My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 442

ARES 3 solar day 434

[09:13] HERMES: Good morning, Watney. Lewis is here. How are things going this morning?

[09:30] Watney: Good morning Lewis. So far we are all very happy here. I can finally eat normal food again and share some with my friends, so now only half of my diet is potatoes. Except for the batteries placed in the cave, the sojourners, and Cherry Berry's new little mascot that has begun to take root, we have loaded all the other supplies. Have I mentioned lately that their so-called "Earth Pony Magic" seems almost miraculous to a botanist like me?

The only cloud floating around right now is that Starlight has completely stopped using magic. She planned to leave here and hit the road with twenty-one fully charged ordinary magic batteries and the fifteen giant magic batteries. Therefore, Dragonfly can only enjoy the magic field for three minutes a day, and there is no time for Feihuo to practice flying. The remaining few of us were also told that there was a special request for magic and we wanted to stay where we can.

Today we're going out to the cave for an hour to check things out, and then I'll come back to do a round of final pre-departure inspections and diagnostics on all the rover facilities and the habitat equipment installed in the mobile home. In fact, these two weeks were just killing time.

So we are taking this opportunity to relax and finally enjoy some free space. According to the plan, we will shut down the living module and move to the cave on Sol 449. We will complete the final material loading on Sol 450 and officially set off before dawn on Sol 451 to start the approximately fifty-day journey. Once we hit the road, at least until launch day, the car will be packed like a can. Even on Hermes, I guess the situation won't be much better.

[09:43] HERMES: Sorry Mark, I have one more cloud to add; NASA just recently observed the first dust storm that appears to be the start of the regular dust storm season on Mars. The time of appearance was earlier than expected, and it is currently located in the Arabian Platform area of ​​the Far East, but everything is currently observed to be normal. There were no devastating winds, no lightning activity, just a little more dust in the atmosphere than usual.

[09:55] Watney: Commander, believe me, if Mars really treats me with normal malice this time, then I have no complaints. Are there any signs of the dust devil moving or spreading?

[10:07] HERMES: Hardly any movement at all - maybe a few kilometers a day. It's too early to say whether it's getting stronger. We will keep you informed as soon as there is any news. After Pathfinder goes offline, you are required to use alien radio to contact us at least once a day to report the situation and receive the latest intelligence provided by us.

[10:19] Watney: Got it. Once we hit the road, the radio would be in contact every day from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset. There is at least one communication every day after we park and set up camp and start charging.

By the way, speaking of the Pathfinder communication link, Cherry Berry would like to ask if there are any new developments in the flight simulation in preparation for launch? Now that everyone has a lot of free time, she wants to find opportunities to do as much training as possible before we set off.

[10:32] HERMES: I don’t know about this. But I'm a little curious, how did you perform during the simulation? I still remember that when we were participating in training, you could barely get a passing grade in even the simplest simulation scenario.

[10:43] Watney: Starlight has never touched Flight Simulator at all. Fireball completed the most basic simulation training - recognition and manipulation. Spitfire and Dragonfly successfully completed a simulation training package to achieve flight rating. CherryBerry has completed all simulation scenarios from standard to complex tasks.

[10:44] JPL: Sorry Mark, we are still adjusting the specific transformation process of MAV. It is estimated that work in this area will continue until Sol 500. And we also hope to ensure smooth communication with Pathfinder during the period before the official departure to prepare for possible changes in the situation, so it is impossible to transmit a large amount of data now.

But having said that, please remember to copy the videos and high-definition images you have shot on the memory card and take them with you on the road. The MAV communication check is all normal. The triple redundant system can ensure that sufficient communication bandwidth is provided to transmit all data to us before launch.

[10:55] HERMES: Standard plus complexity? How many times did she redo complex simulation scenarios?

[11:06] Watney: I don’t know. Probably a lot. There were a few days when Berry couldn't even speak English after doing a two-hour simulation in MDV.

[11:09] Watney: Got it. By the way, since we are free now, I can take some more videos of the system in the habitation module and the situation in the cave. Baker and Vogel, I'm sorry, but I have to clear out your private storage for data storage.

Another simple question: Do you want us to leave early? If you think an early departure is reasonable we'll be on the road in four days.

[11:20] HERMES: We understand, it’s okay. Vogel said his collection of family photos is backed up in his Hermes account.

[11:32] JPL: No, please follow the original plan to shut down the habitation module on Sol 449 and set off from the cave on Sol 451. If the dust storm intensifies rapidly, we will ask you to stay put and cancel the Hermes rendezvous plan. If the dust storm remains as it is, we should be able to easily guide you around the front edge of the dust storm. The worst-case scenario we are really worried about is that you are trapped halfway between the cave and the MAV, and the dust storm intensifies to the level of a global catastrophe in 2018. We don’t believe that setting off early significantly reduces the likelihood of encountering such a bad situation, and that it’s not worth the added risk and bumps in the road.

[11:54] Watney: OK, your conclusion is quite positive and optimistic. But I have other ideas. Please follow my logic first, okay?

As we all know, the United States of America has signed an international convention stating that countries cannot make claims to areas beyond the Earth. This means that except for temporary buildings such as habitation modules or aircraft such as MAVs, everything else on Mars is classified as international waters according to legal definitions. So once we leave the residential area, we will be in international waters the entire way to Schiaparelli.

However, no one in the MAV granted us permission to board the ship. Theoretically you can authorize the article, but you are still a million miles away. Therefore, in actual operation, our behavior still involves forcibly boarding a ship and taking over control in international waters without the consent of the ship owner and against the original wishes of the voyager.

Using my logic, I became a pirate. Space pirates! Wa hahaha!

[12:05] HERMES: Watney, let me remind you that I am still a commissioned officer in the United States Navy. I'm sorry, but I must comply with my duty and arrest you for piracy by standing order from the Admiralty. If I remember correctly, this type of order is still allowed to be executed immediately even if contact with law enforcement superiors cannot be obtained. I'm sure the base of the radiator fins on the Hermes could be used as a sail yard (for hoisting pirates)...

[12:16] Watney: Is it interesting why you are always so serious?

[12:18] JPL: Mark, I originally planned to talk to you about how stupid this idea is, but now I suddenly want to see what those aliens look like wearing eye patches and prosthetic legs...