Regardless of the worldwide sympathy, the tragic event had genuinely jeopardized the whole Martian endeavor and stopped any future missions, at least for a while. The reality of the dangers the Martian explorers were exposed to day after day had suddenly become a great concern across the globe. Alone on a distant planet, far away from any help or anyone, and left to fend for themselves, what chances did they really have to survive? Some felt spending billions of dollars to send people to such an unforgiving place was absolutely irresponsible and even criminal. The incident had refueled serious questions about the whole program. “Did Mars First have the right to send these poor gullible souls to their certain death?” as some news media had phrased it. The company’s responsibility in Najib’s death was being seriously questioned, and it would take another four and a half years to defend.
“Do you still maintain that sending these unqualified, everyday citizens to that hostile and desolate world, millions of kilometers away, is not pure murder? What life can these young men and women possibly expect on a frozen piece of rock, itself devoid of life, where the air is not breathable, the temperature can plunge to minus -133 Celsius, and solar radiation is deadly?” had asked a reporter.
“First off, let me correct you on a few points, if I may. The Mars First applicants ARE qualified. Their astronaut training program takes almost eight years to complete and is as extensive and rigorous as NASA’s won program. Our team members go through countless evaluation tests, and we make sure to provide them with the tools necessary to insure the highest chance of survival possible. They do not get to go to Mars unless our team of experts certifies they have met or surpassed all physical and mental expectations. I would also like to remind you that the first two teams sent to Mars have done very well, in terms of adapting to their environment. And if I may, regarding the temperatures on the planet, -133 Celsius is an extreme, and Mars’ average temperature is closer to -55C. And did you know that temperatures on a summer day can easily reach a comfortable 27 degrees? Of course, this is somewhat irrelevant, since no one can be on the Martian planet without a suit. Now, it is true that certain conditions can be difficult to work in. You mentioned radiation. Over time, radiation bursts from solar flares can have serious consequences on the human body, but as the Martian colonists have demonstrated on several occasions, they can shelter themselves from those rare events, in the isolating the underground booth designed for that purpose.”
Lars was always good at handling reporters and TV journalists without sounding annoyed or losing his temper, even when some seemed biased against the project. He was used to it. But after Najib’s untimely death, many more such accusations would test his patience to the limit.
Regardless, the company had been forced to reschedule the departure of the Mars First 3 ship, to let some of the initial steam fizzle down. The legal actions that had followed, and the amount of time and energy Lars’ organization had had to spend defending and maintaining the integrity and validity of the program, had put a serious financial toll on the whole enterprise. Sending a spaceship to Mars couldn’t be scheduled hastily, and the time window for the launch was precise and short. Departure had to be synchronized when Earth and Mars were lined up on a precise curve, allowing the ship to travel the least amount of time and distance. Even so, the shortest trip to Mars still took about five months, and that window was only available every two Earth years or so, since Mars revolved around the sun significantly slower than its blue cousin.
At first, hoped to be just a step back until the next planetary alignment, twenty-six months to be exact, the ramifications of the Najib’s death had proven to be a much longer ordeal than anticipated, and the entire project had been put on. Luckily, the discovery of liquid water in underground lakes in 2033 would finally change the public’s opinion in the program’s favor, and the green light would eventually be given later that year. MF3 would finally launch in early 2034, five years late.
PART II
Chapter IV
H2O
The fast winds were blowing dirt in all directions around the small group of explorers, and their suits were looking dirtier by the minute, but the brown dust flying all around was not enough to make them pack and go back to the base yet. Although the winds could blow at much higher speeds than they did on Earth, for the most part, small Martian tornadoes and occasional winds storms were comparatively weak, due to the thin atmosphere of the planet. Nonetheless, they were certainly annoying conditions to work in. Especially because they meant reduced visibility and clogged everything.
“How deep are we so far, Tendai?” asked Dedrick.
“Almost eight meters. Still nothing.”
“Ok, let’s bring it back. I don’t think the drill will go much—”
“Wait! I have a new readout. This is different. Look!” said Tendai with excitement.
“What is it? Let me see,” said François who was closer to the screen than Dedrick.
While the Russian commander was making his way to the two men standing next to the machine, Tendai stopped the drill.
“Look! The numbers are climbing. No doubt about it. Unless this analyzing probe is defective, we’ve got liquid water down there!!” said François.
“Let me see.” Dedrick as just reached the two men.
“Yes! YES!” he exclaimed, his two gloved fists up in the air. “Awesome job, guys! Lars is going to be ecstatic. Wait ‘til we tell him about it! Wow! Finally,” he added, letting out a big “Fewww! Ok, Tendai. Let’s get this baby back up. François, come help me with the GA sampler. We need to bring some water back with us for analysis. We’re gonna have one hell of a reason to celebrate tonight!”
As Dedrick and François, walked to the rover, the two shared a well-deserved high five with a big smile on their faces. They had been drilling the area for almost two weeks and made eleven holes in promising spots, but none had yielded any results until now. Number twelve had finally paid off. They had found liquid water on Mars. This meant a lot more than a new geological discovery to them. It meant a new source of H2O for the colony, one of the most needed resources for their long-term survival on the desert planet. Although they didn’t know the quality or quantity of water below their feet yet, they knew it had to be large enough for the water to be in liquid form. That also meant there had to be more underground reserves like this one elsewhere on the planet. This was an amazing discovery, a life changing moment for them and all future colonists.
While François guided the plunger down the hole to begin retrieving a sample of Martian H2O, and Tendai busied himself packing up the rest of the equipment, Dedrick got into the rover and called the Mars First outpost. Ladli appeared on the small screen in front of him.
“Hey guys. How’s work going?”
“Ladli, turn off the satellite feed for a minute.”
“What? The whole feed? Why?”
“Please, just do it.”
“OK. Give me a sec… OK, Done. What’s going on?”
“You’re sure it’s off, right?”
“Yes! I just did. I swear. What’s going on?” she replied with apprehension.