Outbound: Meta Mars

Chapter 1 Vales Marineris Part 1

The long-range spaceship Eternal Hope arrived in Martian orbit on August 12, 2260. Dr. Greenly sat gently pressed to his seat in the passenger lounge in the central core of the ship.

Other passengers were also seated, spread around the circumference of the large tube. In the living spaces of the spaceship passengers experienced standard gravity. Here in the smaller diameter space his effective weight was not quite thirty pounds. He felt only tentatively
connected to his seat. He felt queasy and lightheaded from the experience of lessened gravity.

And he was nervous about the man sitting opposite (above?) him holding a watermelon on his lap. Tending toward claustrophobia, Dr. Greenly still appreciated that it was the largest open space within the ship. Being a chamber in microgravity it was rarely occupied except when docking and transferring to another spaceship, in this case, the Sojourner shuttle. However scientists did use the space for experimental projects. The gentleman opposite (above) him, a botanist had grown his large spherical watermelon in the central core during the trip. As he understood it, the botanist carried it as a gift to a friend on Mars. Dr. Greenly tried to distract his anxiety by watching his screen as the Sojourner approached and began to rotate, matching that of the Eternal Hope. It docked with a slight ‘thunk’. He felt it vibrate through the Eternal Hope as the locking mechanism engaged.

***

Here on Mars, a new challenge awaited him. Dr. Timothy Storm had requested that he come to oversee the many Martian projects that were in various stages of planning, or implementation. The team at NASA Mars Base was overwhelmed by the number of projects they had initiated. But all were necessary, the completion of each was integral to the success of their overall objective. Dr. Storm and his scientists and engineers were developing the capacity to accommodate a future population of twenty to thirty thousand people. To do so they first needed to address some very significant infrastructure limitations.

Dr. Stone coordinated the daily operations of all projects. Most of his time is spent resolving problems to keep all projects moving forward. That stressful activity consumed his day and left him depleted. And he found the concurrent need for longer-term planning further exhausting. Despite the herculean effort, he could not keep up. He and his team of engineers and environmental scientists hadn’t fully anticipated the magnitude of the work. There were many interconnecting aspects of their projects. They needed a strong organizing presence. Dr. Greenly was the most experienced candidate available.

Increased population would require more orbiting rehab satellites, more shuttles, increased fuel production, food production, and living space. Above all they needed more robotic machines. Dr. Greenly was arriving just as new robotic production was beginning to have an effect. Food production capabilities had already increased. The fabrication rate of structural elements and their assembly had doubled over the past few weeks. Robotic construction has long been a proven method of working in environments hostile to humans. The machines were carefully sealed against the fine Martian dust that could cause damage if it infiltrated mechanical and electrical systems. They were essential to human existence on Mars and all other settlements as well. More maintenance and repair facilities were being constructed to keep the robotic
machines working around the clock.

The colossal Valles Marineris project was the primary objective of all the frantic activity. It was this project that Dr. Greenly would lead along with the attendant construction of the Phoebus Rail line. In addition, he would prioritize and sequence all their projects, relieving Dr. Stone to focus on daily operations. Dr. Greenly had an ace up his sleeve, or rather between his ears. With his intelligent interface implant, Ofelia Dr. Greenly was the most capable person. Dr. Stone and his teams had long anticipated the arrival of Dr. Virgil Greenly. The man had finished the archipelagos at Ellie 5 (Earth/Lunar Lagrange 5) and started and completed the one at Ellie 4.

Each group of six rotating islands was clustered around their respective Maintenance Assembly and Construction (MAC) facility. He also assisted Dr. Harlow develop Ceres Island in the Asteroid Belt. Acquiring Dr. Greenly was a major coup for Dr. Stone.

In the morning of the day Dr. Greenly arrived Dr. Timothy Stone met with Dr. Charles McKeever in his office in the administrative section in an expanded lava tube node of NASA Mars Base.

“Chuck I’m sure you are well-informed about Dr. Greenly’s capabilities.”

“Who isn’t? He’s a legend throughout the Space Settlements.”

“He’s not well versed in engineering. You will be his Chief Engineer,” Dr. Stone said.

“Ah, so he’s less than perfect. Are you sure he can evaluate my work?” Dr. McKeever
said.

“Don’t get too cocky Chuck. He has an uncanny ability to find the hidden flaws in your
work.”

“But you said he wasn’t well versed in engineering.”

“He isn’t. He has a hidden talent. Never underestimate the man. He is understanding and
supportive, but he sees everything.”

“He sounds intimidating.”

“He isn’t. The two of you will get along fine,” Dr. Stone said. The two scientists left Dr.
Stones office as Dr. Greenly would be arriving at the docking port aboard the Sojourner
soon.

***

Dr. Virgil Greenly had left Ellie 5 for Mars on January 27, 2260, on the Eternal Hope. He arrived on the twelfth of August and boarded the Sojourner shuttle which would take him to the surface of Mars. His wife Daria Aquila-Greenly stayed behind at Ellie 5 Zeta (Earth/Lunar Lagrange 5, Zeta Island). She and Simone Beaulieu, the very talented rocket engineer, would launch four months later, hoping to arrive at Mars shortly after the Eternal Hope. They were putting the finishing touches on an experimental high-speed long-range spaceship they had
designed and built. They hoped to complete system checks followed by shakeout voyages so their ship would be certified for a voyage to Mars by May 2260.

If their plan was successful, they would arrive at Mars just a few days after Eternal Hope. Their new spaceship, Spindizzy was designed with just four small staterooms. It was a low-mass spaceship with a double-globed dumbbell structure extending equally to both sides at the Spindizzy, midships on its long central body. Each globe of the dumbbell was double sandwiching water as a primary radiation shield. The dumbbells were connected through an access tube to and through the central body of the spaceship. Laser-receiving antennas were attached to the central body of the spacecraft. They received power from the new Lightspeed Laser at Ellie 4 to power the ship’s drive system. The laser energy activated electromagnetic forces that created and accelerated high-speed ions out of the exhaust cones.

Thus, the Spindizzy would continue to accelerate for a large fraction of its voyage to Mars. When the ship arrived at its deceleration point it simply flipped over reversing the direction it faced. The thrust would then slow the Spindizzy in preparation for Mars orbit insertion.

The whole spaceship rotated to produce standard gravity on the inner surface of theglobes. Each globe contained an exercise facility with a stateroom on either side. For this test voyage, the Spindizzy would cut the travel time roughly in half of that required by Eternal Hope or Endeavor. Those massive spaceships had been in service transporting people for more than two decades. They traveled between Ellie 5 (Earth Lunar Lagrange 5), Ellie 4, Ceres Island in the Asteroid Belt, and Mars. They were reliable but slow. The voyage of the Spindizzy to Mars would result in the ship being approved if it could cut Eternal Hope’s travel time in half. Should this voyage successfully meet that goal, its next voyage would attempt to meet its design specifications which would result in a travel time between Ellie 5 and Mars of four to six weeks when the planets were optimally aligned. The shorter times would be a significant improvement for trans-Solar System voyages.

Further tests and certifications were planned after this maiden flight. The two engineers had checked all systems multiple times on their ‘shakeout’ voyages and were confident their ship was up to the task. Dr. Greenly was an active supporter of the project and provided the needed time and resources to the two engineers. Daria and Simone optimistically anticipated the mission’s success and Dr. Greenly shared their enthusiasm. Still, he felt a jolt of trepidation when he received a Spindizzy launch message from his wife Daria on May tenth. Daria Aquila-Greenly and Simone Beaulieu were right on schedule as was Dr. Greenly’s increasing anxiety.

***