Frozen Mars city farm cleanup starts slowly
Orbital shuttles to ferry replacement gear
TITHONIA (URBS VALLIS), Dec. 34 - The cleanup of a 25-hectare (62-acre) farm frozen by a major power fault last week is off to a slow start, but the pace will pick up once new equipment can be brought in, Agriculture Mars Chief Iris Notting told the City Council at Thursday’s meeting.
Replacement compressors and other gear will begin arriving later this week after Mars DevCo approved the temporary use of orbital shuttles for air travel to bring replacement compressors from Candor Chasma to the City.
The incident won't have any significant impact as the City has plenty of supplies of frozen food, including fruits, vegetables and fish, Council President Claude Paddingbury said.
“It’s the City’s long-standing practice to have enough food on hand to last at least 120 sols,” Paddingbury said. “We have a lot of frozen storage. Keeping food frozen in not a challenge on Mars. And let’s not forget all the indoor gardens in the habs.”
The cleanup is already under way using autonomous battery-powered harvesting equipment, Notting said.
“We’re starting the cleanup with the robot harvesters, pretty much just pulling all the plants, which we’ll add to compost,” Notting said, “but we can’t start replanting until we can keep the temperature above freezing.”
Farm workers wearing outdoor surfsuits (surface suits) and in pressurized rovers are working limited hours for now, Notting said.
“They can only spend a a couple hours at a time,” Notting said. “The surfsuits provide adequate protection but they’re not very good for detail work.”
Because the 2.5 km long terrace is relatively new, most of it is still covered by multilayer sheathing and heat retention fabric, which still requires more environmental support than sandglass-covered terraces which are better able to buffer temperature swings.
Construction printers have so far laid the base for the eventual sandglass covering, and that work can resume as soon as power is restored to the terrace.
“Once it’s got a permanent cover, we can link the environmental systems with other farm terraces to provide a backup,” Notting said.
Orbital shuttles to get gear from Candor
The damaged terrace provides enough food for about 1,250 people, about 2 percent of the City’s total farm capacity of 1,275 hectares.
Without that terrace, the City can provide enough food for about more than 62,500 people, about a thousand more residents than its current population.
“That’s a smaller margin than we’d like,” said Councillor Shira Chang, a nutritionist. “But again, we have plenty of reserves.”
Two orbital shuttles will drop down later this week and begin moving the equipment offered by the Candor Council
The older Class IV shuttles, purchased by the O’Ceileachair group earlier this year, were being used to unload the Earth cargo ships that arrived Nov. 30.
Second section Habtube resident Yora Tal, an agronomist, asked why the City did not have sufficient replacement equipment on hand in case of emergencies.
“We have access to some replacements from Ares Port, but we do not control their manufacturing schedule,” Councillor Luca Matteo said. “We have the ability to print some equipment on demand at the City industrial facility, but that’s not instantaneous.”
Ares Port includes the orbital shuttle port and industrial center about 50 km west of the City, which also has some dedicated industrial capacity at the Industrial Tube Terminal closer in.
“Candor has them ready and on hand,” Matteo said. “But yes, we’re making it a priority for the new Council to review inventory and stockpile crucial equipment.”
The need to rely on Candor for the replacement gear highlights the differing priorities of Mars DevCo, which controls Ares Port and the orbitals, and the City, said new Councillor Joshua Asta, a structural engineer. p>
“DevCo is focused on growing interplanetary trade and manufacturing to feed that trade,” said Asta, who who won his council seat in the November election. “It’s up to us to look out for the City.”
DevCo is, however, responsive to City needs, Paddingbury added. “They were very quick to agree to deploy the shuttles to the surface,” Paddingbury said. “Otherwise we’d be facing a 50-sol one way overland trip from Candor.”
It's showtime! Tithonia to get livelier under new plan
Planners map out entertainment areas
TITHONIA (URBS VALLIS), Dec. 33 - The Tithonia Planning Commission mapped out a proposal at its Wednesday meeting to add more dining, shopping and entertainment options throughout Mars’ largest city, including a clandestine nightclub that was shut down in September.
The move comes at the direction of the City Council, which is expected to make a final decision on the proposal in the next few weeks.
“We want to move ahead quickly on giving our city a more neighborhood feel, rather than have it so neatly divided between residential and commercial areas,” said Planning Commission President and City Councillor Joshua Asta. “We want it to be more city and less dormitory.”
Looking forward, the fourth section of the 4.8 km HabTube will be designed with that goal in mind, City engineer Shigeru Kashira said.
“We still have some flexibility in the third section, as construction is not quite complete, but we anticipate having all the habitations completed before the new annos,” Kashira said. Only about 50 habitations need the finishing touches as of this week, Kashira said.
The Planning Commission’s entertainment proposal envisions reopening the City Speakeasy nightclub in the HabTube’s third section on a second level terrace near the bamboo gardens.
The nightclub, which was operating inside what was to be a new canteen, was shut down by City officials in September over safety concerns as patrons were consuming alcoholic drinks.
While officially banned by the City, many residents with the appropriate backgrounds simply make their own, which can vary significantly in both potency and quality.
Moving markets
Asta sketched out the details of the plan, which would include repurposing existing canteens into cafes and permitting kiosks for micro businesses on larger terraces through the city as well as tables for arts, crafts and weekend markets for home-grown fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The specific locations for the weekend markets will be mapped out later, Asta said in response to a question from City Councillor Luca Matteo, who was attending as an audience member.
“We’ve sent a questionnaire to residents to try to align the weekend markets in areas where the demand is highest,” Asta said.
As an alternative, the City could move the markets around from week to week, first-section resident Veronica Desiderius suggested.
“Rather than having one specific location, you could have roving markets so that different terraces have an opportunity over time,” Desiderius said. “And will we have some smaller cafés and coffee shops in the neighborhoods?”
It will take longer to set up independent restaurants, cafés and coffee shops, Asta said.
“To start, we are asking City Catering to repurpose canteens to adjust their menus and décor for that kind of service in the areas being designated for entertainment,” Asta said.
That kind of change would be welcome, said second-section resident Jaspar Jackson.
“Right now, every canteen is pretty much the same from the food to the décor,” Jackson said. “People would move around a bit more from terrace to terrace or section to section if there was as reason, say, a canteen with a great Thai menu.”
Sounds like a party
Asta said the planning commission, in coordination with the City Council, would ask City Catering to allow canteens to come up with more individual menus.
Longer-term, private cafes would be permitted in areas already used for entertainment, depending on the availability of space.
Those area would include Hab 1 Terrace 8, which holds the Council meeting hall, the City Cinema threedee theater and stages for musical performances by Opera Tithonia.
A similar entertainment area would be established near Tithonia Gardens in the second Habtube section on Terrace 4.
Beatta Bakken, a WestHill resident who won a seat on the Council in November and sits on the Planning Commission, said that two entertainment areas would be created in WestHill.
The City’s oldest section, the WestHill terraces sit on a north-south mountain slope running parallel to the 4.8 km habtube.
The new entertainment areas would include terrace space near Marineris Hall on WestHill Terrace 4 where the City String ensemble hosts concerts and Terrace 12 near the Tithonia Museum.
“Maybe we’ll get a brew pub one day, too,” Bakken said, drawing applause from the audience.
Asta used that as a segue to the status of the City Speakeasy, which will have be designated as a nightclub, rather than a canteen, which was its originally planned use.
The City Speakeasy would be managed by the previous operators under strict supervision by City Safety, which would require testing of any alcohol being offered to patrons, Asta said.
“The managers will also be in charge of limiting alcohol intake, and will be strictly responsible for that,” Asta said.
The nightclub’s original managers, who included unidentified horticultural, agricultural, environmental and construction specialist, were previously referred to Tithonia Superior Court in September for various violations of City code.
The court deferred action ahead of the November elections and has since set the matter aside, Asta said.
"We’re going to start that (City Speakeasy) out on a test basis, beginning the New Annos weekend,” Asta said.
“You’ll have to open it out to the terrace,” HabTube resident Jackon said. “Half the City will be there.”
Geryon Agora ready for new business by mid-102
Enquiries open in February
IUS, Dec. 34 - The new section of the Geryon Agora, which will add a second skylit galleria to the existing one, should be ready for business midway through next annos, Ius Councillor Seamus Mitsutomi said at Wednesday’s Council meeting in the Ius Forum.
“The sandglass dome and the new galleria, will be built out by late June, which is to say, the area will be covered, will provide full environmentals and will be open for leasing by residents who want to start shops, restaurants and other businesses,” Mitsutomi said.
Featuring shops, a café and a cooperative brewpub, the Agora has become a favorite meeting spot for residents of Geryon Montes as well as Ius, which spreads out along the lower section of the slope and onto the chasma floor.
The Ius council will begin accepting enquiries in February from prospective businesses as well as restaurants and other food shops.
The expanded Agora will include small shops, dedicated stalls for arts and crafts as well as more dining and food options.
The expansion project became a flashpoint over the summer as the Tithonia Council, backed by Mars DevCo, issued repeated demands that it be required to get their approval.
Those demands were rejected by the Ius Council and made moot by the November election, which saw candidates favoring local control of growth and development elected to chasma councils from Tithonia to Coprates and Orson Welles.
The terrace of the existing galleria, which provides fantastic views of Ius Chasma, offers casual and scheduled activities including a variety of music.
It also hosts the cooperative brewpub Ricks as well as the Café du Monte, run by former Tithonia resident and agriculturist Janine Depaysage.
City living in the Agora
The new section of the Agora features a wide skylit terrance with retail and commercial spaces excavated out of the mountainside as well as a limited number of residential habitation sites, Mitsutomi said.
“It’s a very popular spot, so it makes sense to add hab spaces for a real city atmosphere,” said Mitsutomi, who is supervising the project for the Council.
The overall expansion project will add living space for about 10,000 people and more than 200 hectares of farming space, Councillor Brynn Gibby told the meeting.
The plan envisages adding enough farm and living space for 2,500 people each annos over the next 4 annos (7 years).
“We’re building ahead,” Gibby said. “Natural population growth means we’ll need enough new hab space for about 1,200 people a year, granted they’ll mostly be infants, but growing families need more space.”
That rate of growth means that it will take about eight annos (15 years) for Ius and Geryon to add 10,000 new residents.
“We may see faster growth if more people move here from the City, which will see a couple thousands workers come off their transportation contracts next annos,” Gibby said. “We can expect some of them to move here.”
Councillor Eugenia Velazquez, a Geryon resident, proposed that the overall project provide smaller villages between the farming terraces as Coprates is doing with its plan to build a ring-shaped city around the interior of its home crater on the floor of the chasma to the east of Ius.
“We can build small neighborhoods between the farming terraces to provide shopping and services as well as a place for farm residents to gather closer to home,” Velazquez said.
The project supervisors will seriously consider that suggestion and amend the current plan to show several possibilities, said Mitsutomi, former development manager for Tithonia.
“We had been thinking of just continuing what we already built on Geryon, but it’s a very good idea and one that we should consider,” Mitsutomi said. “Every village can offer something different that will appeal to all of our residents.”
Survey Mars explorers on edge in Eos
A close up view of an ancient mega-waterfall
ARES PORT, Dec. 35 - Survey Mars is airlifting a rescue tractor and crew to the north side of Eos Chasma where an explorer crew remains stuck at the edge of a 2,500 m cliff, Survey Mars geographer Stella Regina told the Chaos Courier on Friday.
“It’s a very high hanging valley, and they’re kind of hanging at the edge,” Regina said. “They’ve been trying to winch the tractor back, but they need a little more oomph.”
The tractor became stuck near the edge of the cliff while exploring an ancient outflow channel at the southeast side of Eos Mensa, about 1,300 km east of Corprates and nearly 750 m south southeast of Orson Welles Crater.
That outflow channel led to an ancient mega-waterfall, and it’s a very interesting area geographically and geologically, Regina said.
The crew is led by Explorer Chief Julius Fix, who led the rescue of another explorer crew that was stuck for weeks inside deep caverns in the Shalbatana Vallis in June.
The crew has plenty of provisions and the the winch cable has more than enough strength to hold them in the event of a landslide.
“Julius is highly experienced and we’re confident that he and the crew will be fine,” Regina said. “They don’t want to end up hanging by a thread a couple of kilometers above the chasma floor.”
Learn about the ancient megafall in Eos Chasma
Calendar
Cubby party is on, with adult supervision
After an impromptu party got out of hand on the terrace outside the Cubbies, or contract worker dormitories in HabTube 1, a week ago Friday, the City decided to host its own.
City Residence set up the party Friday evening, and will host it again in the same place next Friday, Dec. 42.
“We decided to preempt any plans the residents might have had, and hold our own,” said City Residence advisor Eloise Harmina. “Everybody had a lot of fun, and everybody went inside at midnight.”
If party continued inside after that, Harmina said, “Well, that’s up to them and their cabin mates. Thankfully, we didn’t hear any complaints this time.”
The party featured two of the city’s most popular, and danceable bands - Rhumba Cats and City Samba.
The City-hosted party was a lot of fun, said Shannon Valera, an Earth-born aquaculture specialist who arrived with the Earth fleet Nov. 30.
“I could barely walk straight when I got here, and now I can almost dance, well as much as I ever could,” Valera said.
The 14 new contract workers who were facing Labor Commission hearings after the first party, helped set up and staff this week’s party, City Safety inspector Irwin Mather said.
“They decided to accept our terms and skip the hearings, and they had a lot of fun too,’ Mather said. “They got to meet pretty much everyone at the party."
The welcome party will be held every Friday for the next few weeks, though the city may move it around to different areas.
This Friday’s party is on the Cubby Terrace at 21:00. All resident are welcome.
- Merry Grace, Lifestyle Correspondent
City Guides Arrivals Week 5 recap
Meeting for City Guide volunteers helping the new arrivals. Week 5 debrief and planning for Arrivals Week 6. You can still volunteer. Refreshments. Monday Hab 1 Terrace 8 outside Council Hall. 19:00
City Strings "Coming Home Concert"
Ensemble performs selections from Dvorak's "New World Symphony." " Refreshments. Mariners Hall. WestHill Terrace 4. Friday-Sunday 16:00
“Landslide”
Early explorers take a long, long tumble down a Valley wall. Adventure threedee Hab. 1 Terrace 8. Stage 3. Dec. 41-46, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Samba Marte Dancing and Music.
Hab3 Terrace 2 by the bamboo grove. Saturday 19:00. Sunday Family dance 14:00. The kids can play percussion.
City Social
Mix and mingle with new arrivals and old hands. Acoustic music by acoustic duo Harris and Fitz. They'll put an arrow through your heart. You can still make the Cubby party, too. Hab 2. Terrace 4, by Tithonia Gardens. Friday 17:00
Las Panteras de Marte
Singer Monique Solis, guitarist Hernando Senatobia and accordionist Ignacio Beck, play Mars-style Norteño music. You’ll dance. You'll love it! Ius Forum. Saturday 19:00
Marsball
Kind of like basketball, with really high baskets. Rules and regulations are evolving. They'll take it easy if you're just finding your feet. Hab 3 Terrace 1 Gymnasium area Saturday 08:00
Volleyball
Get ready to jump without worrying about the ceiling. Learn to play volleyball at the new Hab3 beach. Saturday, Sunday sessions 08:00, 10:00, 12:00. North Beach Hab3 Terrace 1
Lawn bowling
Learn how to play the lawn bowling game of bocce (bot-chee). WestHill Terrace 2 by the terrace edge. 10 am. Message City Parks for information.
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
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
Classified Ads
SHIP REFITTING, BREAKING All craft, parts and refurb. PONTUS 100 751
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
CARGO HANDLERS. Space experience required. Contract exemptions considered. PONTUS 100 419
ROCKET SCIENTIST. Engine upgrade project, Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 637
SHUTTLE MECHANICS. Experienced preferred, but we’ll train you if you have the skills. Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 635
CONSTRUCTION All specialties. Some outside. Ex-contract only. GERYON 278 68034
DRILLING specialists, supervisors and crew. Ex-contract only MELAS 285 13941
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 Machine repair 8 annos (14 years) and up. NOCTIS 260 21188
APPRENTICES Hydroponics. 8 annos and up. URBS 269 44085
APPRENTICES Environmental systems. MELAS 285 74223
SPACE CAMP. Get ready for orbital work. All ages. ARES PORT 268 00910
BALLET Poise, strength, balance, beauty. Très grands jetés URBS 269 62577
RAAS / GARBA Dance performers for existing troupe. COPRATES 295 45788
CRICKET Mars style. Two teams. Unfamiliar? They’ll explain it. COPRATES 295 21508
MARTIAL ARTS. Conditioning and confidence. Weighted and natural. GERYON 278 71435
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