status?”
“Alive and well,” Venkat said. “No change from my e-mail earlier today.”
“What about the RTG? Does the public know about that yet?” Teddy asked.
Annie leaned forward. “So far, so good,” she said. “The images are public, but we have no obligation to tell them our analysis. Nobody has figured it out yet.”
“Why did he dig it up?”
“Heat, I think,” Venkat said. “He wants to make the rover do long trips. It uses a lot of energy keeping warm. The RTG can heat up the interior without soaking battery power. It’s a good idea, really.”
“How dangerous is it?” Teddy asked.
“As long as the container’s intact, no danger at all. Even if it cracks open, he’ll be okay if the pellets inside don’t break. But if the pellets break, too, he’s a dead man.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Teddy said. “JPL, how are the MDV plans coming along?”
“We came up with a plan a long time ago,” Bruce said. “You rejected it.”
“Bruce,” Teddy cautioned.
Bruce sighed. “The MDV wasn’t made for liftoff and lateral flight. Packing more fuel in doesn’t help. We’d need a bigger engine and don’t have time to invent one. So we need to lighten the MDV. We have an idea for that.
“The MDV can be its normal weight on primary descent. If we made the heat shield and outer hull detachable, they could ditch a lot of weight after landing at Ares 3, and have a lighter ship for the traverse to Ares 4. We’re running the numbers now.”
“Keep me posted,” Teddy said. He turned to Mindy. “Miss Park, welcome to the big leagues.”
“Sir,” Mindy said. She tried to ignore the lump in her throat.
“What’s the biggest gap in coverage we have on Watney right now?”
“Um,” Mindy said. “Once every forty-one hours, we’ll have a seventeen-minute gap. The orbits work out that way.”
“You had an immediate answer,” Teddy said. “Good. I like it when people are organized.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I want that gap down to four minutes,” Teddy said. “I’m giving you total authority over satellite trajectories and orbital adjustments. Make it happen.”
“Yes, sir,” Mindy said, with no idea how to do it.
Teddy looked to Mitch. “Mitch, your e-mail said you had something urgent?”
“Yeah,” Mitch said. “How long are we gonna keep this from the Ares 3 crew? They all think Watney’s dead. It’s a huge drain on morale.”
Teddy looked to Venkat.
“Mitch,” Venkat said. “We discussed this—”
“No,
you
discussed it,” Mitch interrupted. “They think they lost a crewmate. They’re devastated.”
“And when they find out they
abandoned
a crewmate?” Venkat asked. “Will they feel better then?”
Mitch poked the table with his finger. “They deserve to know. You think Commander Lewis can’t handle the truth?”
“It’s a matter of morale,” Venkat said. “They can concentrate on getting home—”
“I make that call,” Mitch said. “I’m the one who decides what’s best for the crew. And I say we bring them up to speed.”
After a few moments of silence, all eyes turned to Teddy.
He thought for a moment. “Sorry, Mitch, I’m with Venkat on this one,” he said. “But as soon as we come up with a plan for rescue, we can tell
Hermes
. There needs to be some hope, or there’s no point in telling them.”
“Bullshit,” Mitch grumbled, crossing his arms. “Total bullshit.”
“I know you’re upset,” Teddy said calmly, “We’ll make it right. Just as soon as we have some idea how to save Watney.”
Teddy let a few seconds of quiet pass before moving on.
“Okay, JPL’s on the rescue option,” he said with a nod toward Bruce. “But it would be part of Ares 4. How does he stay alive till then? Venkat?”
Venkat opened a folder and glanced at the paperwork inside. “I had every team check and double-check the longevity of their systems. We’re pretty sure the Hab can keep working for four years.
“Alive and well,” Venkat said. “No change from my e-mail earlier today.”
“What about the RTG? Does the public know about that yet?” Teddy asked.
Annie leaned forward. “So far, so good,” she said. “The images are public, but we have no obligation to tell them our analysis. Nobody has figured it out yet.”
“Why did he dig it up?”
“Heat, I think,” Venkat said. “He wants to make the rover do long trips. It uses a lot of energy keeping warm. The RTG can heat up the interior without soaking battery power. It’s a good idea, really.”
“How dangerous is it?” Teddy asked.
“As long as the container’s intact, no danger at all. Even if it cracks open, he’ll be okay if the pellets inside don’t break. But if the pellets break, too, he’s a dead man.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Teddy said. “JPL, how are the MDV plans coming along?”
“We came up with a plan a long time ago,” Bruce said. “You rejected it.”
“Bruce,” Teddy cautioned.
Bruce sighed. “The MDV wasn’t made for liftoff and lateral flight. Packing more fuel in doesn’t help. We’d need a bigger engine and don’t have time to invent one. So we need to lighten the MDV. We have an idea for that.
“The MDV can be its normal weight on primary descent. If we made the heat shield and outer hull detachable, they could ditch a lot of weight after landing at Ares 3, and have a lighter ship for the traverse to Ares 4. We’re running the numbers now.”
“Keep me posted,” Teddy said. He turned to Mindy. “Miss Park, welcome to the big leagues.”
“Sir,” Mindy said. She tried to ignore the lump in her throat.
“What’s the biggest gap in coverage we have on Watney right now?”
“Um,” Mindy said. “Once every forty-one hours, we’ll have a seventeen-minute gap. The orbits work out that way.”
“You had an immediate answer,” Teddy said. “Good. I like it when people are organized.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I want that gap down to four minutes,” Teddy said. “I’m giving you total authority over satellite trajectories and orbital adjustments. Make it happen.”
“Yes, sir,” Mindy said, with no idea how to do it.
Teddy looked to Mitch. “Mitch, your e-mail said you had something urgent?”
“Yeah,” Mitch said. “How long are we gonna keep this from the Ares 3 crew? They all think Watney’s dead. It’s a huge drain on morale.”
Teddy looked to Venkat.
“Mitch,” Venkat said. “We discussed this—”
“No,
you
discussed it,” Mitch interrupted. “They think they lost a crewmate. They’re devastated.”
“And when they find out they
abandoned
a crewmate?” Venkat asked. “Will they feel better then?”
Mitch poked the table with his finger. “They deserve to know. You think Commander Lewis can’t handle the truth?”
“It’s a matter of morale,” Venkat said. “They can concentrate on getting home—”
“I make that call,” Mitch said. “I’m the one who decides what’s best for the crew. And I say we bring them up to speed.”
After a few moments of silence, all eyes turned to Teddy.
He thought for a moment. “Sorry, Mitch, I’m with Venkat on this one,” he said. “But as soon as we come up with a plan for rescue, we can tell
Hermes
. There needs to be some hope, or there’s no point in telling them.”
“Bullshit,” Mitch grumbled, crossing his arms. “Total bullshit.”
“I know you’re upset,” Teddy said calmly, “We’ll make it right. Just as soon as we have some idea how to save Watney.”
Teddy let a few seconds of quiet pass before moving on.
“Okay, JPL’s on the rescue option,” he said with a nod toward Bruce. “But it would be part of Ares 4. How does he stay alive till then? Venkat?”
Venkat opened a folder and glanced at the paperwork inside. “I had every team check and double-check the longevity of their systems. We’re pretty sure the Hab can keep working for four years.
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