“Of course I’ve seen dry ice,” Song-Ye said over the suit radio. “My parents’ caviar is shipped to us on dry ice. Isn’t it frozen carbon dioxide or something like that?”
“Precisely. Then it would seem you already knew the answer to your own question: not all ice is water ice,” Major Fox said. “Water is crucial to many aspects of life on the moonbase.” He checked over the automated machinery in the small refinery complex, studied the control panel and diagnostic readouts.
“So, is there an ice lake buried down there under the dirt?” Song-Ye asked.
Fox laughed out loud at this. “A lake? I wish we had that much! Sorry, Cadet, but the water is frozen into the regolith. When we heat the powdery soil, small amounts of water vapor escape, and we reclaim it.
JJ had a sudden picture in her mind of a scientist with wild hair in a lab filled with glass dishes of dirt heating over Bunsen burners, while curly tubing carried clear liquid to drip into waiting beakers.
Fox continued. “The H2O provides water for the crew to drink, but it has many more uses than that. Through a process called electrolysis, we split the hydrogen from the oxygen, so that we can breathe the oxygen and use the hydrogen in our fuel cells. And, by chemically assembling the hydrogen and oxygen in different combinations, we can make all the rocket fuel we need for the supply lander. The Halley is about to depart from the ISSC on its biannual run. After it delivers supplies to us next week, we’ll refuel the ship so that it can launch again and return to Earth orbit and the space station.”
JJ listened, intrigued by how many uses the moonbase had for plain old water.
“In fact, Cadet Wren,” Fox continued, “if those earlier space probes you mentioned hadn’t found water ice here, I doubt the base would ever have been built. We certainly could never survive without it. Chief Ansari, who is also our chemist, monitors the extraction of frozen water and its conversion into oxygen, hydrogen, or rocket fuel. Again, when there are only four crewmembers, the base’s water and oxygen requirements are much reduced. Therefore we’ve been able to stockpile our surplus fuel, in case the moonbase ever expands again.”
“I hope it does,” King said. “All this work you do is amazing.”
“Tell that to the people back on Earth, please,” Fox said. “I doubt anyone pays attention to us here anymore. The fact is, if we at Moonbase Magellan didn’t take care of ourselves and meet our own needs, ICSA back on Earth would consider this base too much trouble to maintain. They would probably just recall all personnel and abandon it in place.”
A collective groan of dismay echoed across the suit radios. “After all the work and investment of building this huge base, how could we just turn our backs on it?” JJ exclaimed. “That’s not possible!”
“Oh, it’s possible,” Fox assured her. “But believe me, Cadet, no one here wants that to happen.”
***
Nine
Sleeping in a bunk on the moonbase turned out to be both comfortable and uncomfortable. The mattress didn’t feel hard, because the pressure of Dyl’s body on it was so slight, but that was also the problem. After a lifetime in Earth’s gravity, he was used to feeling solidly “attached” to anything beneath him. Maybe he could find a blanket with more weight to it.
Not that he would complain about coming here. It was like being on the coolest science fiction movie set ever made. Even better, his legs didn’t ache. He could walk around without crutches like a normal person, a sensation he’d dreamed about for the past two years. And it was fun to watch his sister get insanely excited by everything she saw here. Going into space had been her dream for as long as he could remember. Knowing how many things could go wrong up here still made Dyl nervous. Yet being on the Moon was more interesting than he could have imagined—except he and JJ worried that their mom was frantic by now wondering where they were.
Each crew quarters unit was smaller than the bathroom in their apartment, but that didn’t bother Dyl. Whoever had designed the tiny rooms had put significant effort into making them feel cheery and roomy, since being on a moonbase crew wasn’t a brief assignment, and crewmembers had to make this place a home away from home. The light inside the chamber could be brightened or dimmed with a touch on the wall, and Dyl could select the color of the interior by tracing his finger along a glowing image of a color wheel on the wall near the head of the bunk. There was also a library of image and video backgrounds available—a desert, a futuristic cityscape, a trio of sapphire-haired women playing musical instruments, an aquarium, and so on. He chose a glossy pewter color that reminded him of his favorite science fiction shows. His sister would probably set her walls to her favorite color, powder blue, or maybe to a starfield.
Because the lunar cycles of darkness and light lasted half a month each as the Moon orbited the Earth, the base had its own artificial twenty-four-hour period of waking and sleeping schedules, to keep the crew in a natural routine. Dyl didn’t know what time it actually was according to his body. He had certainly felt tired after that long day outside erecting the solar-power panel and inspecting the chemical operations, but he hadn’t slept deeply.
Dyl dressed in his jumpsuit again and went to the crew eating area and ate.
Despite his lack of sleep, he was more than ready to start his second day’s work. That morning, Dyl was assigned to work in the MCC bubble with the chief.
Although it had never gotten dark while they slept, Dyl bounced into the MCC with a cheery “Morning, Chief!” After Ansari greeted him, he sat down at the comm, pulled out some cards and a pencil to take notes, and started asking questions.
Chief Ansari showed Dyl how to work the comm console, which was surprisingly similar to the one in Commander Zota’s special briefing room, except this one was real. Dyl thought about that for a moment. If the moonbase wasn’t just a simulation, then maybe all of Mr. Zota’s special Mission Control equipment was real, too. He grinned at the thought. Even if today’s job was not the most fascinating assignment he could have hoped for, maybe he could use the equipment to contact Commander Zota! To Dyl, that meant it was his responsibility to learn every switch, dial, touch-pad, and readout on the comm. He and his friends would certainly like to have some explanations. As another indication that this was real, and that they were truly living in the future, Dyl looked at the MCC operations and interactive computer systems and found them both more complex and more intuitive, easier to use.
Right above his console, a window port revealed the lunar landscape, where they had done their work the day before. Every few minutes, Dyl would glance up and gaze across the strange, ashy-gray scene outside. It almost looked as if everything had been filmed in black-and-white. Only when Dyl focused his gaze back inside, on his jumpsuit and the comm controls, did color seem to return to the moonbase.
“This is so cool,” he said.
Ansari gave him a wry smile. “Really—this technology? It hasn’t been updated for at least twenty years!”
Dyl started. He cleared his throat, thinking of what to say. “Exactly. I’ve, uh—never gotten to use any equipment this old before.”
“Of course,” she said with a chuckle. “That’s why you need some extra training at this station. What’s next?”
“I understand what these do.” Dyl ran his finger along a multicolored row of glowing switches. “But what about this larger green one?”
“That,” said Ansari, “tunes in the dedicated frequency on which we communicate with the administrators of our moonbase project.”
“Like Mission Control for a space shot?” Dyl asked.
“Most people your age don’t even know what Mission Control is.” Ansari gave her head a sad shake. “In a way, it’s quaint to think of a time when governments spent money on scientific research and children dreamed of becoming astronauts. But almost no one wants to go into science anymore. Science and space aren’t exciting enough to interest students, and such big expensive projects aren’t profitable enough to interest governments.” The chief forc
ed a smile. “Now it’s in the hands of a few of us crackpots who pay for our own space program because we believe it’s important. Weren’t you briefed on all of that before you came up here?”
Dyl tried to remember exactly what Mr. Zota had told them. “We never met any of the administrators. We were in … a private briefing room.”
“I’m still skeptical about this whole story of yours,” Ansari admitted. “I even called the administrative offices today, but they only confirmed what Commander Zota’s message already told us—that your mission on the Moon is top secret, you cadets are here to help, and you have all the proper clearances. Everyone else seems as baffled as we are. Your orders must come from the highest levels.”
Ansari seemed to expect him to volunteer information, and Dyl wished he could explain more, but he didn’t know very much himself. “Yes, they must.”
The chief was disappointed by the answer. “You must admit, the whole thing seems odd. How and why would a group of cadets as young as you be transported instantaneously to the Moon? Yet here you are, and I can’t explain it, so I have to believe something. And I can tell you and your friends are interested in science. You’re quite bright.” Ansari smiled a bit. “It’s a shame that most people your age want to go into easy careers rather than challenging themselves, and those of us who want to keep the spirit of discovery alive are considered lunatics.”
Dyl smiled. “Lunatics? Since, ‘luna’ means Moon, I guess this is the perfect place for us crazy people.”
The comment amused Ansari. “Yes, the perfect place. Do you know that before this base was established, fewer than twenty people had walked on the Moon? We had the ability, but we just stopped.” Her voice caught. “Who would have dreamed that we would develop the technology to get us to the Moon and then lose interest? People complained about the costs without seeing the huge benefits.”
Dyl shook his head. “I didn’t lose interest. I’m more interested in the Moon now than I’ve ever been.”
Just then, a blip appeared on the MCC tracking screens, distracting him. He pointed. “What’s this, Chief?”
“Enlarge that screen.” Ansari stepped closer. “Let’s get a better look.”
Dyl tapped the screen and expanded the view as the chief had shown him. “I’m not sure, but it’s fast and heading straight for us.”
Ansari bent over, intent and all business. She switched to another screen, watched a trace highlighted across the starry sky. “Our meteor trackers picked it up. Not a huge rock, but large enough to cause a lot of damage if it hits in the wrong place.”
Dyl was reminded of the simulated meteor storm emergency on the mission during their school field trip, but this was real. If a hurtling piece of space rock slammed into one of the moonbase modules, it would puncture the hull, cause explosive decompression, and generally ruin everyone’s day.
“Is it a whole meteor shower? What do we do?” he asked. During the simulation, all of the student “moonbase personnel” had hidden in a shelter to wait out the storm of falling rocks.
Ansari studied the tracking screen and let out a sigh of relief. “It could be a precursor to a much larger shower, but it looks like a singleton this time. It’s going to miss us.” She and Dyl watched, following the meteor’s approach.
When it was close enough, Dyl went to look out the nearest window port in the MCC. He scanned the starry background for a bright streak whizzing past.
“You’re not likely to see anything,” Ansari said. “On Earth, shooting stars are caused by rocks burning up in the atmosphere and leaving a trail of ionization as they vaporize. Without atmosphere, though, the rocks just fall. It’s possible that you might see a twinkle from reflected sunlight if it’s the right kind of debris.”
Dyl watched carefully, and Ansari gave him a hint after studying the trajectory. “Look toward the far edge of the crater there, at two o’clock. That’s where it should strike, toward the crater wall.”
For just an instant, Dyl saw a flickering object moving as fast as a bullet, and then a flash on the ground. “There, I saw it hit! No wonder the Moon looks like Swiss cheese.”
“Good eyes, Cadet Wren. Even though it didn’t burn up in the atmosphere, the impact released a burst of energy—plus a lot of loose regolith. No cheese, I’m afraid. Could you please note the location of the impact we just saw? I’m sure Major Fox would like to go and collect the specimen. It’s not often we get a chance like this, having the trajectory, the point of origin, and the meteorite itself. While the strike is fresh, we can get some valuable information from it.”
“The meteor has landed!” Dyl announced.
Ansari was amused by his enthusiasm. “Once it touches down, it’s considered a meteorite. When a rock is simply floating in space, it’s known as a meteoroid. A meteor is the streak of light created as it burns through the atmosphere—which doesn’t happen here. A meteorite is the rock that actually reaches the ground.”
“Well, that’s not confusing at all,” Dyl mumbled. On a note card he wrote, meteor, meteoroid, meteorite. He grinned and spoke into his imaginary recorder. “Cadet’s science log number 3782. I desperately hope there are not asters and asterites in addition to asteroids. Observation: Space rocks have too many names.”
***
Ten
After Dyl and Chief Ansari identified the approximate location of the recent meteor impact, JJ and King were assigned to accompany Major Fox out to retrieve the fallen star. Not actually a fallen “star,” of course. The meteorite was just a lump of rock that had been drifting around in space since the formation of the solar system.
King started singing “Catch a Falling Star,” but stopped when he noticed JJ’s impatience. “Why are you so excited to go outside?”
“Who wouldn’t be? Yesterday was amazing. And this time we’ll ride in a sort of ATV bounding along on the lunar surface. Someone has to go find that meteor—and that someone is going to be us!”
King grinned. “When you put it that way, I can’t wait to get going either.” He hummed while they suited up.
This time, they passed through the ESM airlock directly into the enclosed modular rover, which was connected to the wall of the base.
“If necessary, we can pressurize this vehicle,” Major Fox explained. “That would be called a shirtsleeve environment. For the moment, though, we’re just taking a little excursion to the far crater wall. We’ll keep our suits on.”
“Do you ever take longer expeditions?” JJ was already thinking that she, Dyl, and their friends might be at Moonbase Magellan for awhile. If so, she hoped there would be more outings like this. “How much air and fuel does this rover carry?”
“That would depend on the mission requirements,” Fox answered. “We don’t simply go on a Sunday drive.”
“Why not?” King pressed. “You said you have plenty of hydrogen fuel. There’s the whole Moon to explore, and you have a lot of time on your hands.”
“We have a lot of work on our hands. Going out for a jaunt does not fit in with our mission requirements. In any case, with full supplies, this rover can support a crew of three for up to fifteen days.”
After sealing the airlock hatch behind them and enclosing the modular rover, King sat up front with Fox and JJ sat behind them. When they detached the vehicle from the base and began rolling across the packed ground, JJ leaned forward to study the controls, which didn’t look at all like the cockpit of her uncle’s plane.
King, watching how Fox operated the controls and moved the rover toward the crater wall, mimicked the British major’s movements as if practicing. “Driving seems simple enough,” King said. “I want to get my learner’s permit but … my family only has one car, so my parents didn’t see much point. I take the bus.”
“It sounds as if you’re from a rather old-fashioned area, then. Small wonder you chose to become a cadet. Well, you are in luck, young man.” Fox actually chuckled. “We require no permits to drive on the Moon. The controls are quite straightforw
ard. The motor is self-contained, and the wheels are rugged. Forward, reverse, neutral for idling—all very clear and simple. The most difficult part is to exercise appropriate caution. It is easy to let down one’s guard. Nearly everywhere one goes on the Moon is fresh territory. Most of the lunar soil is fine and pebbly, but there are countless hazards. One must navigate around rocks and boulders, which are obvious obstacles, but there could also be piles of soft regolith or pits filled with fine dust.”
“Like sand traps?” JJ said.
“Most assuredly. Before the first Moon landing, scientists expressed concern that the lunar surface might be all loose powder, and that a heavy ship would sink. Fortunately, that didn’t prove to be the case.”
JJ felt a tingle down her back. The first astronauts on the Moon had chosen to come, even though the surface might have been a sea of powder. Explorers took risks. It was part of the job.
She couldn’t wait to see more of the Moon. She loved the idea that they were away from the moonbase and might soon walk where no human had walked before them. “Can we go any faster? It looks safe enough where we are.”
“Nothing here on the Moon is ever completely safe, Cadet. An accident out here would be a terrible thing indeed. We must exercise absolute vigilance while driving.”
JJ wanted the rover to have jet boosters that would send it flying across the landscape, but Major Fox drove with almost painful caution.
The rover took half an hour to cross the crater floor to the general location where the MCC monitors had tracked the impact of the meteor. Fox halted the vehicle at the site. “We shall have to continue the search afoot. The new meteorite may be difficult to identify amongst the other debris. Are you both prepared for egress?”
“To go outside, you mean?” JJ asked. The word egress seemed a bit self-important. The major could be awfully stuffy when he spoke.
“That is precisely what I said.”
Moonbase Crisis Page 7