Reactor Chief

 

Victor Mackenzie is the chief engineer in charge of Gordo Station's nuclear reactor. Both he and the reactor are from Ireland.

On Mars, we get most of our electricity from solar panels. This is a great source of cheap power since we usually have lots of free sunshine on our desert planet.

We don't get dense clouds and rain like earth, but we get dust storms. Some are legendary. Mars is famous for huge, long-lasting dust storms big enough to be seen by telescopes on Earth.

So, when the sun stops shining for weeks, we still need power.

That's where Vick and his team of nuclear engineers get their chance to shine (bad pun, sorry).

They run a fusion reactor that uses a magnetic field to slam hydrogen atoms together so fast they stick together and form helium. This gives off a lot of energy that heats water to turn a turbine to make electricity.

We love the nuclear team. When it's dark and stormy outside, we can count on them to keep us warm and happy inside.

Last year, the Social Committee fabricated a dozen green knit caps with shamrocks stitched on the front. They presented the caps to Vick and his team on St Patrick's Day. It was kind of a gag, but the nuclear engineers adopted it as their uniform!

So if you see someone walking around on Mars with a shamrock under their helmet, you can thank them for keeping the lights on.