History Literature / RoadToMars

* SolarSail: Unbeknownst to the ''Ares'' crew, there's a cutting-edge solar sail on board. When asked why they weren't told, the flight director explains that they were finalizing the formalities with the patent office on the material the sail is made of. The plan is to unfurl the sail during a solar flare while passing close to the Sun, with the resulting solar wind giving them a massive boost to acceleration, which will let the ''Ares'' beat the ''Millennium Boat'' to Mars. [[spoiler:A mechanical error during the installation results in Kartashov leaving the shadow of the radiation shield in order to retrieve the sail winch and getting a lethal dose of radiation.]]

NextSundayAD, a joint multinational project involving UsefulNotes/{{NASA}}, UsefulNotes/{{ESA}}, and Roscosmos results in the first manned mission to Mars being launched. The interplanetary spacecraft ''Ares 1'' is to be crewed by six men (two Russians, two Americans, a Frenchman, and an Italian). However, a series of random events results in the original crew being written off and the first backup crew failing to get into a higher orbit. As a result, the second backup crew ends up being sent. While some, including the flight director, are firmly against sending the "losers," time is short (the next launch window isn't for another 4 years), and China is launching its own ship to Mars, the ''Millennium Boat'' (with only two crewmembers). Thus begins the race to Mars.

* TheBigRace: The ''Ares'' and the ''Millennium Boat'' are engaged in a race to get to Mars first. National prestige is on the line. At the same time, not everyone aboard the ships shares the desire to be first at any cost. They'd much rather everyone get there and back safely (Earth is far away; out in space, all they have are each other). Piccirilli and Hu are among them.

* ManchurianAgent: [[spoiler:Kartashov and Givens have been secretly trained for a FirstContact situation, but that knowledge was blocked off until the right moment. At one point, Givens starts acting strangely and doesn't remember doing it.]]
* MultinationalTeam: The ''Ares'' is crewed by 2 Russians, 2 Americans, a Frenchman, and an Italian - two from each participating space agency (Roscosmos, NASA, ESA). Furthermore, one of the Russians is actually a Buryat (a Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia), and one of the Americans is black.
* OnceGreenMars: [[spoiler:After going into a coma, Kartashov sees himself on what looks to be ancient Mars before the cataclysm that supposedly destroyed it. He ends up finding a boat and rowing downstream on a river with reed-like plants everywhere. Givens eventually joins him, and they nearly go over a waterfall before running into natives with spears. They're not sure if any of it is real. Eventually, though, it's revealed that Mars is still green. The red lifeless Mars we know is all part of an attempt by ancient Martian technology to keep humans from knowing the truth. Earth has been infested with sophisticated nanobots that infect humans like a virus and alter their perception of Mars. The only way to resist them is through psychotronics or an acquired immunity. The control center on Phobos has also been affecting the equipment of any probe sent to Mars. The face on Mars was an oversight by the control center. It corrected its mistake, but the inconsistency was enough for Americans and Soviets to start looking into the issue and inadvertently discover the nanobots. However, the center failed to anticipate some actions of the humans, like the crew of the ''Millennium Boat'' separating their ship and attempting a landing. While the lander burned up in the unexpectedly thick atmosphere, the ship's reactor impacted Phobos and either destroyed or severely damaged the center, causing all humans to suddenly see Mars the way it is.]]

The ''Ares'' is crewed by [[TheCaptain Vyacheslav Anikeev]], [[NumberTwo John Bull]], [[MostWritersAreWriters Andrei Kartashov]], Edward Givens Jr., Bruno Piccirilli, and Jean-Pierre Jeubin. The ''Millennium Boat'' is crewed by Hu Jun and Zhang Li.

* MultinationalTeam: The ''Ares'' is crewed by 2 Russians, 2 Americans, a Frenchman, and an Italian - two from each participating space agency (Roscosmos, NASA, ESA).

''Road to Mars'' (''Дорога к Марсу'', Doroga k Marsu) is a 2013 science fiction novel collaborated on by 15 Russian writers [[note]]Paul Amnuél, Evgeny Garkushev, Eduard Gevorkian, Alexander Gromov, Alexei Kalugin, Maxim Khorsun, Dmitry Kolodan, Leonid Kudryavtsev, Creator/SergeiLukyanenko, Igor Minakov, Anton Pervushin, Nikolai Romanetsky, Sergei Slyusarenko, Yaroslav Verov, Alexander Zorich[[/note]].

''Road to Mars'' (''Дорога к Марсу'', Doroga k Marsu) is a 2013 science fiction novel collaborated on by 15 Russian writers.