Mayday from Masursky Crater
Crop blight destroys farms, food running out
ORSON WELLES, March 3 - A settlement of 272 people in Masursky Crater, about 1,000 km northeast of Orson Welles, has sent an urgent call for help after their crops failed due to an unspecified blight, local and Survey Mars officials said.
“They’re reporting near total crop failure in their greenhouses across nearly all crops,” Survey Mars Chief Ian Kuyper told the Chaos Courier Monday. “They’re asking for food, and say they have only a few weeks of frozen supplies left.”
The message from the Libertad settlement stressed that a third of their residents are under the age of 8 annos, and one-fifth are 5 annos or younger, Kuyper said.
Survey Mars will be managing the response effort in with Welles officials, Kuyper said.
“We’re in direct contact with them and we’re assessing the situation for the moment,” Kuyper said. “We have plenty of emergency supplies and plenty of food ready to go, pretty much at any time, but we need to know a little bit more before we proceed.”
It’s not yet clear what kind of plant disease had destroyed their crops and why it had destroyed all of them, rather than specific plants, Kuyper said.
“That’s something we need to know before we would enter the settlement,” Kuyper said. “We don’t want to bring anything back.”
Tithonia Farms Chief Iris Notting said the safest course would be for the residents to destroy all the crops, and disinfect the greenhouses.
“They should not eat contaminated plants,” Notting said. “And they need to make sure that the disease or blight has been totally eliminated.”
The settlement has five hectares of greenhouses, which is a bit less than they should have for that many people, Kuyper said.
“We usually figure about 50 people per hectare, and that’s conservative as it works out to a bit more than we need, enabling us to add to stocks,” Kuyper said.
Looking for solitude
The Libertad settlement in the Masursky crater was founded by a group of 183 people who left Welles 8 annos ago, in 94, and has had almost no contact with other Martian settlements since then, Orson Welles Councillor and Xanthe Terra search leader Perpetua Heathering said.
“They only reply very briefly to status requests, and until now they’ve not reached out in any official capacity,” Heathering said. “That’s not unusual. People don’t come here because they want to be in a crowd.”
The 100 km-wide Masursky Crater is some 429 km south of the site of the Pathfinder landing in Mars 22 (Earth July 4, 1997), which brought the first wheeled rover to Mars, the Sojourner.
The settlement was named for the group’s target, Libertad crater, but they stopped 670 km short of that goal, long-time Welles resident and former Councillor Octavia Linsky said.
“The name wasn’t just for the crater, it was what they wanted, liberty, and they felt too constrained in Welles, which is hard to imagine,” Linsky said. “That’s what we all came to Welles for.”
Several residents said the group had been enthusiastic bio-hackers for both plants and themselves.
“They pushed the envelope on that a bit too much for some people,” one early Welles resident said. “That made some of us uncomfortable and that made them uncomfortable. I think they came to feel like we were infringing their freedom.”
“We understand that, because that’s why most of us came to Welles.”
Fly over Ares Vallis and Masursky crater, ESA
City residents want to know more about orbital defense
Residents relieved, but angry
TITHONIA, March 6 - Residents expressed both relief at the capture of the gang that had threatened their home, and also anger at the lack of information that the city’s corporate parent provided about how it planned to defend them.
“We kept expecting to see a big chunk of the orbital headed at us,” aquaculture specialist Roberto Munda told the Council at their Thursday meeting. “We may be a small target overall as some say, but we’re a stationary target, a big sitting duck.”
It’s not enough to say the city and the orbital are adequately defended, Munda said. Residents wanted to know what exact defenses Martius Endeavours, the renamed Mars DevCo, has in place.
‘The mayor tells us that Mars gets hit by hundreds of meteorites every year,” Munda said. “Are we just trusting our luck? Hope does not make a good strategy.”
The threat by a ransom gang to steer a drone into the Mars Carousel was ended March 1 when security forces, aided by private explorers, rolled up the gang members at Ares Port, in orbit and tens of millions of miles in space.
The gang had demanded a 1 gigacredit (1 billion) ransom to keep them from crashing a drone into the orbital. They had also demanded a 100 megacredit ransom to return a drone they had hijack remotely.
The nine drones were returning from a 3-annos survey trip to the Asteroid Belt.
Three of the gang members were orbital workers, two of whom had been sent to Ares Port because of the threat. Two more were in orbit and preparing to leave in a rebuilt scout ship.
Four gang members were arrested aboard the ship Doughty, which was waiting for the hijacked drone tens of millions of miles away.
Not advertising Mars defense
Martius Mars Manager Elric Balvicar had said the company had put into place a multi-layered defense strategy and was confident it would be able to protect its orbital and surface assets, including the City.
“I think I speak for all City residents when I say we would all be more confident it we knew what those defenses were, “said second-section resident Ellison Jones, a production manager at the Fabrica industrial facility. “Is it lasers? Rocks? Missiles? All of the above?”
Martius has consistently declined to provide details about its defenses.
“We would rather potential attackers not know,” Mars Carousel manager Johannes Tycho told a residents meeting on the orbital, officially known as the Pontus Caelestis. “We are always watching and evaluating possible threats, whether they be meteors, debris or other things.”
As corporate policy, the company shares information about threats to civic leaders as soon as they become aware of it, Tycho said.
“It’s Mars. It’s dangerous to live here, full stop,” Tithonia Mayor Claude Paddingbury told the audience. “Everyone who comes here from Earth is informed of the dangers, including meteorite strikes, and they have all signed the consent form.”
That doesn’t really address the concerns of the Mars-born or the children born here, who didn’t sign a consent form, mother of three Irene Vedra told the council.
“We protect ourselves from the known dangers, with radiation-proof habs, with surfsuits, with training,” Vedr said. “We’d simply like to know more about how the company plans to protect us from other dangers.”
A major worry for residents is that they can’t escape the city en masse, WestHill resident Carlson Viognier.
“It’s not like 60,000 of us can all move out of the city in a hurry, even to Ares Port,” Viognier said. “We know we’re stuck here come meteors or space junk.”
Gang members being held in orbit
To be tried under spaceship code
MARS CAROUSEL, March 4 - Five of the nine ransom gang members arrested in the threatened attack on the Mars Carousel are being held in an orbital brig in the cargo yard, Carousel officials said on Tuesday.
It’s not yet clear what penalties Carousel authorities might seek. While the gang members will be tried virtually in Tithonia Superior Court, they will be judged under space law.
“They could be convicted of piracy or mutiny, in which case the penalties range from long-term confinement to spacing,” Mars Carousel manager Johannes Tycho said. “Because they were all in orbit or aboard spaceships, they cannot appeal to Mars planetary law.”
Three orbital workers were arrested in connection with the plot, two of whom had been transferred to Ares Port on the surface because of the threat.
Two others were arrested in a rebuilt scout ship in an orbital shipyard.
The remaining four are being returned aboard the explorer scout Boudicca, which carried out a forced pairing with their ship, the Doughty.
Space Rescue guards boarded the ship and arrested the four individuals.
It is not clear how soon the men will be returned to Mars.
- Alfwinna Webster, Orbital Correspondent
Ius, other cities to dig deeper for safety
More storage, more shelter behind rock
IUS CHASMA, March 5 - When it comes to protecting against orbital threats, cities across the Valles Marineris are mostly looking to dig deeper under ground and into mountain sides.
“We don’t and won’t have the means to protect ourselves from a meteor or orbital crashing to the ground,” Ius Councillor Seamus Mitsutomi told the Council meeting on Wednesday. “Those kinds of threats need to be taken care of in orbit, and we’re not.”
What the combined city of Ius and Geryon can do, is to provide more underground storage and shelter space for residents on the chasma floor and those living on the rising slope of Geryon Montes.
“It’s not a quick or short term project, but we should put the robodrills to work in a planned fashion that both supports development and provide shelter,” Mitsutomi said.
Ius has 12,200 residents on the chasma floor and the lower slopes, and 11,500 living in terraced areas rising about 2,000m up to the Geryon Agora.
Some of that work could be combined with a proposal to bore tunnels along the mountain slope for escalator cars to make it easier for residents to travel up and down the mountain, Councillor Brynn Gibby said.
While the immediate threat to the massive Mars Carousel orbital has been removed, residents across the Valley remain concerned about future threats as well as meteorites.
“The probabilities may be tiny but we can build extra safety into our city,” Gibby said.
In Melas, which lies on the chasma bottom just south of the Chasma walls, the council discussed expanding community storage space, which could also be used for shelter for its 12,500 residents.
“Every domed hab has a basement, and many residents are digging deeper, but as a community, we can add more underground space, including for the water we’re bringing in from our mining project, Melas Councillor and Supply Chief Vita Rivenhill told the meeting Wednesday. “We can also use more space for community purposes, such as recreation.”
Further east, Coprates, a city of 14,500 built along and into the rim of the Sibiti crater, is already digging deeper into the rim and into the ground as part of its ‘ring city’ plan.
That project envisions building the city all the way around the inside rim of the 78 km crater, with farms and villages.
“We’re on the chasma floor, and that was by design, but most of our habs extend into the crater wall and have air locks built in, “ City Councillor and Construction Supervisor Raj Perekh told the Wednesday Council meeting.
“Also by design, we have an extra layer of safety built in,” Perekh said. “We will look to enhance that as we keep expanding our city.”
In Candor, about 100 km north of Melas but an 11-sol journey through Candor Chaos and across the Melas Labes, officials said the city had been planned to include as much safety as possible.
The city of 8,300 is built on terraces rising from the base of a 3,000m slope.
“We’re built into and up the slope, and we can all hide between rock,” Councillor Antonia Quick said. “That said, nothing on the surface is going to survive being hit by the Mars Carousel falling from orbit.”
Rockets leave the Dust Devils behind in Marsball semi
TITHONIA, March 6 - The Hab 1 Rockets left the Dust Devils behind as they soared ahead of the Hab 2 side in Thursday’s semifinal match.
Rockets got off to a fast start and kept scoring through the final bell to beat the Devils 77-64 in front of a crowd on 637 at the Hab 3 Terrace One Arena.
Unlike their late-match win against the Ares Port Orbits, the Rockets came out to play at a fast pace and never let up.
“We just had great energy this match, and great accuracy,” Rocket forward Ronaldo Supelveda said. “We were getting really good looks and making the shots.
The Devils tight defense was no match for the Rockets run-and-gun play.
“They were just running by our defense, weaving in and out, taking and making shots,” Devils Guard Preston Quintana said. “After last week’s win, we felt like we had momentum, but it wasn’t enough tonight.
The Devils notch a final record of 2-4, with both their wins against the Hab 3 Quasars.
The Rocket win puts the two top teams in the first Marsball championship.
The Hab 1 side improves to 5-1 and face the unbeaten WestHill Pulsars (5-0) for the championship March 13.
While the Rockers have one less win than the Pulsars, they have won most of their matches by more definitive margins.
The Pulsar one two matches by 2 point and one by 1 point.
By Deroy Duval, Sports Correspondent
Arrivals and Departures
Hotel Itinérant, Melas
The Hotel Itinérant passenger caravan arrives in at the Ophir Labes Inn March 8 for an overnight stay, and arrives in Coprates on Wednesday evening March 12. Departs March 16 for Candor, and arrives March 30. Message ‘Itinerant’ for bookings and information.
Crater Crawler, Ares Port
Crater Crawler cargo train is scheduled to depart Ares Port March 11 for the Noctis Grange Hall, with a stop at Oudemans Crater station, continuing to Ius/Geryon. Message Crater Crawler
Air Mars
Friday - Orson Welles, Coprates, Melas, Ius.
Monday - Ius, Candor, Coprates.
Tuesday Coprates, Wells, Orbit. No passengers to orbit. Message Air Mars.
Calendar
Local councils review emergency measures
Coprates Caravansary Family overland cargo train meet up March 22-30, managed by Tractor Swap organizer and Corpates Councillor Marcia Charettier. Early arrivals meet at the new Ophir Labes Inn staging area 200 km west (4-5 sols) of Coprates. The Inn is open for meals and limited lodging. Message OphirLabes for Inn, and message Tractor Swap for the Caravansary
“Sail Away”
Fun cinematic escape fare. Solar-powered ships sail the future far heavens.
Samba Marte at Pub Seventeen
You'll want to dance. You'll dance Samba Marte will get you moving at the Hab 3 brew pub near the Terrace One Arena. Friday, Saturday from 21:00
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.
Las Panteras de Marte
Singer Monique Solis, guitarist Hernando Senatobia and accordionist Ignacio Beck, play Mars style Norteño music. Geryon Agora. Saturday 16:00
Rock Hounds
Old Earth style trio, guitar bass and drums liven up the Ius Forum. Friday 21:00
Melas Aquanauts
Fun a-capella group. Listen and sing along Bottom of the Sea Cantina, Melas Friday 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
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.
Marsball Final
The Hab 1 Rockets (5-1) face the unbeaten WestHill Pulsars March 13 for the championship.
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
Classified Ads
SHIP REFITTING, BREAKING All craft, parts and refurb. PONTUS 100 751
BORING HEADS Diamond durable. Get the job done. CANDOR 286 49762
JUMP START. Tractor Repair. Mobile unit available. If we can reach it, we can fix it. NOCTIS 260-22098
DUST BUNNIES. Turn dust into dirt. Best for plants. MELAS 285-78329
SURFSUIT Refurbishing. Fabric and boot repair, seal replacement, visor refurbishing, comms upgrades. COPRATES 297-14210
CARGO HANDS, For overland cargo train. Ex-contract only ARES PORT 268 31211
SHUTTLE AGENTS, MECHANICS for Air Mars InterChasma terminals. PONTUS 100 763
CARGO HANDLERS. Space experience required. Contract exemptions considered. PONTUS 100 419
WELDERS. Experienced welders seeking space yard qualification. Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 639
CONSTRUCTION All specialties. Some outside. Ex-contract only. GERYON 278 68034
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 Fabrics production, design. 8 annos and up. URBS 269-98523
APPRENTICES Ceramics. 8 annos and up. URBS 269-98523
APPRENTICES Environmental systems. URBS 269 81447
SPACE CAMP. Get ready for orbital work. All ages. ARES PORT 268 00910
BALLROOM DANCING Let's Rumba! URBS 269 49144
YOGA. Get the kinks out. IUS 278-43256
DANCING. All styles for adults. Hab 3 Rec Center. URBS 269 10311
STRENGTH Training for trainers. COPRATES 295 04716
Send all correspondence to 'editor' at this site
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 © 2026, M. Fitzpatrick, all rights reserved
Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech