2049

Chapter 1

November 10, 2049

The wind picked up and dust obscured the Martian landscape.  Brad Hoolihan and Jeremy Peterson were bouncing along the rocky terrain in their Martian Rover, weaving between giant boulders, which cast giant shadows when not obscured by the red dust.  Even after thirteen years of continuous presence on Mars, life was a constant struggle with the environment.  The temperature was frigid, light somewhat dim, and the wind played havoc with electronics, especially antennas.  The fine Martian dust could travel in excess of 450 knots in a dust storm and become electrically charged and then attach to communication antennas with resultant static disrupting communications and navigation.

     Brad and Jeremy bounced along in the Martian Rover on this blustery day searching for a new sight for a VOR, a navigation station used for direction finding on Mars.  The very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) was once used on Earth for pilot navigation before GPS.  Satellites had not yet been placed in Martian orbit for GPS so the twenty-three astronauts on Mars depended upon the VOR to keep them from getting lost when away from the station.  The VOR tended to become inoperable in winds above 150 knots.  Therefore, a new site was needed for the station.  The site for the Mars Station was based on geography.  Climate considerations were secondary.  Now that was changing.  The Rover measured the wind speed and direction in sites surrounding the base.

     Brad drove too fast for the conditions.  His helmet bounced against the roof of the Rover as he went over a Martian pothole.  He glanced over at Jeremy whose helmet was fogging up.  The station commander had a scowl on his face.  Brad reached across the dash for Jeremy’s climate control knob.  Jeremy brushed his hand away.

     “Drive the Rover and stop messing with my climate control,” Jeremy barked.

     “You’re fogging up, Boss.”

     “And you’re in a field of boulders and should be watching where you’re going instead of watching me sweat over your driving.”

     “The wind is kicking up so much dust, I can’t see those boulders until I’m right on them,” Brad said.  “I’m slowing down.”

     “We need to head back,” Jeremy said.  “I hope this isn’t the start of a dust storm.  Let’s get out of here while we still can.”

     “I’m with you, Captain.”  Brad made a wide U-turn and slowed the Martian rover a little.  “Hey, this wind has completely eliminated our tire tracks.  I can’t see where we’ve been.”

     “Take it slow and easy.  We’ve got ten kilometers to get home.  We’ll be fine as long as we don’t hit anything.  Turn right!”

      Brad turned hard right, fishtailing the Rover.  “That was close,” he said.  “I didn’t see that rock.  Okay, I’m slowing down.”

     The rover meandered across the mostly flat landscape at 10-15 kilometers per hour.  Darkness obscured the landscape, not because the sun was setting but because the dust had risen high enough to block out the sunlight.  The wind sounded like static on TV against their helmets in the open vehicle.  Red dust covered the solar roof panels so the vehicle’s only source of power was the hydrogen and oxygen fuel cells. 

     “I can’t believe this wind,” Brad said.  “Have you ever been out in one of these, Captain?”

     “I’ve been up here for two years and fortunately haven’t been out in a storm.  We watched one from base soon after I arrived.  It lasted for a week.  Wind got up to 500 kilometers per hour.  If we keep calm and proceed cautiously, we