Asteroid Belt drone ship gone with the gold
And then there were eight
MARS CAROUSEL, Feb. 46 - A drone ship carrying precious metal samples from the Asteroid Belt has broken away from its squad of nine and is headed on a trajectory that would miss Mars by tens of millions of kilometers, orbital officials told the Chaos Courier.
The drone, which had visited several metallic asteroids prospecting for economically viable amounts of precious metals, made an early course correction on Friday (Feb. 45) and is now headed on a trajectory that would cross Mars’ orbit nearly 50 million km behind the planet.
The robo-ship pinged Mission Control when it changed course, but had sent no further signals by Sunday morning.
“It beeped a few times when it fired its engine, and then went silent again,” Mission Control Chief Ceres Piazzi said Sunday morning. “The message was not properly coded, and we’re looking into that as well.”
The other eight drone ships, which are due for a course correction on Wednesday (Feb. 50), have neither sent nor responded to radio messages for nearly four weeks, Piazzi said.
“We’re waiting to see whether they make the proper course adjustment, or do something else,” Piazzi said.
The errant drone had sampled rocks thought to be rich in platinum group metals.
Piazzi would not comment on the quantity of precious metals the drone is carrying.
“It’s raw rock really, so it’s not like there’s gold bars on board,” Piazzi said.
Raw speculation
The point of the drone mission was to gather information on where future mining for valuable metals and other resources would be economically viable in the Belt, Carousel Manager Johannes Tycho said.
More than a million asteroids stretch in a wide ring around the sun between Mars and Jupiter, and the average distance between asteroids is 965,000 km, meaning most of it is empty space.
“Mars is just a little point in space by comparison, so it takes a lot of work to find out which particular speck of rock in the vast belt has potential,” Tycho said.
The samples will help determine which portions of the Belt will be targeted for development first by Martius Endeavours, which operates most of Mars’ orbital facilities, built its largest city and conducts trade between Earth and Mars.
The mission has gathered valuable data on which minerals are present and in what quantities on a number of asteroids.
“That’s the most valuable data as it allows us to focus our efforts on specific areas,” Tycho said. “Now, we have more data on where to look and that’s a big head start.”
Asked about the possibility that the drone had been hijacked, Tycho called it an unlikely scenario.
“We’ll see what happens next, but someone would have to spend a lot more time and money than this drone is worth,” Tycho said.
That doesn’t mean it couldn’t be intercepted somewhere in between, or that its course can’t be changed again to bring it closer to the Earth-Luna system, Tycho admitted.
“But again. That’s a lot more time, money and effort than the ship and its cargo is worth,” Tycho said. “Could it be a test case? That’s a remote possibility in my mind, and just raw speculation at this point.”
Orbital management, however, has sent the Cutter Jove, captained by Hayden Torbay, to monitor the drone squadron, accompanied by the rebuilt fast-packet Pilgrim, formerly the Caraval, which is captained by Peregrinus Aeolus.
“They’re fast ships, a lot faster than the drones” Space Rescue Chief Delmer Hastings said. “They should be in a good position this week,”.
Orson Welles mulls farm dome near shuttle port
Critics say it's a bit big
ORSON WELLES, Feb. 46 - Famed Mars building Jeremiah Volcan has a big vision for farming in Welles, but critics say it might be too big.
The Xanthe Terra Council debated a plan outlined by Volcan on Saturday to build an dome near the shuttle port to provide garden space for residents as well as back-up farm and aquaculture capacity for the 1,600 residents who live nearby.
The project would involve building a sandglass dome over a 500m wide shallow crater, and grading and sealing the interior to create about three-quarters of a square kilometer of farm, aquaculture and habitational space.
“The idea looks great,” Councillor Tien Phon told the meeting. “But it seems very ambitious for Welles. We’re a small community of homesteaders and mostly meet our own needs.”
It might make more sense to build smaller greenhouse terraces in crater, which would require much less water, air, materials and power, Phon said.
The project could start small and build from there, said Volcan, who has a seat on the Xanthe Terra Council as representative for the Shalbatana Vallis community he is building with a small group of residents.
“But, we should also weigh whether it makes sense to spend the time building it piecemeal,” said Volcan, who led the building of the WestHill Terrace habitations and farm terraces in Tithonia, some 2,800 km to the west of here.
He noted that Coprates is building its “ring city” in that sequence, but that its home crater, Sibiti, is as much as 33 km wide.
“On that scale, it makes sense to start out smaller,” Volcan said. “Welles has the resources on hand to create the materials, and the biggest investment is in sufficient power and fuel, which you also have access to.”
Building the dome is a relatively simple process, similar to how many habitations in Welles and Melas have been built.
“You fill up a specially designed balloon hab and print the sandclass cover over it,” Volcan said. “We’ve done this in to close off our home pit crater in Shalbatana.”
While Welles is currently a distant outpost for most of the Vallis Marineris, the fact that it has only the second orbital shuttle port on the surface, meant that future growth was likely to be more rapid than it has been to date, Council President Sylvana Phison said.
“The weekly air shuttle uses Welles as a hub. The orbital shuttle drops down and takes off from here, and from here it goes to most of the Valley,” Phison said. “We should build keeping that in mind.”
Having additional facilities and food on hand could prove crucial to drawing increased traffic from orbit and the rest of the Valley, Councillor Alexandra Quill said.
“If we can accommodate more workers and feed more workers and supply more food to orbital facilities, then we stand a better chance of that actually happening,” Quill said.
The project overview was just an initial presentation and the Council will continue to assess the proposal and seek comments from the community, Phison said.
“This is part of a larger community discussion,” Phison said. “Do we want to remain a remote, self-sufficient community or do we want to play a larger role in the growth of Mars on the surface and in supporting growth in orbit? That’s what the council and the community need to consider.”
Noctis cool to City proposal for printed road route
Where will the road from the Labyrinth lead
NOCTIS LABYRINTHIA, Feb, 46 37 - The Noctis Council gave a cool reception Saturday to a proposal from Tithonia to consider building a printed road directly to Mars’ largest city rather than to the Ares Port space port and industrial center.
The City Council suggested as an alternative that Noctis consider building its planned air shuttle port about 40 km east of the Grange Hall and closer to the western end of Ius Chasma, Councillor and Labyrinthia Supply Chief Icario Fletcher told the meeting on Saturday.
Both road routes would necessitate building roughly 150 km of printed road, which would cut the travel time from Noctis to both destination to less than two sols from five currently, Fletcher told the meeting at the Grange Hall on Saturday.
The request from Tithonia comes two weeks after the corporation that runs the spaceport as well as the Mars Carousel and other orbital facilities told Tithonia that if it wanted to build its own air shuttle port it would have to be at least 100 km from Ares Port.
That would severely limit the locations that the City could consider for building its own air shuttle landing port to sites that would prove far less convenient.
“Their other option is to pay Martius (Endeavours) to build the airport for them at Ares Port and pay them to run it,” Fletcher said. “You can see why they’re looking for alternatives.”
Neither proposal makes much sense for Noctis, since Ares Port accounts for far more trade to and through the area than the city does, Councillor Catarina Morelli argued.
“We do a lot of trade with Ares Port and a lot of trade from Ares Port to the rest of the Valley runs through the Grange Hall,” Morelli said. “The City trade is more limited and runs through Ares Port anyway. It might make sense for them, but it doesn’t for us.”
While the opportunity to reduce Martius corporate control over the Valley is attractive, it would run counter to the Labyrinth’s self interest, said Councillor Blythe Gunther, who was a leading proponent of increased local control in the November elections.
“Sure, I’d like to loosen their grip a bit more, but we’ve won local control over development, which means we’re free to build our own shuttle port,” Gunther said.
As for the proposal to shift the air shuttle port 40 km east of the Grange Hall, that would directly reduce traffic through the Grange Hall, which serves as a kind of truck stop for Valley caravans.
The point of building the Grange Hall was to attract trade and traffic to the area, which serves as the the gateway both to the Labyrinth which stretches more than a thousand kilometers west to Tharsis and to the growing cities in Ius and the other chasmata to the east, Councillor and Grange Hall manager Asterios Lyra said.
“Why would we want to locate our shuttle port in an area that would draw traffic away from here?” Lyra asked.
Morelli proposed asking the Tithonia City Council whether they’d be willing to contribute to the road printing project to Ares Port, which could accelerate the project and make it quicker to bring people and goods to and from the City.
“They’ve got ten times the people that we do and lot more resources,” Morelli said, “so it might make sense for them.”
WestHill Pulsars knock out Sprockets
TITHONIA, Feb. 44 - The unbeaten WestHill Pulsars kept their streak alive with a 81-62 win over the last place Fabrica Sprockets in the first game of the Marsball sudden death fifth round at the Terrace 1 Arena here on Thursday.
The Sprockets were coming off a three-week rest and looked rusty against a WestHill side that looked a bit lackadaisical on defense despite putting up the highest score so far in this inaugural Marsball season.
“We were really focused on scoring,” Pulsars Captain Jerome Takahashi said. “Just putting up the comets and meteors and keeping a good margin.”
The fast pace kept the crowed of 472 cheering throughout the match.
“We did well on scoring, but just couldn’t keep up with them,” Sprockets Forward Kiernan Shah said.
The Pulsars improved to 5-0, while the Sprockets fell to 1-4 and will have to look forward to the fall season.
Next week, the second-place Hab 1 Rockets (3-1) meet the fifth place Orbits (1-3).
- Deroy Duval, Sports Correspondent.
Calendar
Tithonia Council follows up on air shuttle port
The Tithonia Council follows up on proposals for a City air shuttle port in view of the Martius Endeavours demand for a 100-km exclusion zone and a cool reception by the Noctis Labyrinthus Council for alternate proposals. Thursday 19:00, Council Hall, Hab1 Terrace 8
“My Sins Laid Bare”
Drama threedee. A spaceship captain whose mistakes cost lives, comes to terms with his failings and seeks redemption. Not recommended if you’re flying soon. Stage 3 Hab 1 Terrace 8, Feb. 51-57, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Samba Marte, Rosettas at the Pub Seventeen
Samba Marte takes the terrace at Pub Seventeen on Friday, followed by the Rosettas Marsbeat band at the Hab 3 brew pub near the Terrace One Arena. Friday, 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.
Rayguns at the Ius Forum
The electric pop trio kicks it up Saturday. Ius Forum 21:00
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 14, Round Five
The second-place Hab 1 Rockets (3-1) meet the fifth place Orbits (1-3). 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