Moonday
Page 22
Both Patrick and Paul were paying close attention.
Charlie explained seriously, “There is a radio in Arty which works by satellite when we’re over the horizon.”
Patrick pulled his body together and looked at Paul questioningly.
Charlie saw Patrick’s reaction and said, “We don’t have an ionosphere to reflect radio waves back to the base.”
Patrick nodded, Charlie wasn’t sure if he’d understood or not, but decided to continue, “Our location will be automatically sent back regularly to the Moon Base, and Liam is going to monitor our position.” Charlie looked serious, “We have to remember that there is only one Moon satellite, which means we can’t always get a message back to base. Arty has a special anti-gravity drone that we can send back if we have a problem.” Charlie showed a picture of the drone, “We’ll show you how to use it before we set off.” He showed the next slide there were three names Oberon, Titan, Ganymede on it.
Charlie nodded towards the slide and said, “Columbus doesn’t know we’re leaving, and that means we’re on a secret mission. So, we need to use our aliases.” He looked at Patrick with a very mock stern expression, “From now on we only call each other Oberon, Titan and Ganymede.”
Paul and Patrick both nodded in agreement, and Paul added seriously, “Thank you, Oberon.”
Charlie replied, “You’re welcome, Titan. Are there any questions? If not, we’ll go to the party and eat birthday cake!”
Paul got up immediately, but Patrick remained seated. Charlie looked at him with a smile and said, “Aren’t you coming, Ganymede?”
Patrick jumped up grinning.
When they arrived at the canteen, the others were all standing with a glass of champagne in their hands. As soon as they saw Patrick they spontaneously started singing, “Happy Birthday”. He smiled and blushed embarrassed at the sudden attention.
Peter noticed, a little disappointed, that Patrick wasn’t wearing his captain’s hat. Peter stood well-groomed to attention, he was dressed in full uniform including his captain’s hat. He was holding a certificate and a present in his hands.
When they’d finished singing, he walked right up to Patrick, shook his hand and handed him the annual good behaviour certificate as he spoke the usual words. Peter put on his best proud smile and explained to everyone that Patrick had had a wonderful year and had learned a lot and then he congratulated him on his birthday.
Patrick looked underwhelmed as he smiled and accepted the certificate. He turned and looked behind him and placed the certificate face down on the table.
Peter tried not to look offended as he watched Patrick discarding the certificate. Peter hid his disappointment before giving Patrick his second present.
Patrick took the present eagerly and tore off the wrapping paper and put if carefully on the table behind him. He looked at it in his hands and turned it over a couple of times. It was a book. He shook his head and looked at Peter questioningly.
Peter smiled and explained, “It’s a captain’s log.”
Patrick shrugged his shoulders and holding the book in one hand and twisted his wrist to the side.
Peter explained patiently, “You need to keep a log of your own while you are on your expedition.”
Patrick tilted his head to the side, turned the book over in his hands and looked closer at it before slowly smiling and said, “Cool. Thanks.”
Steve made a show of presenting the birthday cake. Everyone was impressed, this year the cake looked just like Arty, and it tasted good as well. Patrick was talking enthusiastically about the expedition as he greedily ate his second piece of cake, they were going to leave as soon as the cake was finished.
When they’d finished eating, Paul explained that there was one last present. Patrick looked at the faces around him and then started shaking in excitement. He wanted to know what it was.
Paul went and picked up the long thin present from the corner, where he’d hidden it, brought it over, balanced one end on the floor and passed over it to Patrick.
Patrick held it carefully and looked at it curiously. He wasn’t sure how to open such a large present.
Paul smiled and said mysteriously, “Guess what it is before you open it.”
Still resting it on the floor, Patrick twisted the package around, then tried to bend it, and bent down and tried shaking it next to his ear. It didn’t make a sound. He looked at Paul and shrugged his shoulders while shaking his head. He had no idea what it was.
Paul laughed briefly and then let him open the present.
Patrick smiled and ripped off the improvised wrapping paper dropping it on the floor. He recognised what it was immediately. It was a golf club.
Paul explained, “You’re right-handed and can’t use my left-handed club. You’ll need your own right-handed golf club for our expedition.”
Patrick immediately grabbed the golf club and holding it in both hands practiced his golf swing. Unfortunately, he was a little too quick for Peter, who almost lost his captain’s hat.
Peter took a couple of steps backwards, straightened his hat and said smiling, “Everything’s fine. Nothing happened.”
Paul laughed and told everyone to take a step back before telling Patrick, “Try it with just one hand. The Moon Base outdoor uniforms are bulky, and you’ll have to hit the golf ball with a onehanded swing.”
Patrick nodded enthusiastically and tried his one-handed golf swing. As a precaution, Peter took an extra few steps to the side.
Steve was looking suspiciously at the golf club, “I hope you don’t intend to enter the archaeological site and destroy it.” He looked at Paul and Charlie threateningly. “They’re important historical sites. You have to follow the official Apollo Tourist Plan, and don’t touch anything.” And just to be sure they’d understood, he added, “That means don’t move or destroy anything.”
Paul and Charlie looked at each other briefly before nodding.
Steve looked sceptical and emphasised, “The decision was taken against an Apollo archaeological excavation. The sites are to be preserved for the future.”
Paul and Charlie nodded spontaneously and promised to act respectfully.
Steve looked at them closely, his facial muscles were like steel as he added, “And don’t stand on Buzz Aldrin’s footprint in the Moon regolith.”
Paul looked at the floor as he answered, “We’re just going to look and will look for two tiny golf balls.”
Charlie added, “We’ll take the tourist route and follow the rules.”
Steve wasn’t happy. He didn’t trust them. He turned around in anger and left the room without saying anything.
Peter congratulated Patrick on his birthday once more before he said goodbye. After he’d gone, the three thought it was time to start the journey. Before they left, Dervla wished them a good time and made Patrick promise one more time to be careful and to behave. As they left the room everyone wished them good luck and lots of fun.
After they’d suited up and congratulated each other how good they looked in their Moon Base outdoor uniforms, they walked towards Arty. They were making stupid jokes and laughing through their intercoms. Patrick, who was trying not to be too excited, had only dropped his captain’s log three times. The third time he dropped the book Charlie joked that it was lucky that he hadn’t dropped Paul’s bag. Patrick wanted to know why. Paul looked at Charlie before showing Patrick what he had hidden in the golf bag.
Patrick was confused, “But why so many golf balls?”
Paul pointed at the three golf clubs in the bag and smiled.
Ganymede’s Captain’s log –
Day 1:
Date: Thursday 2nd Oct 2155 – 13:57:22 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base
My first entry in my Captain’s log: ALMOST SETTING OFF
Charlie said that the journey to Apollo 14 Landing site will take about 13 hours and we are going to travel most of the 1910 Kilometre overnight and when we get up we wi
ll be there. Charlie, Oberon is driving first and then he is going to let me have a go.
The emergency Antigrav-Drone looks very similar to a normal drone.
Date: Thursday 2nd Oct 2155 – 22:05 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: On the way
Before I go to sleep, I’m writing my second entry in my Captain’s log. Oberon told me that the autopilot is going to take over the trip for us. And that I’m learning quickly how to drive Arty. I drove well today, and tomorrow I’ll get to drive again.
When we use autopilot, we travel slower, but we can’t drive all the time because we need sleep, and if we kept stopping to sleep, the journey will take too long. Charlie is staying up first and is going to look at the landscape for a while, but I have to sleep. I think that I’m too excited to sleep. By the way, the toilet in the Arty is great.
Day 2:
Date: Friday 3rd Oct. 2155 – 08:00 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 14 Landing site – Fra Mauro
I fell asleep straight away and slept great. We’re at the landing site of the NASA Apollo 14 Moon mission from 1971 and are having breakfast. There’s not much here. There’s more junk than normal, but not much else.
Paul Titan told me that Alan Shepard played golf here two hundred years ago. After breakfast we’re going outside to find the two golf balls he lost, and to play some golf, too.
Date: Friday 3rd Oct. 2155 – 12:17 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 14 Landing site – Fra Mauro
Golf is super. Unfortunately, we only found one of the golf balls. I’m taking it home with me. Oberon said it’s okay as long as I don’t tell Steve (Io) and also that I played golf on the Moon.
Titan says my right-handed golf club is a 6-iron and when I hit the ball it flew for miles and miles. None of us is sure how far a mile is, but it can’t be that far, because we only made a few metres. It was fun trying but difficult hitting the ball with only one arm. Titan said I could try it with two arms when we are in the storeroom again.
We found a lunar vehicle that some NASA astronauts had left behind, and it seems to be in good condition. Titan said that if we’re here long enough, we could have repaired it and driven it around. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time.
We did find the mirror reflecting to Earth quickly and cleaned it. It had a little lunar dust on it, but not much. Oberon told me it’s called a retroreflector, not just a simple mirror. It looked like a mirror to me.
There should have been a flag, but we couldn’t find it. We found the leftover equipment from the old ALSEP Systems experiments, but Oberon said only to look at them. We were very respectful to the archaeological site. Io would be happy with us. We also found the plaque inscription and showed respect and polished it up.
The Eagle descent stage was still in place, and we climbed on it. The Moon Base outer uniforms made it hard to climb but we managed, and it wouldn’t have been possible without them. We didn’t visit the ascent stage site. It’s too far away.
Date: Friday 3rd Oct. 2155 – 14:30 to 17:00 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 12 Landing site – Ocean of Storms
We only drove 181 kilometres to the Apollo 12 landing site, and I got to drive part of the way. And we found the white flag here, but it’s pretty torn up. Oberon thinks it’s a good thing they put up a white flag of peace.
The descent stage was still there, and we climbed it. We didn’t see the ascent level. It had crashed somewhere nearby. Oberon said it wasn’t interesting. But we did walk to Surveyor 3. There wasn’t much to see, but the walk was fun. It’s fun to run with little gravity and jump, especially when you’re climbing.
We tried playing golf again and it was still difficult to hit the ball.
Day 3:
Date: Saturday 4th Oct. 2155 – 07:01 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 15 Landing site – Hadley–Rille
Soon we are going to have breakfast and then we’re going outside. I drove for two hours. For the rest of the 1188 kilometres we let the autopilot drive overnight. The landscape is rockier than the other sites.
We’ve seen the Lunar Rover vehicle and we’ll look for the retroreflector later.
Date: Saturday 4th Oct. 2155 – 11:03 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 15 Landing site – Hadley–Rille
The Lunar Rover vehicle didn’t start and there wasn’t enough time to fix it. We found the retroreflector and cleaned it. Although, it wasn’t that dirty. We also found a small aluminium sculpture, Oberon says it represents a spaceman in a spacesuit, and that it was the first work of art on the Moon. We left it where it was.
We found the flag as well, but it was torn and lying on the ground. We put it back up. And we played golf and I’m getting better at hitting the ball.
The descent stage was still there, and I could climb on it. The ascent level was broken nearby, and Oberon said I shouldn’t climb on it in case it broke, and I hurt myself.
Date: Saturday 4th Oct. 2155 – 17:03 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 17 Landing site – Taurus–Littrow
Our almost 800-kilometre drive was great. I’ve drove for two hours twice and Titan says I’m an experience Moononaut. The white flag is still standing but is very torn.
We’re going for a little walk, and to check the Lunar Rover vehicle out.
Date: Saturday 4th Oct. 2155 – 21:03 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 17 Landing site – Taurus–Littrow
The Lunar Rover vehicle started after Titan repaired it, and I was able to replace the battery. It was fun, and we drove too fast and there was often only one wheel touching the surface. This has to remain a secret and we can’t tell Io. We parked as close as possible to the original landing place. Oberon said, when a meteorite hits, it will make our tracks disappear and no one will know. We all practiced golf again and we are all getting better at hitting the ball.
Day 4:
Date: Sunday 5th Oct. 2155 – 07:03 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 11 Landing site – Sea of Tranquility
We are at the first Lunar landing site! We’re going to look for Buzz Aldrin’s footprint and the retroreflector. Oberon said the flag was blown away at the start of the ascent level, and we shouldn’t look for it because we won’t find it. After breakfast we’re going outside.
Date: Sunday 5th Oct. 2155 – 10:58 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 11 Landing site – Sea of Tranquility
We found Buzz Aldrin’s footprint in the Moon regolith. Now there are four footprints right next to each other, Buzz Aldrin’s is on the left. We took it in turns to jump and leave a footprint right there next to Buzz’. We took a photo of the four footprints, but we have to keep this secret as well.
The descent stage was still there, and we all climbed on it. I went down the ladder and made a pretend first footprint on the Moon. Titan said we shouldn’t change things too much and to stop playing our game. We played golf, and the miles are getting bigger and bigger.
Date: Sunday 5th Oct. 2155 – 16:00 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 16 Landing site – Descartes Highlands
We’ve arrived at the Descartes Highlands and I drove Arty for all of the 400 kilometres. Except for a few minutes when I had to go to the toilet, but otherwise, it was a super four-hour drive. And I almost drove enough to get my license.
There’s a very torn white flag, and Lunar Rover vehicles that we are going to look at.
Date: Sunday 5th Oct. 2155 – 20:00 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Apollo 16 Landing site – Descartes Highlands
The trip is almost over. We’re about to leave for 2700-kilometre journey home. We’re feeling sad that the trip is over, and we’re disappointed that there were only six Apollo missions. We’ve got to pack everything up and then make ourselves comfortable for the 18-hour journey home.
The descent step was there, and I
climbed it. We didn’t visit the ascent stage. It had crashed somewhere nearby. Titan managed to bring the Lunar Rover vehicle back to life and we drove it around for a short time. One last event, we’ll travel home via Surveyor 7 and will stop briefly to have a look at it, but we won’t get out because there hasn’t been too much to see since Surveyor 7 was hit by a meteorite.
We played golf again and this time the balls really did fly miles and miles. We had to try a few times and my ball flew the farthest. Paul says my one-handed golf swing is getting better and better. One of Paul’s balls also flew far, but not as far as mine and Charlie’s ball may have only flown a mile.
Day 5:
Date: Monday 6th Oct. 2155 – 15:17 CET (Central Eagle Time)
Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base
We are home and I drove enough hours to get my Antigrav driver license!!