot Electra O’Ceileachair replied. The engines thrummed and everyone was pushed well back into their seats.
“Bon voyage,” Mission Control Cmdr. Ceres Piazza radioed from the Mars Carousel in orbit above the Valles Marineris. “And best wishes on the first mission for Space Rescue. We’d like an easy one.”
When the Jove’s crew could lean forward enough, they could see Mars receding in a hurry on the bridge screen.
“Engines nominal,” O’Ceileachair said even as Torbay quipped, “See ya! Mars!”
The repurposed and refurbished scout Jove was pressed into service with the new Space Rescue corps after playing a key role in the rescue of the fast packet Caraval this summer.
Thursday’s departure marked the first mission for the new service, which will add the new space tug Juno to active duty in the next two weeks.
“This ship doesn’t dally. That’s a more power than I’ve felt and I’m the captain,” Hayden said.
Vroom!
“We couldn’t really open it up in the neighborhood,” O’Ceileachair said. “I gave it a turbo charger in case we need to chase anyone down.”
The Jove was outfitted with the faster engines designed by O’Ceileachair, who captains the explorer Beansí (Banshee), and her sister Attracta O’Ceileachair, captain of the Boudicca.
Both ships showed more speed than expected when they rendezvoused with the Caraval and brought it back with all its crew and passengers after it engines failed before a scheduled deceleration burn on Mars approach.
The O’Ceileachairs, who were returning from an exploration voyage to the Asteroid Belt, refurbished the Jove with their proprietary engine design.
“We had a lot of time to think about how we could make our ships even faster and a bit more efficient,” the co-pilot said. “It’s a bit of a hodgepodge, cut-and-paste job, but it works and it’s very reliable.”
“And fast,” said Torbay, who has made two round trips on the supply trains between Earth and Mars, and spent a good deal of time, piloting around the Earth orbitals, Luna and L5.
“I’ve been there and back twice, and everywhere in between,” the white-haired captain said, smiling. “But this is what I like, being in space. With Space Rescue, I can get out here, without spending all that time waiting around Earth for the next departure.”
Given the far greater size of the passenger liners, which each carry about 250 passengers and 30 crew, the Jove’s mission is limited to handling smaller emergencies.
“If one of the passenger liners flies by Mars, we can slow it down over time, but we’ve only got room and air for 20 passengers at most,” O’Ceileachair explained. “We can ferry people back and forth between passenger ships, or get someone to the Mars Carousel in a hurry.”
“But not everybody at once,” Torbay said. “You gotta bring your best when you go into space, because you’re mostly on your own.”
The supply train is still seven weeks out and will begin making its first trajectory adjustments in about five weeks, or the third week of November.
The Jove will position itself to accompany the fleet as it makes its deceleration burns, with the tug Juno in place ahead to catch any strays, O’Ceileachair said.
“We’re ready for anything we can handle,” O’Ceileachair said. “But all we really want to have to do is hold up the ‘Welcome to Mars’ sign as they come in.”
Corrects Aug. 29 story to read “rescue the Caraval” instead of Jove
Learn about Hohmann transfer orbits
City vote holds the key to Mars Valley future
Noctis Councillor urges City residents to choose opportunity
URBS VALLIS, Oct. 23 - City (Urbs Vallis) voters could kick off an era of robust growth across the entire Valles Marineris or bring development to a halt in the November election, Noctis Labyrinthus Councillor Blythe Gunther told City residents here Sunday morning.
“The Labyrinth is filled with families who left the City because they wanted to build their own futures,” Gunther said at an impromptu rally at the Industrial Tube Terminal between the HabTube and Ares Port. “Do you want the same opportunity for yourselves and your families? It’s up to you.”
Gunther said she made the three-sol drive up from the Noctis Grange Hall as soon as she heard about the surprise City Council vote to add the question of whether to establish a Valley-wide Council to the November ballot.
“I hopped on a cargo train the next sol, going to Ares Port,” Gunther said. “I had to take a working berth, and help them unload when we got here. And, I had to wait until today to say anything in public.”
Sunday marked the start of the official campaign season ahead of the Nov. 6 election, and Gunther said it was important to make sure the residents of Mars’ biggest city know what’s at stake for their own future.
“It’s a stark choice between heavy handed control, with limited growth and limited movement outside the City, the freedom to build our own communities in the way that’s best for our people,” Gunther said.
Noctis, to the west of Tithonium Chasma, and all of the chasmata to the east have been strong opponents of increased City control of development.
The City Council voted 5-2 at its Oct. 13 meeting to let voters decided the question of whether to establish a Valley-wide council to oversee development from Noctis in the west to Coprates and Orson Welles Crater in the east.
The City Council action came as a shock, since the other chasmata had not agreed to include it in the annual election for every local council seat in.
“We weren’t expecting that,” Gunther said. “We’d talked about whether to set up a more formal consultation process, but that one just came like a rock out of the (asteroid) Belt.
The City Council, with the support of Mars DevCo, has been calling for months for a pause in development projects outside Tithonium Chasma, which includes Urbs Vallis at its western end, and a halt in all homesteading throughout the greater Valley.
“We need to take a pause,” City Council President Claude Paddingbury wrote in a reply. “We need to have an overall plan to develop Mars the right way from the start, and not in the random way that we’ve been seeing.”
Paddingbury cited the growth of homesteading in Noctis, a major habitational expansion at Geryon Montes in Ius Chasma and an industrial expansion in Candor Chasma as examples.
“They’re adding enough residential space for 10,000 people at Geryon, and there are only 23,000 people living there now. That doesn’t make sense.”
What's the future look like?
The Ius Council approved the Geryon project, about 500 km southeast of Urbs Vallis, in June over City Council objections.
Ius Councillor Seamus Mitsutomi, a former Urbs Vallis development manager who has been a strong opponent of City oversight, said Ius was taking a longer view toward development.
“We’re not building 10,000 habs this annos,” Mitsutomi wrote. “It’s going to take time, but we want to have the space ready for growth in our own population and for new residents.”
While the other chasmata do not accept the City’s authority to simply add questions to the Valley-wide ballot without consultation, they decided that they had a strong chance to win the vote not only across the Valley but also in the City,, Coprates Councillor Angus Raju wrote.
“If they want to make decisions for themselves, like a new name for Urbs, that’s fine, but they’re trying to make decisions for people 1,600 km away,” Raju wrote. “Still, we won’t give them a chance to claim victory by not participating. We’ll win out here and in the City.”
The City’s voting population trails that of the other chasmata combined by less than 100 people. Urbs Vallis and Ares Port are home to more than 58,000 people, compared with a total of around 64,000 for the rest of the Valley, which has a larger portion of residents under the 11-annos (20-year-old) minimum voting age.
“We’re fairly sure our population will vote against the Valley council, and we think a lot of the City people will, too,’ Raju said.
Sentiment at the Industrial Tube Terminal seemed to favor Raju’s argument on a busy Sunday at the weekly market for residents trading goods and homegrown vegetables.
“We have a great hab here, but we might want to move someday, see more of Mars,” said Thomas Ayr, a structural engineer at Ares Port who was walking with his wife, Aurora Nabara, and two toddlers.
“We talk about it a lot,” Nabara said. “I’m an agricultural specialist. I’m good at farming Mars, and he’s good at building. The children are young enough that we could move. He’s ex-contract and I’m off in February. We could build our own farm in Ius or Coprates, maybe Melas.”
The two looked over to Gunther as she called on residents to vote down the Valley council idea.
“We’re building a new world, sensibly and carefully, but in a way that we see as best for our communities, for the people living in our communities, and for people like you who may be thinking, or planning on joining us,’ Gunther called out to a growing circle of people standing around her.
“You may love living here in the City, and it’s a great place to live,” Gunther said, “but if you want a choice about your future, and this may be your only chance to vote on it, vote it down,” drawing enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
Shalbatana settlement throws in with Orson Welles
Adds nearly a hundred voters to Welles
ORSON WELLES, Oct. 18 - The Welles Council voted unanimously Tuesday to accept the disputed Shalbatana Vallis settlement as an official part of the Orson Welles community ahead of the November election, adding nearly a hundred voters.
The council also voted to register the settlement claim filed by Jeremiah Volcan for the new Shalbatana community even though Survey Mars previously rejected the claim and sent out an inspection crew in early September.
That crew spent most of September sheltering in the Shalbatana caverns and in the new habitat being developed by the legendary Mars builder Volcan as a Xanthe Terra dust storm blew up to 4 million sq. km.
Orson Welles-based explorer Perpetua Heathering, who earlier this year visited the habitat, gave the Council a copy of the Survey crew recommendation to approve Volcan’s settlement.
“They’ve met all the criteria for a valid claim, and then some. Even their own people say so,” Council President Sylvana Phison said. “With that in mind, we are officially registering their claim as we have done for every homestead in the Crater over the last month.”
The Shalbatana group led by Volcan, who played a pivotal role in building the WestHill Terrace in Urbs Vallis, has created two intensively gardened habitats in caverns nearly a kilometer underground and plans to build a ‘vertical city’ in a 900m pit crater.
Survey Mars declined to comment on the settlement’s claim.
Along with Welles, Noctis Labyrinthus and the other chasmata outside the City (Urbs Vallils) have also registered claims for all current developments and existing homesteads.
Those actions came in response to a City Council demand that all homesteads to submit to City approval or risk rejection of their claims, which serve as title for the land.
“We’re not part of the Valley, but they have included us in their referendum,” Phison said at Tuesday’s meeting, referring to the City vote last week to add the question of establishing a Valley-wide council to the ballot. “We’re making sure our new neighbors in Shalbatana have a voice in the future direction of Mars.”
The move adds 89 Shalbatana voters to the Welles’ rolls for a total of 2,859 and very likely provides a little extra support for the opposition to the Valley Council Proposal.
Together, the Welles area with Shalbatana has a population of 3,806, including 947 under the 11-annos (20-year-old) voting age.
“We’re very motivated by the City’s decision to add a few thousand contract workers to the voting rolls early,” said Heathering, a former Survey Mars explorer, who is running for a one-annos term on the Welles Council.
“I’m staying here for a while, and I want to add my experience as an explorer and surveyor to the Council,” Heathering said. “I want to provide a voice for those who are out here building new communities on Mars.”
Learn about Orson Welles Crater
City plans annual breach drills
90 seconds to get inside or inside a suit
URBS VALLIS, Oct. 19 - It’s breach drill season.
City Safety cautions Urbs Vallis residents to expect safety drills in the WestHill Terraces and the three HabTube sections from Monday through Friday (Oct. 24-28) of this week.
Here’s the drill -
When the alarm sounds, residents who are in habitations and areas with airlocks, need to verify that they are in fact behind closed hatches by pressing the alarm button on their comms to confirm their location.
In open areas, such as terraces, gardens or walking paths, residents have 90 seconds to verify that they’ve moved inside a hatch or have put on an emergency suit.
Safety officials remind residents that emergency suits are available in the many closets positioned around public areas and marked with a picture of a suit and the words, “Safety Suit.”
Those accompanying children should put on their own suit first, and then help the children, if necessary. Though, kids are likely to be done first.
“It’s left foot, left arm, hood, right foot, right arm, close the seal strip, check your visor reading, check your buddy,” City Safety instructor Athene Skyros reminds everyone.
Who’s got the baby?
Everyone in public areas should sit down and clip on to a safety bar if possible as as an actual HabTube breach could create sudden pressure differences.
Residents who fail to verify their safety status within the allotted 90 seconds, are required to take a refresher course, which many will remember from their days living in the Cubbies, or worker dormitories for new arrivals.
It goes without saying, that those who have left their jobs or habs without notification, and fail to register for the training, will be marked absent and have their habs checked.
And City Safety reminds us to remind residents who have registered as partners or families that their location and status is automatically copied to partners and all family members in order to facilitate emergency response if necessary.
“That’s mostly so everyone knows that everyone is safe, and Mum or Da don’t risk their own safety for no reason, ” City Safety Inspector Irwin Mather said. “The only data we keep is whether or not you made it in time. We’re not snooping.”
Calendar
Tea Time
Now we know what that odd structure is by the koi pond in Hab 3. City Engineer Shigeru Kashira and his wife, nutritionist Asana Kashira, have been building an open style tea house in the Japanese-style garden beside the pond.
Even better, they’ve been nursing tea plants for the last two annos in a shared garden plot. The Kashiras are inviting residents to join them for tea Saturday on the hour from 10:00 to 14;00,
Hab 3 Terrace 1, south side. RSVP essential as only 20 guests will be admitted for each session.
Sorry, no scones or cucumber sandwiches. That’s a different kind of tea time. Message City Parks to RSVP
Mmmmm Mums
The Tithonia Gardens chrysanthemum display is a rainbow of autumn colors, with great big masses of flowers. Stop by the fern forest greenhouse for hourly tours. Through end October. Habtube 2, Terrace 4
City farmers' market
Going green with veggie envy? Get to the City farmer's market. Stalls available by appointment. Industrial Tube Terminal. Saturday 0900-1500
City Strings Quartet
Quartet performs selections from Dvorak’s American Quartet. WestHill Terrace 4 Friday-Saturday 19:00
“Double Star”
Scifi adventure threedee set on a planet with two suns. It’ll pull you in two directions. Stage 3. Hab 1. Terrace 8 Oct. 27-Oct. 33, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Spike
Ready for some beach volley ball? Jump as high as you can off the sand. Learn to play volleyball at the new Hab3 beach. Saturday, Sunday sessions. 08:00, 10:00, 12:00. North Beach Hab 3 Terrace 1. Just show up dressed to play.
The Opera Tithonia
Issues open call for performers for the Strauss opera Der Fledermaus, Stage 1 on Terrace 8 (HabTube 1). Sunday noon
Hey Rhumba girls and guys.
It’s dance time at Coprates Schiapparelli Hall Friday 20:00
Acoustic Song Share
Everyone gets a song Cafe du Mont. Geryon Agora Saturday 16:00
Gotta sing?
Try your voice at karaoke. They supply the music and you sing. Bottom of the Sea Cantina Melas Saturday 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.
Classified Ads
JUMP START. Tractor Repair. Mobile unit available. If we can reach it, we can fix it. NOCTIS 260-22098
DUST MAGNET. Won’t let the dust get past the airlock. CANDOR 286 87919
FURNITURE Printer Stock. And cushions for a comfy seat IUS 278 58897
WALL PRINTERS All shapes and contours. MELAS 285 45672
SURFSUIT Refurbishing. Fabric and boot repair, seal replacement, visor refurbishing, comms upgrades. COPRATES 297-14210
ROCKET SCIENTIST. Engine upgrade project, Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 637
WELDERS. Experienced welders seeking space yard qualification. Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 639
CONSTRUCTION All specialties. Some outside. Ex-contract only. GERYON 278 68034
AG ENGINEERS Hydroponics, aeroponics. Ex-contract only. IUS 278-71892
DRILLING specialists, supervisors and crew. Ex-contract only MELAS 285 13941
APPRENTICES Environmental systems. URBS 269 81447
APPRENTICES Applied electrostatics CANDOR 286 22460
APPRENTICES Construction. Interior. GERYON 278 65689
APPRENTICES Fabrics production, design. 8 annos and up. URBS 269-98523
APPRENTICES Ceramics. 8 annos and up. URBS 269-98523
SPACE CAMP. Get ready for orbital work. All ages. ARES PORT 268 00910
RAAS / GARBA Dance performers for existing troupe. COPRATES 295 45788
BALLROOM DANCING Cha-cha, cha-cha-cha! URBS 269 49144
GUITARISTS Rumba, flamenco, mariachi GERYON 278 48190
YOUTH CHORUS. Want to sing? URBS 269 13930
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)
The Candor Chaos Courier, Candor Chaos, Valles Marineris, Mars
The Chaos Courier gets you over the rough spots
Future News from Small Town Mars
Copyright © 2025, M. Fitzpatrick, all rights reserved
Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech