From: Robert Hackard
\nSubject: Lonely
\nDate: May 14, 2018 4:14 p.m.
\nTo: Sally Chung<\/p>\n
(CLT): 6.62 sec.<\/p>\n
Dear Sally,<\/p>\n
Glad to hear everything is going well for you. I wish you were still here instead of flying off through the stars. It’s going to be pretty lonely around here without you, kind of like when you were on the ISS but this will be a heck of a lot longer. Probably time to start a new project out in the shop, to give me something to do. Pick up a new company, maybe. Things might be better when you get home in a few years. Anyway, I sure hope so.<\/p>\n
I’ll write again, soon. Bobby<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n
(From Dr. Willis to Commander Lewis. Chung’s husband does not appear to be very supportive. This may affect Chung’s mental and emotional state. Will watch for further signs of discord and advise.)<\/p>\n
Bobby is not the happiest guy and has been feeling abandoned, left here on Earth. In the romance department, he has known only Sally since they were in high school, some fifteen years past. He and Sally have been able to live in several places around the country. As an heir to the Pewlett-Hackard Corporation, Bobby has never had to work for a living and he’s getting bored. The boredom is peaking now that the Canyon Copier Company has gone under and his family stock portfolio has doubled in value, practically overnight. With any luck, the Z-Rocks Corporation will follow suit and make Bobby an overnight billionaire. Naturally, Sally is aware of his boredom with their life and marriage. She’s not naive, just in denial, but Bobby’s latest email has put a whole new light on the situation.<\/p>\n
From: Brandon Devlin
\nSubject: Martian Calendar
\nDate: Sagittarius 28, 0031 20:10
\nTo: Emma Devlin<\/p>\n
(CLT): 6.96 sec<\/p>\n
Good Morning M,<\/p>\n
How ya doing this morning? I hope you slept well last night. Yeah, I just got up and it’s really evening, but here it doesn’t matter what you call it. It’s always dark outside. So, no matter which shift you are on, when you wake up to start your day you can imagine it’s morning. We are all on the first shift (to us).<\/p>\n
Back in the ’70s, there was a group at Stanford University that came up with a plan for building large space structures in orbit. One of the ideas called for putting three colonies in close proximity of a construction facility. Each colony would send a team of employees to the facility to work a shift as it had been shown, time and time again that people are more productive when they are rested and starting their work in the morning. So, just as there are three 8-hour shifts in a 24-hour period on Earth, each of the three colonies (or settlements in orbital habitats) could be on different time zones, eight hours apart. By aligning the orbital habitats to produce a local sunrise at a particular time, it would have been a simple matter to set up such different time zones.<\/p>\n
The psychological impact of that idea was really quite profound. Each team would be at their very best and most productive, because they are all on first shift (to them). No one is arriving at work in the middle of his or her day, on the second shift, and no one is coming to work when they feel it is really time to go to bed. This would be a win-win for everyone. Plus, visiting a different habitat would have had the feel of visiting a foreign country on Earth. You would experience that same eight-hour jetlag, albeit without having to travel 12 to 15 hours to get there. Travel from colony to colony would have been \u00be to 1\u00bd hours, max. It would be like living in Denver and flying to Madrid for lunch.<\/p>\n
You asked about the Martian calendar. So, here is your first lesson supplement from space. Ha, ha. If you Google ‘Mars Calendar’, you will come up with The CMEX Mars Calendar. This will give you some interesting data about the length of a Martian day and so on. For example: 1 Martian Day = 1.0275 Earth Days or 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds, 1 Martian year = 686.98 Earth Days, but only 668.60 Mars days. The CMAX also has a 12-month calendar down the right side of the web page. But, if you add up the number of days in each month, the total is 672. Someone dropped the ball on that, I’m afraid. They also start the Martian calendar in1976, the first year of the Viking probes landing on Mars.<\/p>\n
By comparison, Dr. Robert Zubrin, in his book, The Case For Mars based his Mars Zubrinian calendar on Mars’ location within the constellations of the zodiac, as seen from the sun. There are 12 constellations and 12 months, with Gemini being the first. Martian months have a different number of days from Earth months, primarily due to the longer year. The breakdown of the 669 days, by month, is: Gemini 61, Cancer 65, Leo 66, Virgo 65, Libra 60, Scorpio 54, Sagittarius 50, Capricorn 47, Aquarius 46, Pisces 48, Aries 51, and Taurus 56. The reason for such diversity in the number of days per month is due to the elliptical orbit of Mars around the sun. The months are shorter when Mars is close to the sun, and longer when it is further away. Also, as viewed from the sun, not all constellations are created equally.<\/p>\n
Dr. Zubrin also dated his calendar years earlier, beginning on January 1, 1961, for the first year of manned space flight. However, he chose to use Sunday through Saturday for the weekdays. If we were to adjust the clock to a Martian day or if a Mars day were 24 hours that would work just fine, but the extra 39 min, 35 sec each day throws a wrench into it. About every 52 days, there is a leap day. That is, you may start out with Sunday on Earth = Sunday on Mars, Monday = Monday, etc. But, after about 52 days, Monday on Earth is still only Sunday on Mars.<\/p>\n
Now, the Devlinian Calendar (which was of course named after me, since it was my concept) uses Dr. Zubrin’s calculations but with an eight-day week. Hey, let’s keep the standard five-day workweek, but give us a three-day weekend\u2026what everyone has always dreamed of (wink).<\/p>\n
Since we now have eight-day weeks, I chose to name the days of the week for the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and the Mercury Seven astronauts, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon (Gordo) Cooper, and Deke Slayton. Thus, we have Yuriday, Alanday, Gusday, Johnday, Scottday, Wallyday, Gordoday, and Dekeday.<\/p>\n
So, that’s the calendar we are using up here. Today is Scottday, the 28th of Sagittarius, 0031. It is the 31st Martian year, even though it has now been 57 Earth years since Gagarin flew in Vostok 1.<\/p>\n
That should give your sixth graders something to think about. I left out the calculations for converting Earth days to Mars days, but that shouldn’t be too technical for them. Let me know if you want them, though. Are your students doing algebra, yet? For the life of me, I can’t remember what I was studying when I was a sixth grader, except of course, sixth-grade girls. Ha, ha. BTW, I’m looking forward to those questions from your students. That should be fun.<\/p>\n
Well, it’s a good thing I’m starting out on the HP deck today. I can get my breakfast anytime I feel like. Otherwise I might be late for work\u2026 LOL.<\/p>\n
Lastly, Happy Anniversary, my love. I’m really missing you, too. The word fond doesn’t come close to how I feel about you. I’m thinking about you every day and dreaming about you every night. We’ve been lucky to spend so many anniversaries together and I wish we could have today. Your anniversary poem was wonderful and here is my gift to you. I penned a tanka, just like yours.<\/p>\n
Another Year
\nNow another year
\nBrings us closer together
\nIs it possible?
\nCan love grow any stronger?
\nYes, it continues to grow<\/p>\n
All my love today and always,
\nBrandon
\nHOLLAND<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From: Emma Devlin
\nSubject: Hi
\nDate: May 20, 2018 8:23 a.m.
\nTo: Brandon Devlin<\/p>\n
(CLT): 17.24 sec<\/p>\n
Good Morning (and it really is morning, here),<\/p>\n
It was so good to get your email. My students were very excited to learn about your Martian Calendar. They all agreed that using Zodiac signs as the months and astronaut names as the days of the week was really imaginative. They are having fun learning about the calendar and what you are doing on your mission. I have them studying the solar system and drawing it, showing how Mars passes through the constellations as viewed from the sun. The hands-on work also reinforces the learning process.<\/p>\n
Also, I dug out your old copy of The Case For Mars from the den and found the date calculations. Each of the students was able to figure out his- or her-own birth-date, so I had them post their names and birthdays by Martian date with the questions they sent. Oh, and thanks for sending the computer links. I added up the days in each month and I see what you mean. It’s very odd. But, it is amazing what you can find on the web. And speaking of that, I have attached the questions from the class.<\/p>\n
Stud - Questions\u2026ents (1.2MB)<\/span><\/pre>\nChanging the subject, yesterday, I talked to Mom and Dad. They’re doing great and send their love. They may come and spend a few days this summer, around the 4th of July. This will help to fill the house with a little noise. It’s very quiet with both you and Rich gone. He’s planning to stay at Western and take summer courses. He says the quicker he graduates, the quicker he’ll get into doing engineering, like you. He’s also expressed an interest in Nanotechnology. I’m so proud of him, and his grades are all top-notch.<\/p>\n
Speaking of our prodigal son, he called today. Rich was excited and thinks he will get into the same fraternity as you were in. He said one of his instructors was asking some questions about you, not knowing he is your son. I’m sure he’ll be emailing you about it.<\/p>\n
Whoops, I almost forgot to pass on some more good news. Laura and Nathan got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, yesterday. She emailed the ultrasound images to me. It’s amazing how much detail you can see. The baby appeared to be sucking its thumb – such a sweet sight. To think, my younger sister is going to have her second child before I will. (Hint, hint)<\/p>\n
Well, it’s getting late and I should get ready to head off to work. I hope you are sleeping ok. I’ve had some rough nights. Many times, I wake up and miss your warmth next to me. It’s hard getting used to being alone at night. But, I’ll survive. Sleep tight and don’t let those bedbugs bite. I hear there’s an epidemic. LOL<\/p>\n
Always know that you are in my dreams and I can’t wait until you are in my arms,
\nEmma
\nPS, HOLLAND forever<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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