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     “Wake up guys; we finally landed on Mars!”    

       After an exhausting 210-day trip, the crew landed on Mars in the year 2024. The crew 

consisted of 4 scientists. John who was bulky, his younger brother Robert who was 

chubby, William who was muscular, and David who was scruffy, and they all were 

competent in operating the MarsOne settlement.

    They all placed on their Mars Suit after landing. This suit was created by Robert, 

which contained many features for survival, such as an oxygen and water tank. 

    “Why is this marvelous suit so flexible?” said William to Robert.

     “I created this suit so we can work with cumbersome construction materials and 

sophisticated machinery, while protecting us from the harsh atmosphere of Mars as the 

warmest temperature is 27 °C and the coldest temperature is −143 °C.” said Robert. 

    “Amazing.” said David. 

    “Amazing is an exaggeration, I’d say this suit is mediocre.” said John.

    “Whatever you say John, let’s just follow the rover.” said Robert with irritation. 

    The rover brought the crew to the established colony it had found; it was far 

enough North for the soil to contain enough water, equatorial enough for maximum solar 

power, and flat enough to facilitate construction of the settlement. The Cargo Missions 

were also in the settlement containing a Living Unit, Life Support System, or Supply Unit.

      John as leader started assigning specific roles for the crew.

    “David will be in charge of setting up the solar panels, William will be in charge of 

obtaining water, Robert will be in charge of creating the heat-pump dehumidification drying 

system and producing plants for food, and for myself, I will obtain oxygen, is this clear?” said 

John with authority. 

    “Yes Sir!” said William and David with confidence.

    “Wait John, I have a suggestion about obtaining oxygen?” said Robert.

    “You are not the leader, so please be quiet.” said John to Robert.

    “Ok.” said Robert with sadness.

    “Let us get to work then.” said John as they all raced to their jobs.     

      David easily set up the solar (photovoltaic) panels. He was the one who told the 

MarsOne workers that nuclear reactors would be less efficient in creating electricity on the 

MarsOne settlement than solar panels. This was because solar panels are easier to transport, 

less expensive and more efficient as nuclear reactors may cause a nuclear meltdown. 

      William obtained water in a rapid pace as the rover placed 60 kilograms of Mars soil 

into a container in the Life Support Unit, which heated the soil to evaporate the water. The 

water then was condensed and the dry soil was returned to where it was found by the rover.

        Robert was successful in setting the heat-pump dehumidification drying 

system, which collected water from warm or moist air that emerges due to the 

system blowing hot or dry air through wet trash. Then the trash was dry, odorless 

and inert, not contaminating Mars. Also, Robert purified the water for drinking and 

to contain odors and save energy, the air and heat were recycled. He also set up the plant 

lab in the Living Unit to produce plants for food. He used a plant growing method that is 

hydroponic, lighted by LED lighting indoor, reduced power consumption as he provided the 

plants with only frequencies of light, and less space was required as plants are on top of each 

other when developing.

        All the people in the crew were successful in completing their jobs, except for John. John 

forgot how to obtain oxygen, so he told the crew. 

    “You what!” they screamed with rage.

    “Oh Lord, we are going to die, we only have 1 hour of oxygen in our tank left.” said David.

    “Don’t worry, I will just communicate with mission control to find out how to obtain 

oxygen.” said John.

      So all four of them rushed to the communication systems in a 38% gravitational field and 

when they got there, Dr. Smith’s monotonous voice came onto the radio. 

    “Dr. Smith, there is an urgent problem.” said John. “We don't have…”

      Suddenly the radio had shut off.

        “What happened?” said the crew with fear in their voice. 

        “Once every 26 months, the Sun is exactly between Mars and Earth for about 6 

weeks, and when the sun is also between the areostationary satellite and the satellite in orbit 

around the sun, there is no communication for about 2 hours, rare situation, but it happened.” 

said John with disappointment.  

         Roberts’s expression gradually changed into intense rage. 

        “Is this trip even ethical?” asked Robert. “We are stuck here alone with 

no communication system, we only have one hour of oxygen in our tank left. 

Also, the whole human race is depending on us to find out if it is safe to live on 

Mars using six billion US dollars, while we have a horrible leader who criticizes all 

of my work, while he can’t even complete the one job he had! I fear failure and all I 

wanted was a successful trip, which could have been reality if you ever listened to my 

suggestions.” said Robert to John with tears gradually drifting down his face. “That is why I 

created this procedure to obtain oxygen in my journal, so just pray that this will save our lives.” 

         Robert with sudden immense confidence attempted to save the crew.

       “Oxygen can be produced by splitting water into its constituent parts, hydrogen and 

oxygen, in the Life Support Unit.” said Robert to the crew.

     Robert after creating the oxygen connected the tube of the Life Support Unit to the 

oxygen tank in his suit. He did the same thing to William and David’s oxygen tank. Distancing 

himself from John, John started choking.

     “I need the oxygen quick, Robert.” said John. “Robert?”

      John was staring straight into Robert’s bright blue eyes. John could tell Robert was 

very hesitant about saving him. He had been a critical brother to Robert that never listened to 

him, so why should Robert help him. This remorse stated hitting John as he started seeing 

bright yellow light. 

     “John, JOHN WAKE UP.” said Robert.

     “What happened?” said John.

     “You just toned out, but I asked you a question?” said Robert.

        John not knowing what happened proceeded to listen to Robert’s question again. 

     “I have a suggestion about obtaining oxygen?” said Robert.

    “You are not the leader, so please… I mean, I’m open to suggestions,” said John with a 

smirk on his face.

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