Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1)

by Gregory Gates

MSD 50955.478 (Sol 205)

  Jeff found Gabe in the greenhouse. She was wearing a set of coveralls that had been slit all the way down the back and an 8” piece of cloth sewn in to expand the girth. He smiled. “Nice outfit.”

  She turned from her gardening. “We didn’t bring maternity coveralls, so I had to make do. It works, more or less.”

  He kissed her and patted her belly. “You’re getting there.”

  “Yeah. Today’s the first day of my third trimester.”

  “Wow. Just three months to go.”

  “Uh huh.”

  He looked around. “So, how does your garden grow?”

  “It’s doing quite well. This is actually a pretty good place to grow things. In spite of our reduced sunlight intensity, the elevated CO2 level and the light spectrum – red during daylight hours and violet-blue intensive in the twilight hours – is really good for growing green plants. Combine that with our artificial lighting scheme, and everybody seems pretty happy.”

  “Well, great. What’s your next crop that’s ready for harvest?”

  “Well, over here we have hydroponic tomatoes that are just about ready. Then we can break out some freeze-dried bacon and you can have your bacon and tomato sandwiches.”

  “Excellent. Except that we don’t have any mayonnaise.”

  “I’ll talk to Sue. Maybe she can stir something up.”

  “Great! Just ask her for the variety that doesn’t glow in the dark.”

  Gabe giggled. “Okay. And here we have soil-based corn that’s also getting pretty close.”

  “Hmmm, corn on the cob.”

  “Uh huh. And up here, we have aeroponic radishes, carrots, onions, and turnips that are doing rather well. Also the soil grown potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cabbage are doing nicely.”

  “Amazing. Now if only we had some corned beef.”

  She smiled. “Sorry, no cows.”

  “Right. What are you working on now?”

  “I’ve been planting winter wheat over in the corner there, and I’m about to try some aeroponic rice. I think rice may be well suited for an aeroponic medium.”

  “Why rice?”

  “Because you can do a lot of things with it. Besides the standard food product, you can make milk, wine, sake, even paper out of it. Aeroponic rice here would be a valuable product, so I want to try it.”

  “We have some freeze-dried shrimp and crab. Sushi?”

  Gabe grinned. “Hmmm, that sounds good. But no soy sauce, wasabi, or ginger.”

  “We don’t have ginger?”

  “No.”

  “Hmmm, poor planning. Talk to Sue. See what she can stir up.”

  “Okay.”

  Jeff hugged her. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing fine. This is a whole new feeling for me. I’m feeling… domesticated. And it’s not all bad. I actually kind of like it.”

  He kissed her. “You’re a wonder.”

  She grinned. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Jeff looked over a table of dead and dying plants in an assortment of trays. “What’s this?”

  “Those are the DOAs.”

  “Huh?”

  “Dead On Arrival. They’re the native soil experiments.”

  “Looks like they need a little help.”

  Gabe shrugged. “Yeah, just a little. The native soils run from inert to lethally alkaline. You can’t grow anything in it without fertilizer and, in some cases, serious leaching. Even a compost pile is useless without the introduction of aerobic bacteria. This isn’t Earth. Mars is a dead rock. In fact, not only is it dead, it’s often just plain lethal. These trays over here… the seeds wouldn’t even germinate. They were dead as soon as I planted them. And these here, I transplanted healthy plants into, and they’re all dead or dying. We brought enough with us to satisfy our requirements for our comparatively short stay, but for a permanent colony there would have to be some kind of implemented biodiversity. As I said, this isn’t Earth. And what grows on Earth is not going to grow here without a whole lot of help.”

  “I gotcha.”

  “And the flip side of the coin is that if one were to introduce the necessary microorganisms to create a useable and sustainable organic cycle conducive to Earth-type plant life, one would also risk introducing all of the wonderful harmful pathogens that are also found on Earth. It’s kind of a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ scenario.”

  “Does that surprise you?”

  “No, not one bit.”

  “Me neither. Any luck with algae?”

  “Sure, over here. But it’s like everything else. In an isolated environment I can make it grow. But if I expose it to Mars, it’s dead in seconds.”

  “What kills it?”

  “Lack of oxygen, low temperature, soil alkalinity, ultraviolet radiation… take your pick. The same things that would kill us if we went outside without a suit.”

  “So terraforming is a non-starter?”

  “You could say that. For one thing, the planet doesn’t have enough gravity to even retain an atmosphere much beyond what’s here now.”

  Jeff nodded and smiled. “Well, aren’t you glad you came?”

  Gabe grinned. “Yes, I am. It’s an interesting place to visit, but I don’t believe I’d care to live here.”

  He chuckled. “You are living here.”

  “Yes, but someday I expect you to take me home.”

  Saturday, May 6, 2017

  MSD 50957.378 (Sol 207)

  Jeff leaned back in his chair at the breakfast table and took a sip of coffee. “Okay, first day of autumn and we’re approaching the halfway point. Time to get to work on the MAVs. Abby, let’s get suited up and go get the cryo plants connected.”

  She groaned. “It’s Saturday. You know, the weekend?”

  “Only on Earth. Here it’s just another workday.”

  “Slave driver.”

  He grinned. “Come on, suck it up. Pressure’s building in the LCH4 tanks and we need to bleed off the gas, re-liquefy it, and pump it back in. And we can’t start filling the LOX tanks until the plants are in place. And we’ve got just over 300 sols left before liftoff, so let’s get busy.”

  “Ugh. Alright.”

  They climbed into Andy, drove to the Sabatier plant, took the LOX transfer tank in tow, then continued 20 kilometers northeast to the MAV landing site. JPL had managed to set down both MAVs, along with two crates of support equipment and final assembly parts on a tilt-bed trailer, about 200 meters apart and near the west end of Magellan’s drop line, where they had a good view of Pathfinder during descent. The parts crates contained two small solar-powered cryogenic plants, one for each MAV, which would recycle the liquid methane and LOX boil off. They also contained the interior fittings – one set to accommodate the crew, the other for sample return. In consultation with Northrop Grumman they had decided this was the safest procedure in the event one of the MAVs failed to land in serviceable condition or, for whatever reason, was unable to lift off. Their only trips to the MAVs so far had been to fuel two of the four LCH4 tanks – and then return to steal some of it in preparation for the dust storm. JPL had already performed a full set of diagnostics on both MAV’s flight systems from Earth, and assured them that both were fully operational. But JPL could not verify the MAV’s structural integrity.

  Jeff pulled to a stop near MAV-1, the primary crew vehicle. “Okay, let’s drop off this service tank here. You climb inside and start the physical inspection and I’ll go get the parts box and setup the cryo plant.”

  “Okay.”

  Jeff pulled the service tank around to the fueling manifold side of the MAV and parked it about ten feet away. Then unhitched it and drove a quarter mile over to the parts trailer, hitched it up, and returned to the MAV, pulling the trailer between the MAV and the service tank. He removed the tie down straps from the rear container, unlatched the tilt-bed catch and ratcheted up the bed until the container gently slid to the ground. He then climbed back into And
y and pulled forward until the container settled onto the ground. He lowered the bed, secured it, returned to the container, and removed the cryo plant panel. Inside were the control panel and four hose fittings with insulated hoses attached, and the other ends capped. All the fittings, caps, and hose connectors were color-coded.

  He proceeded to one side of the container and again removed the panel. Inside was the folded four-square-meter circular solar array, attached to the container by an articulated arm. Jeff pulled it out and up, latched it in place, and unfolded the array.

  “How are you doing?” said Abby.

  “Fine. Just got the solar array up. Hang on a second.” He returned to the control panel and checked the array’s voltage and amperage. “Okay, we’ve got power and batteries are good. How are you doing?”

  “I’m about halfway through the checklist. So far, so good. As soon as you’ve got that LOX transferred I’ll do the pressure test.”

  “Rog. I’m gonna start connecting hoses. Gabe, you there?”

  “Yes, I’m here. Ready when you are,” she radioed from the commons.

  “Okay, start at the top of the connection sequence.”

  “Alright, Step 1: Remove the dust cap from the LCH4 supply valve, MRI1, on the MAV.”

  “Got it. Done.”

  “Step 2: Remove the cap from the LCH4 supply hose. That’s the red fitting.”

  “Done.”

  “Step 3: connect the LCH4 supply hose – the red fitting – to the supply valve, MRI1. Tighten hand-tight, then give it one quarter turn with the spanner.”

  “Done. Go ahead.”

  “Step 4: Okay, open valve MRI1 all the way, then turn back one-quarter turn, and flag it.”

  Jeff opened the valve and attached a red ‘WARNING’ streamer to it as a reminder to disconnect the hose and close it before they took off. “Got it.”

  “Okay. Step 5: Abby?”

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  “You have power in there?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Okay, watch the CH4 tank one pressure gauge for a minute or so. We’re looking for a pressure drop indicative of a leak.”

  “Okay, watching.” A minute later Abby called back. “No change. Pressure’s constant.”

  “Good.”

  And so it went until Jeff had all four hoses connected and pressure tested. Methane and oxygen that boiled off from the LCH4 and LOX stored in the tanks would be drawn off and re-liquefied in the cryogenic stage and pumped back into the tanks via the distribution manifold on the MAV. Further, all fueling of the MAV would now be conducted via the cryo plant’s connections. To lift off from Mars and rejoin the cruise ship in orbit the MAV would require 14.1 tons of propellant: 3.4 tons of LCH4 and 10.7 tons of LOX, all of which would take the Sabatier reactors around eight months to produce.

  “Okay,” said Jeff. “That’s done. I’m gonna go hook up the LOX transfer tank and pump it into LOX tank one.”

  Half an hour later all the LOX had been transferred.

  “Jeff,” said Abby. “I’m reading 37% on the tank.”

  “That sounds about right. You about ready to conduct the pressure test?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, go ahead. I’m gonna haul this second cryo plant over to the other MAV and set it in place, then come back and get the transfer tank.”

  “Alright. Are we gonna do the second MAV today?”

  “Nah, let’s do it tomorrow. I’m getting hungry.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  While Jeff shuffled tanks and equipment, Abby would close the MAV’s hatch and pressurize to 5.3 psi, 10% over the modules design specification, for 15 minutes. Assuming the test was successful, she would depressurize by pumping the O2 into the atmospheric oxygen tank where it would remain until they again pressurized the module in space following liftoff.

  Thursday, June 8, 2017

  MSD 50988.834 (Sol 238)

  Jeff, sitting at the communications computer, yelled toward the kitchen, “Hey, Abby, come here.”

  She came out and walked up behind him. “What?”

  “Have a look.”

  Abby looked at the screen and read.

  From: Commanding Officer, Strike Fighter Squadron 154

  To: LCDR Abigail B. Nolan, USNR

  Subj: Temporary appointment, delivery of

  REF: (A) navadmin 281/17

  (b) 10 Usc 14308

  1. Your temporary appointment to Commander with the date of rank and effective date of 29 May 2017, promulgated by reference (a) pursuant to the provisions of reference (b) is hereby delivered.

  2. You will indicate by endorsement hereon whether you accept or decline this appointment.

  r.f.schultz, by direction

  Jeff stood, grinned, and gave her hug. “Congratulations, Commander.”

  She smiled. “Thank you. Wow, didn’t see that coming. I haven’t drilled in two years.”

  “Well, I guess somebody figured you’re doing something useful.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I suppose.”

  “When we get home they’ll probably give you your own reserve squadron.”

  “That’d be interesting. There’ll be a few unhappy pilots. Oh crap!”

  “What?”

  “Now I’m gonna have to get my uniforms re-striped, buy new hats, shoulder boards, collar devices… ugh. That shit’s expensive.”

  “Oh, I think you can afford it.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Besides, you can have my old shoulder boards and collar devices.”

  She gave him a broad grin. “You mean it?”

  “Sure.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I’d be proud to wear them.”

  Jeff smiled and hugged her. “And I’d be proud if you would.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Sunday, June 25, 2017

  MSD 51005.375 (Sol 255)

  Jeff wandered into the kitchen. The women were already there, busily preparing breakfast. He poured a cup of coffee and sniffed. “What is that I smell? Smells like cornbread.”

  “Close,” said Susan. “You’ll see. It’ll be ready in a minute. Have a seat.”

  He took a seat at the table, sipped his coffee, and eyed them with curiosity. “What are you guys up to? Breakfast isn’t usually this big a production.”

  Gabe glanced at him. “What day is it?”

  “Where?”

  She grinned. “Here, fool.”

  “Um, sol 255. But you know that.”

  “Yes. Does that day mean anything to you?”

  He chuckled. “Sure, it’s the halfway point.”

  Without turning from the stove, Abby said, “He’s not as dumb as he looks.”

  Jeff smiled. “Ah, so this is some kind of celebration breakfast?”

  Gabe nodded. “Something like that.”

  A couple minutes later Susan set a platter on the table and they all took seats.

  Jeff stared at it. “Uh, Johnnycakes?”

  Gabe grinned. “Very good. You remembered.”

  “Of course, it’s the state food of Rhode Island. Trying to find ways of using up our stock of cornmeal are we?”

  “Not exactly.” She picked up a pancake turner and served Jeff a couple Johnnycakes and some scrambled eggs. “Try one.”

  The women stared at him. He glanced around at each of them and frowned. “Why am I always the guinea pig?”

  Abby gave him a smirk. “Because you’re only the mission commander and, as such, redundant.”

  He grinned and nodded. “Uh huh.” He nervously took a bite. “Hmmm, not bad. Actually, quite tasty.”

  Gabe smiled broadly.

  “Ahem, is there something about this dish that I don’t know about?”

  “Yes,” said Gabe.

  His eyebrows went up as he stared at her. “What?”

  “This is indigenous Martian food.”

  “Huh?”

  “The cornmeal was made from homegrown corn.”

  �
�You’re kidding?”

  “No. Eat, and I’ll explain.”

  Jeff shrugged. “Okay.”

  The women served themselves and began eating. Between bites, Gabe explained. “We took a dozen ears of corn from our greenhouse crop, sliced off the kernels, dried them, and ground them into cornmeal.”

  “How?”

  “Well, we set the kernels outside for a couple days and let Mars suck the moisture out of them, then ground them with the grinder and a meteorite. So it’s also pretty much whole-grain.”

  He chuckled. “The grinder and a meteorite?”

  “Yes. I picked a meteorite off the front walk and ground a channel in it with the grinder. Then we set the grinding wheel to just barely clear the channel and setup a hopper and drop tube to feed kernels into the channel. And out the other end came cornmeal… more or less. We had to run it through a couple times to get the right consistency.”

  “I’ll be damned. Is this something you learned at Caltech?”

  “No. The concept has been around for thousands of years. We just adapted it to our circumstances.”

  Jeff shook his head. “Not quite as difficult to live here as we thought, is it?”

  “It takes some adaptation, but it is doable.”

  “Wait until you see what she has planned for supper,” said Abby.

  “I’m almost afraid to ask.”

  “You’ll see. Hope you like eggplant and Parmesan cheese.”

  Monday, July 17, 2017

  MSD 51026.885 (Sol 276)

  Jeff pulled the hose from the LOX transfer tank to the MAV-2 cryo plant, and connected it. Then stepped around to the control panel. “Okay Sue, at this point all you have to do is punch the LOX fuel button, and the plant will align for fueling. The MAV knows what’s in the tanks, and will automatically align the manifold to fill the next available tank.”

  “Got it.”

  “Then we go back over here to the service tank and start the pump. The valve will open, the pump will start, and when the tank’s empty the pump will shut down, and the valve will close. Then just set the cryo plant back to RECIRC, disconnect the hose, screw on the dust caps, then haul the thing back to the Sabatier, and make more LOX. And that’s about all there is to it.”