The Chaos Courier

Urbi et Valli
News of the Valles Marineris

Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech


Future news from small town Mars
The Sunday Candor Chaos Courier

The fictional future news from small town Mars begins around the summer solstice of the Martian year 101, or early February 2145 on Earth, with Year One equivalent to 1955. (Mars date converter). Please note, it's all fiction and all the characters are fictional.

The Chaos Courier covers the news of settlements in the more-than-3,000-kilometer Valles Marineris. The chief settlement is Urbs Vallis (Valley City) in Tithonium Chasma, which is known for its habitational tube, at the western end of the Great Valley.

Each Martian year is about 687 Earth days, but 668 Mars sols, which are a littler longer than earth days. (Mars Seasons and Solar Longitude) Since, our Martians have kept the convention of 12 months, they are using the old Earth names for convenience, with each month spanning 30 degrees of solar longitude.

The more eccentric orbit of Mars means the months range in duration from 46 sols in month 9 (September), when Mars moves closest to the sun, to 67 sols in March when Mars ranges farthest from the sun. We're rounding the months off to avoid fractional days. Our Martians will have an off-the-calendar, end-of-year celebration to even it all out when necessary.

The settlements we cover range from Noctis Labyrinthus at the western end of the Valley to Orson Welles crater in Xanthe Terra on the Martian equator and the Shalbatana Valley, to the north and east of Coprates Chasma, and the Pontus Caelestis orbital, better known as the Mars Carousel.

The editors especially thank the authors of the classic, "The Atlas of Mars" (Cambridge University Press, August 2019, Mars 35)

The header photo is a mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars from 2,500 km above the surface taken by the Viking Orbiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Candor Chaos News Bureaux


Pontus Caelestis (Mars Carousel orbital), Alfwinna Webster

Noctis Labyrinthus, Eun Isil

Ares Port, Mei Aonia

Urbs Vallis Tithonium Chasma (The City), Mirihi Merced, Susmita O'Reilly

Ius Chasma, Kenzo Hsing

Melas Chasma, Alade Jama

Coprates Chasma, Sorcha Kaisei

Orson Welles, Jenna Maris

Editor, M.G. Phádraig

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small picture of Mars

Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech