Mission to Mars [IC]

[mrwest13]

Recent research and the data sent back from the 2017 rover on Mars have caused an opinion shift in the population. People and politicians think that now is the perfect time for a manned mission to Mars.

Not any manned mission, however. With some pressure from researchers, the public and private interests funding the Maltemi Project have agreed to construct the first ever permanent structure on another world. You have been selected based on your background by a committee to head the project. The ship for your journey can hold 5 persons (not entirely) comfortably, so you have been put in charge of choosing the other 4 personnel.

While there is a great deal of funding in the Maltemi Project, technologies designed for safe use both in space and in a martian environment run a premium price tag. This fact, coupled with the fuel and cargo limitations for the shuttle will make one of your first tasks selecting which things you cannot go without.

There are other concerns from the scientific community as well, such as how to best land on Mars and what materials will work best for construction and sustainability of the project. Some worry that the proper shielding for radiation will create weight issues both on take-off and landing. These will all be dealt with in time. For now, we start at the beginning of a new era.

[mrwest13]

You walk down a sterile hallway of the Maltemi Project administrative offices in Russia next to the personnel adviser who has a handful of envelopes containing crew files.

"You're sure these are the ones you want?" he asks with some concern. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you that these are poor choices, I'm just an eternal worrier."

You spent weeks selecting from hundreds of files which were sent to you from the tens of thousands of applications sent to HR starting just minutes after the press release announcing the mission. You can't be entirely sure that these people are the perfect candidates, but their skill sets check out. There isn't a whole lot in terms of personality you can garner from a letter of interest, especially when you see so many in succession.

"I'll have them flown in as soon as possible," the nervous adviser assures you, though you hadn't given him an answer to his earlier question. For now, it was time to meet with the crew designing the spacecraft to get an update.

Upon entering one of the larger construction rooms in the facility, you notice the living area of the spacecraft that was being overseen here has been taken apart. The various components have all been carefully set in what appears to be some sort of order. You don't remember seeing any work order to take the compartment apart.

One of the technicians walks up to you as you survey the room. "Hello Sven, have you decided on the crew yet?"

[Croverus]

"Yes, I've finally picked the four that will be going for me. I'm very proud to have been given the honor of leading up this mission. It will be a great achievement for mankind." Sven glances at the pieces of the living space all set out. "I don't recall any order to take apart the living area. What's this about?"

[mrwest13]

"The seals failed the stress test, and we also deemed the radiation shielding to be inadequate for such a long trek. Your crew and our technicians may be smart, but there's only so short you can make the trip to Mars with our current propulsion systems."

The technician motions over to the various components in a row, "I mean, if it were up to me, I'd increase the shielding by at least a factor of 3, but that would take up space and add weight. You'd lose the interior volume of what we've tried very hard to make a 5-man cabin."

"I think we should probably wait for whomever you selected as a technician to come and help us with this to make sure all of the seals are up to spec. That new stress test we're using is a real beast." He looks at the pieces longingly, "That's about it on our end. I think they wanted to see you down the hall in the mechanics and hydroponics lab.

[Croverus]

"Alright, I'll send the tech as soon as they arrive. Keep me posted on any other issues that crop up." Sven nods, turning and leaving the maintenance room and turning down the hallway, making his way to the mechanics and hydroponics lab. Hopefully they had some good news for him.

[mrwest13]

When you make it to the lab, you are greeted by a scientist carrying a tall potted plant. She motions for you to hold the door for her so she can enter the lab. After getting the second door for her as well, she sets the plant down and groans. "I wish we could have automatic doors like all of the other departments, but admin says the particles from here make it a nightmare to keep the rest of this wing clean. Poor engineers working on your everyday gear have to deal with it though, since the tech will have to deal with these fellas." She taps the tree as though patting someone on the back. "Anyway, I suppose you're here to see what we've got for you?"

Taking you through the rows of plants that clutter the entrance, she takes you to the animal cages. "New strains of guinea pigs are here," she says, nodding to the small carriers and habitats. "These fellas are a little more efficient at converting seed and greens into protein. I think they made them a bit more passive too, though that could actually be the reason for the change, I'm not sure. The contracts we have with the German eugenics companies are not on my list of things to keep track of right now. That new shipment of hybrid trees is giving me enough to deal with"

She leads you over to the head lab mechanic, who puts down his tools long enough to shake your hand. He turns to the other tech, "how did the newest batch of spinach seeds grow under stress conditions?"

"Surprisingly well. Listen, I still have 2 more trees to bring in, and electronics is using all of the carts. I'll talk to you later." She leaves.

The mechanic shifts his attention back to you, "We just put the finishing touches on the powerless water purification system. Trying to get as many systems as possible off the grid has us working around the clock, but this is groundbreaking work we're doing here, right?"

[Croverus]

"More than just ground breaking. The work we're accomplishing here will set the standard for planetary colonization. If we have even the slightest success with this mission we'll be proving that mankind is meant to life among the stars. Our future will be on other worlds. This work is vital. It's really impressive what we've already accomplished in the time we've had to work on this mission." Sven offers to help any way he can, also taking a moment to read over some of the technical notes in the lab.

[mrwest13]

"I think financial department wanted you for something," the tech adds after you've taken a look at the lab documents. It seems that there are currently two options for the hydroponics pods that you'll have to decide between a bit later. One allows for the crew to access the pod from the living quarters of the spacecraft. The other would require a space walk for such mid-flight access.

Taking a look at the botany notes as you leave, it looks like the most recent plant strains stand the best chance of growing in a martian environment. While some of the plants, such as the spinach, will require earthen soil for growth, some of the larger plants meant to create a sustainable water and air cycle have been engineered to grow in martian conditions. Since no samples have made it back from Mars, however, there is only so much the techs can do do simulate red soil for their tests.

You make your way down the hall to the electronics and financial lab. A computer tech greets you soon after you enter.

"Hello Sven, Frank from financial wanted to get some documents to you, but he's out at the moment. Follow me over to his desk and I'll get them for you." You follow the tech over to a small array of computers. There is one person working on some sort of spreadsheet, and she barely acknowledges your presence as the tech accompanying you takes a clipboard with documents attached and hands it to you.

"These are your priority ranking documents for the cargo manifest. Rather than going through each piece of gear and finding a place for it, then moving on to the next, inevitably running out of space midway through, we're having you rank each on a scale of 1 to 5. You can read the fine-print yourself, I'm sure." The tech leads you over to a much larger bank of computers across the lab and holds up a piece of equipment, "this is about as small as we could make the survey coms and have them hold up well to stress testing."

He abruptly throws the device on the floor, "See?" Picking it back up, "But it isn't really the shock test that is the issue, it's all of the dust you'll be dealing with once you're on the ground. We had to make these as grit-resistant as possible while still making them easy to take apart and maintain. This last batch of models is what you'll be using, but we did have to sacrifice a bit of the ease of use for more durability."

He walks you back to the entrance. "The thing that's still eating me is the operating system we're using for all of the interfaced devices. We wrote it from the ground up to be 100% reliable. 2 redundant backup operating systems and a third primarily mechanical system for recovery. In any other circumstances, I would consider it overkill to just run a couple of handhelds and mounted processors, but the mission being what it is, I can't help but think something we've missed could still go wrong. It's not like we installed long-range transmitters to allow for guys at mission control to get in a backdoor. Too risky ever since the 2016 hack on the ISS. Take a look at those files, get them back to financial tomorrow morning, if you could"

[Croverus]

Sven takes everything in, nodding as he is told what he needs to do. He puts the files under one arm and glances around at the lab for a bit, just helping out with some minor things here and there, before he decides to make his way to the mess hall to grab a bite to eat and start looking over the fine print of these papers. He knew they were cutting some things close. And if he needs to cut back on some things, he has a good idea what he's willing to sacrifice to amke it all work.

[mrwest13]

You make all the necessary rankings on the documents and turn them back to financial as you leave for the day. Returning early the next morning, you head to the conference room to brief the rest of the team. You enter the room where 4 people you recognize from the files are seated.