Mars 2005

Mission Patch Not Available
Mars 2005
Year	2004-05
Mission Destination	Mars
Mission Dates	Unknown
Habitat Commander	Songyan Cai
Mission Control Commander	N/A
Simulator Commander	N/A

This year's mission saw OCESS's return to Mars under the direction of Habitat Commander Songyan Cai. His subordinates included Computer Engineer Stefan De Young, Electrical Engineer Jonathan Scothorn, and Biomedical Engineer Mor Levy.

The trip to Mars was eventful with many pieces of space junk striking the Habitat. Luckily no major damage was incurred. One other major problem that the astronauts encountered while on Mars was the frightening regularity with which their fuel cell was blown away by dust storms, struck by meteorites, or just fell off. Astronauts Scothorn and De Young were forced to expend entire oxygen tanks (6 hours) one evening searching for it. Luckily, it was found the next morning during an EVA, so the Habitat was able to return home.

Lack of Astronauts

Only two OCESS members, Songyan and Mor, applied to be astronauts for Mars 2005. This was deemed unacceptable, and Stefan and Jonathan were drafted, at the last minute, to round out the crew.

Fuel Cell

In the Alpha reality, the fuel cell was a yellow pool noodle that was mounted into some L-shaped air ducts that were ensconced in a piece of plywood screwed onto the outside of the hotlab. Why such a valuable piece of equipment was mounted in such a vulnerable place (as evidenced by its frequent encounters with dust storms) was never made clear.

Extended EVA

Due to the last minute nature of their selection as astronauts, Jonathan and Stefan were unable to disavow their commitment to either the Lisgar Senior Orchestra or String Ensemble, and went on an extended 6-hour EVA to perform at Lisgar's music night. The Beta reason for this breaking of the Golden Rule was that the two violinists needed to locate the fuel cell which had been blown off of the habitat in one of the frequent dust-storms.

Shower

During the Extended EVA of astronauts De Young and Scothorn, Commander Cai warmed several litres of water in the microwave, and took a shower in the washroom. This is the only recorded shower in recent memory.

Mystical Plant

The astronauts discovered a small potted plant on the planetary surface, and were informed by a written note accompanying the plant that it would kill one of the astronauts. However, the astronauts were informed that they could choose which one of the crew would die. No one actually died from the Mystical Plant in either Alpha or Beta realities.

Chronicles of the Insane Astronaut

To stave off boredom at lack of control from Mission Control and to play off of the Mystical Plant and noise pollution emanating from the Simulator Area, Stefan feigned insanity. His antics were caught on tape by Commander Cai, as he was quarantined in the Hotlab. No copies of the video remain.

Martians!

One visit to the planetary surface revealed that there were martians present. Somehow, the martians were able to take on the forms of known spacesim members, and, abusing the trust that the astronauts accorded their supposed friends, the martians launched a surprise bludgeoning of the astronauts with what appeared to be bottles from water coolers. Battle was joined. Stefan De Young was the recipient of a particularly hefty whack from Martian-Linxi Li and retreated from the battle with a bloody nose and dented helmet.

Comments

Mars 2005 revealed the worst fears of Spacesim to be true: the double cohort had robbed us of both our leaders and our institutional knowledge. Not one group: Mission Control, Astronauts, or Simulators knew how to properly run a mission. Regardless, and true to Spacesim tradition, it was a fun time.

Suggestions

It is suggested that none of the knowledge of Mars derived from this particular mission be incorporated into future missions, as the existence of Mystical Plants and Martians with Bludgeons is not desired from the standpoint of realism.

Sources

• The Spacesim website archives of the mission

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