Built of woven nanotube carbon fibers and powered by methane-oxygen propulsion systems, Rescue 1 was well equipped to fly a ballistic trajectory to the site of an injury and then fly a surface skimming approach to the accident site. She was 14.6 meters long by 6.2 meters wide by 5.5 meters tall (plus antennas) and massed 28 metric tonnes. Marked by her sixteen oversize RCS nozzles and large main engine, her lineage extends as far back as the 1960's Apollo Lunar Module. Rescue 1 had an effective range of 2000 kilometers, but with an upgrade in 2061, fitting her with belly tanks, her extended range was 3200 km.
Her search and rescue capabilities were well suited for MedEvac. They included large cockpit windows, a chin mounted FLIR in a turret, a nose mounted phased array radar system, and extensive signal antennas buried in the ship's skin. Her large rear airlock and rear mounted elevator platform facilitated the off loading of rescue and recovery gear, and the transport of injured people, whether ambulatory in surface suits or in rescue bags on gurneys. She was equipped with a small treatment center just forward of the rear airlock where injured could be treated in the field.
Rescue 1 is most famed for her evacuation of the Valles Marineris Western Camp in the Big Landslide of '63, when that camp was destroyed. Although five died in the initial event, the remaining sixteen, five critically injured, were extricated and evacuated to Tharsis Station. Had they not been rescued, all would have perished before ground teams could reach them. This action led to Rescue 1 being further immortalized in the annals of human space flight.
Whether picking up an injured worker with a crushed hand, MedEvacing a scientist who had a heart attack atop Olympus Mons, or taking Mars' first pregnant woman to the hospital for her delivery, Rescue 1 continued to earn her keep long into the early '80s. She is shown as originally built, flying on her first MedEvac flight in over the rugged eroded mesas north of Valles Marineris.
Building Rescue 1
Rescue 1 came to life as an idea about what Mars flying vehicles might be used in the mid 21st century. Construction of the body was from .03 inch styrene sheet, reinforced inside at the corners and with diagonals for bracing. I glued a wood block over the main engine bell location for securing the display stand rod. Skins of .02 inch styrene and other detail bits were built of Evergreen styrene extrusions. The various maintenance panels on the underside were complimented with radiators on the topside for the life support and electrical systems. The “windows” are black chrome BareMetalFoil on the primary structure with a cutout sheet over it to make the window “frames.” The rear airlock door and seals are styrene appliqués over the main structure.
The landing gear is telescoping aluminum tubing. The feet are 28 mm “Wiggle Eyes,” used on teddy bears and dolls, found at the craft store. The joint from the leg to the foot is a ¼ inch wooden ball, pressed into a ¼ inch hole in the back of the foot. This allowed a natural pivoting action, if I decide to pose the model on a diorama. The feet were painted flat dark aircraft gray and the legs were polished with Blue Magic polish.
The topside dish is another “Wiggle Eye” with the back sanded off. Adding a bit of tubing and some styrene discs and wire converted it into a high-gain antenna. The chin mounted FLIR is an aluminum tube stuck into an acrylic dome. The housing also can rotate, as the ½ inch tube the dome is glued to slips over another fixed to the lower hull. The nose radar is a ¼ inch styrene tube, with one-fourth of the perimeter cut-away. This also helped to cover a goofy joint, where I had missed making some angles exactly 45 degrees.
The RCS thrusters were made from acrylic 6x19mm “spaghetti beads” from the craft store. I sawed them in half, and hollowed out the inside with a large double bladed ogive Exacto knife. They are mounted to the hull with brass tube, pushed through a ¼ styrene disc. The disc represents a thermal shield, so I put bright chrome BMF on a piece of styrene and then punched the discs with a hole punch. The main engine is a cut down miniature vinyl Easter egg, after my attempt at stretch forming failed miserably. The engines are all painted Polly Scale Midnight Black, which I think is the blackest black I've ever found.
The hull was painted acrylic flat white, and the gold foil over the saddle tanks came from an Easter lily flower pot. A darker gold foil from a Hershey's candy Kiss was used around the main engine bell, with Rollo candy foil on the landing pads. The decals were made in Word, with the caution tapes printed on yellow paper. The headlights, taillights, and red top beacons are acrylic beads with reflective backs.
The ground work is based on an actual Mars photo, shot by Mars Express. The base is Durham's Water Putty over basswood, glued to a plastic picture frame box. I cut out the basic forms from the photo and stacked them to make the mesas. The craters are styrene rods bent into rings, coated with epoxy and more Water Putty. As the ground work dried, I scored the slopes with a styrene scriber to sculpt eroded gullies and scarps. It was painted with Floquil US Earth Red, and then dry brushed with Dirt, US Khaki and Israel Tan in order.
Image: In flight
Image: Top view
Image: Underneath
Image: Rear detail
Image: Base
