Log Entry - Sol 69
So today, I realized that I have a problem. A major problem.
Right now, I have a grand total of 2 rovers. These things are the size of a van. In these, I need to put my food, water, oxygenator, atmospheric regulator, water reclaimer, solar panels, extra EVA suits (because some shit is going to break down, I just know it), and everything else. Plus me, of course.
This is going to take a few months to prep.
Log Entry - Sol 72
After brooding about the situation for a while, I decided to get to work. The first thing I dealt with was food.
I thought that I could store all of it in the other rover that I'm towing around. My cargo trailer.
Well you know what? I can't. It eats up half the space!
This is going to be a lot more difficult than I had originally thought.
But fear not, I have an idea!
I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to store and transport fifty solar panels; each of them are two square meters, and maybe an inch thick. They were engineered to stack securely and tightly together, of course, for the trip to Mars. Vogel and I unpacked them and set up the solar farm ourselves, so I'm plenty familiar with how they're supposed to fit together.
Then I was trying to figure out how to store all of my taters. So I had a crazy idea to solve both my problems.
I decided that the obvious solution was to use the solar panels to store and transport the solar panels.
I used one of the panels to form the bottom of a crate, and four more of them for the sides. Then, I duct-taped the whole thing together. I did this twice, making two crates for me to work with. Each of my newly-created solar panel crates holds forty-five panels, which is more than enough!
It's important to note here that I only used duct tape to form the panel crates, so that I can still use the panels once I arrive at the other site. I assume they'll still be functional. I'll use the actual ones in the box to charge the rover.
After my little duct tape construction project, I took my two new panel crates, which were open on top, and mounted them to both sides of the trailer.
First, I took 2 MAV landing struts, and formed them into brackets in an l-shape, using a hammer and... not much else. Then, I drilled holes in the undercarriage of the trailer, and finally, I bolted the shelving into place.
In one of the boxes, I stacked the other forty-five pannels. In the other went the potatoes. This seemed to counterbalance the weight, and I was pretty good to go on storage. The potatoes cannot be stored in the pressurized environment; they'll spoil. I'll keep a few with me in the rover for easy access during the day, but the others will go into the solar box.
You know, I've been thinking. I'm going to have to live in this thing for fifty days. I won't be able to stand, or walk around, or anything for fifty days.
I've decided that I need a bedroom. I think I can use the pop tents for that purpose. After all, when I get to the other Habs, they ought to also have Rover pop tents that I can use as potato farms.
One problem, though, I'll need to use one of the pop tents as an extension of the pressurized area. Doing some math, I'll never get the Big 3 into the unmodified rover. Looking over things, it looks like I'll need to cut a hole in the rover.
Log Entry: Sol 80
OK... wow. That was a lot of work. So the first thing I had to do was hard-wire the drill into Hab power.
It took me a while to figure out that the drill's batteries were never going to last anywhere close to the amount of time I needed. If I relied on the batteries it'd take ages to get it all done.
Then, I drilled 760 little fuckin holes, and chiseled out 759 little fuckin chunks, until I had one large hole in the rover.
Finally, I glued the pop tent canvas into place. That was the easy part. Now I have a nice, big pressurized area.
Log Entry: Sol 88
It occured to me that I could do the same thing with the Rover. This would nearly double my carrying capacity. So I had lots more fun with the drill, and lo and behold, I now have a nice large compartment in the rover.
Now I have plenty of room to store all my stuff. Luckily I won't have to do the same thing with the other rovers.
One thing I hadn't considered:
Power
I didn't know how far I would be able to go on one charge. Key knowledge for planning my upcoming epic road trip, of course.
So, I found out. I drove circles around the Hab, and took notes.
I got only 40 kilometers before the batteries were totally dead.
I had really thought it would be more like 90, so I'm a little confused by those results.
Log Entry: Sol 89
I figured it out.
The goddamn heater is the problem.
That mother fucker is sucking up more than half my battery life. I guess now I have to figure out what to do about that.
Log Entry: Sol 9
I had an idea. But it's a very bad idea.
It's a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. But it's the only thing that'll work.
I am going to go dig up the RTG.
Basically, I'm about to go dig up the giant lump of plutonium that brought the MAV here and produced the fuel to launch it up to Hermes. That probably makes it sound not so bad. It's much more unstable than the radioactive isotope that goes into the making of a bomb, just as an example.
This is dangerous... Very, very dangerous.
Log Entry: Sol 91
So... the RTG works a little too well. So instead, I made it into a heat reservoir to heat water for the regulator's return air. This way I won't have to fuck with the rover's insulation, or anything like that. All I need to do, is set up the regulator and oxygenator, load up, and I'll be ready to go!
Bonus: I have my own 5 gallon water heater! I can have hot water for the trip, and fill it with cold water and the RTG will make it hot again! For now, I won't think about "how" the water is being heated.
Log Entry: Sol 110
I've spent the last 20 days moving the Big Three, setting up the heat reservoir, and dealing with power. I also spent a day packing; things like EVA suits, electronic components, the electrical kit, all the extra Hab canvas, and anything else I might need on the road. Now all I have to do is test it, and I'll be ready to go!
Log Entry: Sol 117
Testing is officially complete. I am able to get 110 Kilometers per sol, because I found a way that the boxes can charge the rovers en route, so the batteries are continually being topped off as I'm driving. Unfortunately, the power loss from driving does not get corrected entirely, since there's not enough sunlight for that, but it's something, and I'm glad I thought of it. The tricky thing was figuring out how the panels could connect into the rover's power grid, but I was able to find an extra power wire that wasn't doing anything, and I hooked the power grid wire from the rover into the box on the left, and the power grid wire from the trailer to the box on the right.
This should shorten my trip by five days or so. It's still going to be a really long-ass trip, but it seems a little more bearable when I say 45 days rather than 50 days.
Tonight I spend my last night in the Hab. According to my math, without the life support I could go 2 more days in the hab, since it takes up to a 1% co2 content before I'll start feeling the effects, but, well, better safe than sorry. I was able to harvest an additional crop of potatos before I left. I now have potatos to last me a good 190 sols, plus the rest of the food packs. Once I get to Ares II, I'll start up my potato farm again in the new HAB and I'lll be up to my ankles in manure again in no time!
Ares II had a full surface mission instead of a scrubbed one like ours, so there ought to be plenty of freeze-dried poop on hand for the purposes of restarting the farm.
I also realized that I made one large mistake. I forgot to make a bedroom. I'll have to sleep in the rover for 45 days. I said I was going to use the pop tent to make a bedroom, but in my hasty enthusiasm to get as much space as I possibly could, I forgot. Luckily, all the clutter cleaning gave me a pretty big area to sleep in. At least I'll be able to lie down flat in the rover and sleep. I might not actually need a bedroom after all. It would have been a pain in the ass to work with, anyway.
It's probably a good thing that I'm leaving this Hab tomorrow. I noticed the last time I went in that there seems to be a stretched area in Airlock One. This could've caused me a lot of trouble if I weren't leaving so soon, or if I hadn't noticed it.
For now I'm using Airlock Two to get in and out of the Hab.