AMICITAS FLIGHT THREE – MISSION DAY 518
ARES III SOL 508
It stood twenty-seven meters tall, towering over the low sand dunes that surrounded it. It rested level on a sandstone surface scoured clean by the wind and fire of its landing thrusters. Its once-gleaming surface had been scratched and dulled slightly by a year and a half on the Martian surface, but it still shone brightly enough in the late morning sun to be a beacon for any eyes present to see it.
As a vehicle much more scarred and battered by weather and circumstance than the rocket ever would be pulled up next to it and stopped, six pairs of eyes saw, and stared.
Mark Watney’s heart sang at the sight of the Ares IV MAV. Early on in his sojourn on the red planet, he hadn’t dared to plan beyond immediate survival. With the cave farm producing and communications to Earth restored, he had begun to plan for, if not believe in, eventual escape. Now, after almost sixty sols of driving and five hundred sols of being marooned, here stood proof, undeniable proof, that whatever else happened, he would not die on Mars. He wanted to hug the ship. He wanted to dance around it and whoop for joy. And, as soon as he could suit up and cycle through the rover airlock, he would.
Cherry Berry looked at the ship and compared it to Amicitas as it had been before the crash. The MAV looked short and squat compared to most of the rockets she’d flown for the Changeling Space Program. But unlike those ships, cobbled together using off-the-shelf mass-produced components, this ship had been built specifically for a single task. Like Amicitas, its lines flowed together elegantly, beauty and functionality in one gleaming monument to the superior engineering skill of humans. She hoped to make herself worthy of flying it.
Starlight Glimmer planned what she would have to do to help make the MAV ready for their escape plan. The docking collar linking the landing stage and the first ascent stage had to go- NASA wanted one of the first stage engines gone. They also wanted the backup maneuvering thrusters and their fuel tanks removed and the old Amicitas thruster blocks installed; that would require hours of levitation- no, wait, there were rungs and handholds all around the capsule, so perhaps Mark could rig a belaying harness from one of those to hold him up while he worked. Inside her mind she calculated how much of the remaining mana battery charge would be needed, and how much would be left for the health of the crew. She tried not to think about the weak link in that calculation: herself.
Dragonfly stared at the rocket with tired eyes, much more tired than she wanted to admit. Being relieved from scout duty hadn’t offset the loss of magic feeding time. She thought she understood Bilbo’s complaint about feeling “stretched, like butter spread over too much bread”. The metal tower meant many days of hard work, work she didn’t feel up to in the least. And yet, despite that, she smiled as she looked at the MAV. In a few weeks she would get one more chance to dance with the Pale Horse on her own terms.
Dread filled Fireball as he looked at the rocket. He’d never been an enthusiastic astronaut. Each time he’d gone up, it had only been because riding the rocket would be less annoying than the consequences of not riding the rocket. On three occasions, that judgment had proved incorrect in the extreme- crashing into a mountain, getting stranded in orbit, getting stranded in another universe. But as much as he hated it, he’d ride again, because even death in space seemed less annoying than a slow death by starvation, suffocation or cold on the surface of this stupid planet.
Spitfire smiled confidently as she looked at the rocket. When Amicitas had launched a year and a half before, she’d been an old rookie, chosen less for her skills and more to fill a political role. In the time since she’d proved herself again and again, fulfilling her role as medic, as copilot, as an experienced advisor… and, yes, as a pegasus. Sure, she’d come within an inch of death several times, but that hadn’t been anything new to her. Now she knew that, when this rocket went up, she’d ride along not as a rookie, but as a veteran… and as an equal.
Together they suited up, went outside, celebrated the end of their long journey across Mars, and then, one at a time, they followed Mark up the boarding ladder, into the airlock, and into the ship. Individual thoughts and concerns were swept aside by one common thought: at long last, they were going home.
[10:41] HOUSTON: Congratulations from all of us here at Mission Control! Well done! What’s your status?
[10:57] MAV: Thanks! Watney, Berry, Glimmer, Fireball all healthy. Dragonfly weak from reduced magic intake, special exertions to maintain suits. Spitfire recovering well from consequences of her flight, feathers growing back in, daily PT to regain strength. Rover systems running well. Pony suits worn and patched, but operational. I have my EVA suit and Martinez’s, plus three salvaged radios for use by the ponies. Currently thirteen magic batteries plus fifteen booster batteries at full charge plus eight more generating charge. Current plan is to connect MAV to rover power system, charge life support using pony air, and then do a full diagnostic on MAV systems before beginning modifications.
[11:12] HOUSTON: Good to hear. We show all go for a Sol 551 launch and rendezvous with Hermes. Procedures for MAV modifications are in the MAV computer and can be read through wireless network. We also want to discuss a procedure to take water from alien life support and electrolyze it for hydrogen to run through the MAV fuel plant. Without an atmospheric regulator we need some way to separate molecular oxygen from molecular hydrogen after electrolysis. Can Starlight do this?
[11:27] MAV: Starlight here. In theory I can do it, but it consumes magic. How important is this?
[11:43] HOUSTON: The MAV fuel plant is supplied with enough hydrogen to make sufficient fuel to fill the tanks to about 90% of capacity. We leave that margin to allow for varying levels of hydrogen escaping the vessel during the trip from Earth to Mars. With extra hydrogen we can fill at least half that remaining capacity. Gaining 5% to 10% more fuel provides more thrust and an extra safety margin when things go wrong.
[11:58] MAV: Okay. Send me the procedure, and I’ll work out a way to separate the oxygen and hydrogen.
[12:13] HOUSTON: Dragonfly, we’d also like to talk to you about preparing Rover 2 and Sojourner for its extended mission. How’s Sojourner holding up?
[12:27] MAV: Sojourner’s just fine and eager to look at more rocks!
[12:41] HOUSTON: Good to hear. Okay, we’re scheduling the rest of today and tomorrow as diagnostics and preparation. Cherry, we want you to begin simulations on Sol 510. Martinez will review your performance after each run. We’ll try to schedule sims around modification procedures, but use your best judgment. If there’s nothing else, we’ll return the MAV to retrieving your data dumps and sending you your backlogged emails.
[12:53] HERMES: We also now have the bandwidth to send you some new music. Maybe now you can stop moaning about how terrible disco is.
[12:57] MAV: Bless you. God, yes, send it, send me ANYTHING other than disco. I might even learn to like contrasynth.
Just as I was leaving a new chapter appears. What were the odds of that?
It's... beautiful.
Good evening from Norway.
So, an early chapter, huh? That's rare.
Well, I'm tempted to break break routine, but I won't.
So this chapter is gonna wait until breakfast for me :D
Now that we are near the end, I have to wonder how two chekhov's guns that have been dropped, will be fired.
One is Hermies, its coming to the rescue and the other is the sparkle drive. They both offer a way home, but it would be problem if one was used and not the other....can they both be used? Why?
I see three ways this can play out.
1. They meet up with Hermies and never need the sparkle drive.
(Which leaves the SD as an unfired chekhov's gun)
2. They miss the Hermies and have to use the SD to get to Earth. (Waving bye bye to the Hermies crew as they fly past would be an unstisfactory end of the whole Hermies sub plot)
3. They join the Hermes but some system failure needs them to bring the whole Hermies ship back to Earth via SD as a final f*ch you to mars.
So which will it be? Anyone planning bets m
Bad news, Mark. First song in the queue is...
9174829
LOL, that would be so cruel but so fitting.
This line just makes me happy. The little robot that could - because the best bug helped him
9174695 Sorry, I forgot the Minotaurs.
Sojourner rolls up to the MAV, camera slowly tilting back to look up at the craft.
Not a rock.
9174828
Unless I misunderstood the plan was to meet up with Hermes then using the Sparkle Drive to bring Hermes back to Earth. If the Sparkle Drive didn't work, they'd at least be on Hermes to get back to Earth the long way. If they miss the rendezvous with Hermes, they were to try to use the Sparkle Drive while in the MAV to get back to Earth that way, but that's the worst case scenario.
9174828
My bet would be #3, but Kris has a way of defying expectations and assumptions, probably coming up with some option numbers 4,5,6,or 10!
NASA is full of geeks, bets Star Trek and the middle three Star Wars movies are at the top of the transmission queue?
9174074
Yes, but I meant beyond that. Something that isn't just a mental reminder but a physical one too.
9174897
"Where are we going? Are you coming back? Oh that thing has numbers on it!"
9174828
I feel like they will link up to Hermes, but something will occur which will necessitate the Sparkle drive being used to get everyone back to Earth or, in desperation, to Equestria. It seems equally likely that that they may all end up stranded in space and Twilight will show up at the last minute for a tow
Anybody else hear Waterloo, or is it just me?
9174885
Zebra and Minotaur race/nations haven't been established in the show beyond Iron Will and Zecora. The others ones at least have an established relationship with Equestria in the show. With multiple members of the race in it.
For all we know, Zecora was exiled. Or Equestria has bad relations with the nations.
Think about how they first treated Zecora and kept calling Iron Will a monster. Twi had to tell them what Zecora is, which she herself probably only knew because she reads A LOT of books and was/is Celestia's student. It kind of hints that there is not much in the way of contact between Equestria and those races.
Fluttershy : He's not a monster. He's a Minotaur.
https://youtu.be/rAS-zdeYI7s
9174937
Relevant...
So, just forty odd days to make the MAV smell like a sweaty old saddle blanket with a hint of stressed human hygiene (was TP included in the MAV load out?). I got no clue about changeling or dragon, Still better than the organosulfates floating around the hab?
9174829
Sad thing is he's probably heard that song plenty over the last 500 sols.
Yay!
Oh boy. Now that they have the bandwidth from the MAV, everyone will finally get to see the magic videos. I can't wait to see half the scientists on Earth having an existential crisis while the other half geek out for days.
That kinda implicitly suggests that for some time they'll be not separated
Although, if they're really lucky... I remember seeing guy on youtube who compressed oxyhydrogen gas into tanks with fridge compressor, and he survived at least long enough to upload the video.
9175003
If you include the movie, then a Questria really has an isolationist problem. I mean Celeste Dia knew about the hippogriff but didn’t help them at all when they suddenly lost contact
And then NASA sent them rap musoc rimshot Can’t said to see how this all turns out.
9174937
Don't care what it takes! The Earth/Equestria Alliance MUST develop an inexpensive fast way to Mars to rescue our probes from the Evil Death Planet that is Mars, and provide them with an honorable retirement in a museum.
And oh yeah, maybe figure out a way to adapt the water telegraph to portal raw nitrogen and oxygen from Jupiter and CO2 from Venus to make a nice solid atmosphere for Mars whether Mars likes it or not!
We'll show that damned planet....
The road to friendship joins the road home.
9175082
So close to going home. Hope they meet up with Hermes successfully, but maybe have to use the Sparkle Drive on it to get to Earth. Hope to get another Earthside chapter too, few things on that side I’d like to see more about.
Go Sojourner, be the little robot that could...
9175082
I don't see the problem with that? My fire triangle says: no spark = no boom.
9174828
There is one more chekhov's gun. Sleipnir 2.
Music? Here ya go!
Wait, the MAV is fueled with hydrogen? With stored hydrogen that's been sitting there for how long now? Elemental hydrogen is notoriously difficult to keep stored, as it tends to gradually leak out of almost any container. Many entire research programs have been devoted to coming up with more readily stored rocket fuels.
Wait, wait… The MAV isn't fueled by hydrogen, but it's fueled by something that it makes from hydrogen? I'm lost here.
Good for them! They made to the escape pod. Xd
4H2 + CO2 --> CH4 + 2H2O (water can be electrolysed and its hydrogen recovered and returned to reaction, oxygen and methane liquified and stored in fuel tanks).
This is a neat trick - MDV/MAV complex lands nearly empty (except light liquid hydrogen), fuel for the ascent to orbit is produced from onboard hydrogen and CO2 from Martian atmosphere.
But you need energy source and machines for electrolysis of water and to keep hydrogen liquified for a long time and also to liquify oxygen and methane.
9175259
Well, problems are not guaranteed (as guy with fridge compressor shows), but relying on sparks being nice enough to happen somewhere else is not the best bid ever. And it could be really tiny sparks:
cdn2.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/a862d463-3ea6-443a-9187-e1040e91eb0e/a1c70a8b-37da-48be-a7f0-48765a5c40b8/Image/051d4eed3ba51330c9e504c301c2125f/fuel_comparisons_hydrogen_safety_a.jpg
Although potential problems may vary depending on how much they're storing at once.
Back to the tunes?
Owl City, Fireflies,
Its Always a Good Time.
Weird Al. Hardware Store.
Please stand for Haxmegas theme tune as the next episode of FIM plays.
Of course, into every collection of Weird Al, Queen, and Elvis, somones bound to send Spam. Or given the non tradename.
Meatloaf.
They want the launch to be Fast, Safe, Successful?
Well, Two Outa Three Aint Bad.
And when they do launch, theyll be going Like A Bat Outa Hell?
Its about the right duration as well?
Depends if theyll end up leaving the MAV to fall back though, too close to the music?
... They'll send them more disco, won't they?
Metal bug ready for action!
9175285
Fuel plant makes methane and oxygen from pre-stored hydrogen and carbon dioxide from Martian atmosphere.
Although, I don't know what it does with excess carbon.
9174828
Actually they wanted to use the Sparkle Drive after the connection because NASA doesn't want them in space longer than they have to.
9175304
That's a good point. The MAV fuel plant can electrolize pure water. And split it. This is part of the process of creating oxygen.
The scene in the book is about electrolizing pee.
For those who haven't seen the movie recently, here's what the MAV looks like:
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/the-martian/images/a/ab/MAV.jpg
I performed Sol 507: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/450571904462618624/491018352135897118/Sol_507_radio_shutoff.mp3
9174829
I'm surprised that song wasn't used in the movie.
9175315
Okay, if you really want a reference, they should launch to Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
9174919
See, what's why I'm always bringing up the fact that they need to bring a supply of Quartz for Fireball up with them in the MAV; should the Sparkle Drive fail, he needs the daily gem dosage to keep him healthy for the multi-month trip to Earth,
And after being stranded, emotionally drained, starved, emotionally drained, isolated, emotionally drained and discolated, our brave martians can rest easy knowing that they made it.
What could possibly go wrong?
9174828
Put me down for 5 bits on option 3!
Oh, recommended for NASA's playlist: Coming Home, the song only a pilot could have written.
"Over borders that divide the earthbound tribes,
No creed and no religion, just a hundred winged souls.
We will ride this thunderbird, silver shadows on the earth.
A thousand leagues away, our land of birth."
i think it goes without saying that rocket man, major tom and leaving on a jet plane are mandatory at this point.
9175328
Good remark!
If we simplify our fuel producing reaction to
2H2 + CO2 --> CH4 + O2
it is clear that we have not produced enough oxygen to fully burn methane. We have only half of the required oxygen!
But we can have twice as much hydrogen in the MAV fuel tanks.
In the second phase, we will release methane back to the atmosphere and use oxygen to top the oxidizer tanks.
9175400 Dude. If the Sparkle Drive fails, he can eat it. (Which since magical devices in the MLP world have a little bit of personality to them, might pour encourager les autres).