Mission Mars by Janet L. Cannon Page A

important guests showing up in a month. A month! They’ve already launched from the Moon. They can’t just turn back because we’re not ready. They’ll be expecting hot showers and a full swimming pool when they arrive. If you need a part, send someone up to thescience base and see if they have a spare.” Lewis, with an impulsive stab of a finger, deleted the engineer’s image on his video screen, then turned away.
    He returned to preparing a secret report on their progress at his tiny workstation. He added a suggestion on excursions to the Viking, Pathfinder, and Curiosity landing areas, as well as ski trips to Olympus Mons for aristocrats fond of adventure. They would shuttle CO2 down from the north cap and rig a sprayer of some kind. He paused the recording when he heard a knock on his door.
    One of the dome specialists poked his head into his private cubicle. “Mr. Kosmatka, there is a gentleman in the airlock. He claims to be from a settlement up on Chryse Planitia.”
    â€œWhat settlement?!” Lewis turned to the view screen to look at the visitor.
    A vaguely puffy face in a helmet stared back at him. The man wore a quilted and dyed pressure suit. “We’ve been expecting you.”
    â€œAre you from the UN station?” Lewis asked.
    â€œNo … not exactly.” The man turned away and looked out of the airlock towards the work crew clearing rocks. “Looks like you’re planning on being here a while. I wonder if I could interest you in some Ornamental Lawn Martians.” The man lifted a small statuette with a large nose and pockmarked skin into the view of the airlock camera.

DESCENT
Mark Isherwood
    Voyages no matter how long, have an end. Commander Carla Rodriguez looked out of the window on the command deck of the spaceship, Constellation. They’d been in orbit for a few days now, but as she looked out the window, she just couldn’t get used to the view. The sun was rising over the red brown surface of Mars. It was huge. The sun rippling throughout the cabin, bathed Rodriguez and her two man crew in light.
    â€œOk guys, turn off the communications back to Earth for a moment.”
    The two men who shared the cabin turned to her. Chen, Carla’s Mars Lander pilot, nodded and pushed a button. “Done,” he said.
    Carla cleared her throat, “I know you both know this,but what we are about to do will go down in history. We are the first people to make it to Mars—if we can land safely and explore. Only then will we have fully completed this mission. Years and billions of dollars of investment will have paid off, all with a global audience listening in to us. No pressure.” She grinned at her fellow astronauts.
    Both men returned her smile.
    Lieutenant Oleg,
Constellation
’s Russian pilot, spoke. “Well boss, we’re ready. The unmanned probe will go on your command.”
    â€œRoger that,” she replied. “And the Mars Lander, Chen?”
    â€œI am completely confident Lander will deploy as planned, Captain.”
    â€œCheck,” Carla said, then added, “the only thing….”
    The men looked up from their controls, intent, as they waited for her to continue. She paused as she collected her thoughts. “We’ve spent enough time together now, and I probably know more about you two than is perhaps good for any of us. I guess what I’m trying to say is that what ever happens next, I trust you both. And whatever happens, I’m in your corner.”
    â€œGroup hug?” Oleg laughed.
    â€œLieutenant, turn the communications to Earth back on and land that probe.”
    â€œYes ma’am.”
    The astronauts each turned back into their positions, busily checking their instruments.
    Watching the men, Carla grinned before turning to her own monitor and growing serious. “Deploy probe,” she ordered.
    â€œProbe deployed, Captain.” The small metallic device