LOG ENTRY: SOL 6

  I’m the first otter to ever be abandoned on a planet without a single standing body of water.

  Ares-3 was supposed to be a win for ASAN (All-Species Aero-Navigation). Instead, it's just me in a giant rust-covered litter box.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  On Sol 18, a dust storm ripped the secondary comms array off the Hab. It tagged me, punctured my suit, and the pressure drop knocked me out. My bio-monitor glitched—likely because the suit's internal liquid cooling loop ruptured. The crew thought I was a corpse. They had to launch the MAV before the wind tipped it.

  The Situation:

  Medical: I stitched my side. It’s ugly, but it holds.

  Food: 300 days of Otter-Formula 4. High protein, high fat, tastes like despair.

  The Goal: Ares-4 lands at Schiaparelli Crater in four years. That’s 3,200 kilometers away.