Stellarium (Origins): A Space-Time Adventure to the Ends of our Universe

by Fabricio Simoes

  “Mrs. Lark, this is Amy Hills from the BBC. You said in your announcement that the Orion-II crew is doing well. But how did they react when they found out that they had arrived 15 years in the future? How are they dealing with that?”

  “That’s an excellent question. They’re doing very well. When they were traveling near the black hole in Andromeda, they already knew that they were distorting time. However, they believed that they would arrive home one year into the future, not fifteen years. That was a shock. But they’re adapting well, as are their families.”

  “Robert Miller from NBC. Mrs. Lark, are you planning to do a live stream of the astronauts from the Orion-II, given the huge impact of this case?”

  “No. The astronauts are under a lot of stress. Their lives are at risk and we are involved in a rescue mission. This is completely different from the transmissions that we tend to do from the ISS, as well as those we did from Mars. We are participating in an ongoing operation and they are in a hostile environment, far from Earth. Right now, NASA is focused on rescuing them,” she responded.

  “Mrs. Lark, Peter Thompson here from the New York Times. You said that NASA is downloading all of the data and video collected by the Orion-II. What have you learned so far about the places they traveled? If you could talk a little about the planet Sater in Draco...”

  “Mr. Thompson, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to analyze much of that data yet. There is a lot of information, and we’ve yet to receive the entirety of the data. However, I can tell you that there are some very interesting findings regarding that planet. It will be a while before we’re able to make those findings known to the public. There is material for studies on black holes, galaxies, cosmic radiation, astrophysics... there will be enough data for at least a decade of studies and publications. What I can tell you is that the amount of information captured on this mission is comparable to almost everything NASA has done up until now. Let me be clear, here: we’re talking about the biggest mission in the history of mankind. For the first time ever, humans orbited a red giant; for the first time ever, humans orbited a black hole. For the first time ever, a crew traveled outside of any galaxy, floating through open space. For the first time ever, we obtained images of a planet very similar to Earth, in a different system. In just one mission, we also traveled to the Andromeda galaxy, which is millions of light years away.”

  “And when will NASA disclose, at least in general terms, the first conclusions from the mission?” the reporter asked.

  “Our goal is to give a conference next year,” she responded.

  At that moment, the agency’s director of press relations announced that Elizabeth would answer just one more question, at which point the press conference would come to an end.

  Several reporters raised their hands and started asking questions all at once. One of the journalists was able to make himself heard with the following question: “Have we found life beyond Earth?”

  Elizabeth was immediately drawn to the question, and responded quickly and directly: “I’d like to say that we have. For now, the only thing we know is that we were much less knowledgeable about the universe than we thought.”

  As the NASA executives left the room, the journalists continued yelling out their questions, hoping for a response.

  “Is the Stellarium Space Program going to be re-launched?”; “When do you predict that the astronauts will be back on Earth?”; “Is the crew as young as they were when they departed?”; “Are they going to be paid for 20 days of work, or 15 years?”; “Is NASA going to release any of the images captured by the Orion-II?”

  There was still a lot to clarify. Many unanswered questions. The press conference had put an end to the rumors, but they knew that there would be plenty of speculation until the crew was back on Earth.

  Chapter 20

  Three days before the press conference, a calm, winter afternoon at the Johnson Space Center turned into chaos. Jones searched for the people who had played a key role in the Stellarium Space Program. Some of them, already retired, were back at the center. NASA’s Administration and the President of the United States had yet to be informed. Meanwhile, Smith had managed to section off part of his control room to be used for the rescue mission.

  They were presented with countless challenges. First of all, there was no immediately available team to deal with the mission. The setup of the Stellarium program, as well as all of the people associated with it, had been relocated long ago.

  Secondly, there was no available control room. There was also no established route for the mission. The ship was simply a point in space, and they weren’t even sure of its exact location. They didn’t have records of exactly what the Orion-II had been through, and there was no way to check the state of the ship’s structure. They also didn’t know exactly how much the ship weighed at that moment, nor did they have its technical specifications, such as the thrust power, fuel consumption, or energy consumption on board. Everything had been archived. The people who had filed the data and might know where to look for it were no longer there, either.

  Thirdly, the news would have to be processed by NASA’s Administration, the President, and, finally, society. They needed to put a communication strategy in place. They would also have to find funds to support the unexpected rescue mission.

  And, speaking of the rescue, this was the most delicate point. There was no SLS (Space Launch System) available to be sent into space, especially not on an unmapped route to a place so far away, almost three times the distance between the Earth and the moon. For decades, NASA had outsourced trips to the ISS to private companies. Both the Boeing and the SpaceX were under contract, but their rockets were not designed to go beyond the Low-Earth Orbit.

  And fourthly, even after coming up with solutions to all these problems, they still didn’t have a readily available Orion capsule to place on a rocket and send into space for the crew to come home in. It would take them at least three months to assemble a launch vehicle with an Orion capsule.

  All of these problems ran through Dr. Jones’ head as he made a series of phone calls. His first priority at the moment was to get a team together. In fact, he was so focused on this task that he forgot to tell Elizabeth.

  Then, while he was on the phone with one of the members of the old team, his phone started to ring.

  “Jones, what’s going on?” a loud voice asked.

  “Elizabeth, I’m so glad you called. It’s total chaos here. I’ve been trying for the past two hours to put together a team so we can at least understand the situation. We just got word a few hours ago; I’m sorry I didn’t call you, but it was still very early,” he clarified.

  “Okay. Tell me exactly what happened. All I’ve heard so far are rumors. And if the rumors got to me, that means a lot more people at NASA know what’s going on. We have to work with the communications team to figure out how to deal with this,” the head of the agency said.

  “Yes, of course. Liz, it’s all happening so fast. There’s no protocol, no procedure, no process in place for a situation like this. We aren’t prepared to deal with a crew that’s having problems in space, but which hasn’t been there for the past 15 years. I already have four people from the old Stellarium Program here at the space center. I was able to recruit seven more from the Mars program, as well as three ISS controllers. Smith is helping me organize the agency so we can come up with a rescue mission,” Jones informed her.

  “Tell me how many people you need and from which areas. I’ve already cancelled my appointments this morning. I’m on my way to the space center right now, and we’re going to figure this out together. Will, my Chief of Staff, will be at your disposal... and he has my permission to allocate whatever resources you need.”

  “Thank you, Liz.”

  “Now, I need you to tell me exactly what’s going on, as well as what you plan on doing over the next few hours. I have to call the President,” she said.

  Jones spent the next few minutes explaining everythi
ng that had happened up until that point. Meanwhile, the astronauts aboard the Orion-II sent their system readings to Houston. They were told that NASA was organizing the resources they would need to start planning a rescue mission, which is why it would be a few more hours before they would be informed of what to do. For now, all they could do was wait.

  “Smith, is everyone here?” Jones asked.

  “Everyone is in room seven, Dr. Jones. They’re waiting for you. By the way, Elizabeth is in the building. Have you seen her?”

  “Yes, I was just with her. Thanks. I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but you’re an excellent professional, and, today, you’ve shown yourself to be a good friend, as well,” said Jones.

  “Thanks, Jones. We’re going to solve this problem together and bring the crew back home. I have to head back to ISS control now, but I’ll have a few of my guys stay in touch and keep observing the Orion-II, as we discussed.”

  “Smith, can I ask you for one more favor?”

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “This piece of paper has the ID numbers for our three astronauts: Russell, Allison and Frank. I need you to look up their relatives. This information is still confidential—they won’t be able to discuss anything with the press—but we need to inform them that the astronauts are alive... and we also need to let the astronauts know how their families are doing.”

  “Okay, Jones, I’ll do that. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done.”

  In addition to all the technical, logistical, psychological and operational issues that the current situation presented, Jones was also responsible for talking to the astronauts about their families. Although no one had asked him anything yet, he knew that, as soon as they had a rescue plan in place, the astronauts would start asking questions.

  What really worried the old director wasn’t finding the crew’s relatives and letting them know that the astronauts were alive. He knew that this would be followed by extreme perplexity, which is why he had delegated the task to an experienced person such as Smith. He was, however, concerned about how the astronauts would react once they heard about their families. Jones still didn’t know what had happened with them, but he was certain that, after 15 years of thinking the crew was dead, anything could have happened. And he definitely didn’t want to have an emotionally unstable crew in space.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Jones said, quickly walking into the room where his new team was gathered.

  With his coffee, computer, and several notes in hand, he began objectively:

  “I want to thank you all for being here. We are in an unforeseen emergency situation. We have NASA’s resources at our disposal for a fairly straightforward task: to bring three astronauts back home.”

  Jones explained the Stellarium program, as well as everything he knew about the Orion-II spaceship. He gave the team an overview of the ship’s location, the status of its systems, and its fuel level.

  “Even though they have only been traveling for 22 days, it had been 15 years us. All of the tools, materials, equipment, and documents from the Stellarium Space Program have been archived. They have enough life support systems on the Orion-II for 18 more days. That’s how much time we have. We have to rescue them before then. And before someone asks, no, they can’t simply accelerate toward Earth and re-enter. They lost one of their parachutes and we don’t know if the other two are functional.”

  Everyone took a close look at an image of the Orion-II projected on the dashboard, next to a picture of the astronauts. Jones put on his glasses and glanced at his notes.

  “That’s the plan,” he said, cleaning off the board and writing down the activities they would need to carry out. “We need to gather all the documentation on the Stellarium program and the Orion-II. We have to calculate the best route and the amount of fuel they’ll need to get to the ISS. At the same time, we need to prepare an SLS and an Orion-II to rescue them from the station. We also need to put them in touch with their families, prepare a press release, and download all of the data captured by the ship during the mission.”

  After delegating assignments, Jones turned back to the communications analyst standing by the door:

  “Amy, I talked with Elizabeth this morning and gave her an overview of the situation. Come with me to the cafeteria and I’ll fill you in on the details. She should have talked to the President by now. In a few days, NASA will have to announce the return of the Stellarium-12 crew, and I think you’re going to need to put together that press release.”

  Everyone began to work. Jones would check on their progress every two hours. Plus, when he wasn’t speaking with the astronauts or with Elizabeth, he would personally monitor the calculations of possible routes that the crew could take to get to the ISS.

  A few hours later, Jones walked into the command center and told Smith that it was time to talk to the astronauts.

  “Orion-II, this is Houston, Jones and Smith from control. Do you copy?”

  “Loud and clear, Houston. We're listening.”

  “Everyone here is working hard to bring you all home. We’ve already starting downloading the data that you captured during the mission, since the ship that you’re in right now won’t return to Earth. Since it’s a lot of data and the transmission is slow, mainly due to exposure to solar radiation, which has increased over the past several years, we think it will take us about a week to download everything. We’re also starting to assemble a rocket and ship for the rescue. The next resupply mission to the Space Station (ISS) is in three months. Our plan is to reduce that number to two months, during which time you’ll wait for us there.”

  “And how are we going to get to the Space Station? We don’t seem to have enough fuel,” Russell said.

  “We’re working on it. Our team has already run a few simulations. We haven’t found a viable trajectory yet, but we just started working. We’ll find a solution soon enough,” Jones responded.

  “Understood. And how has the world reacted to finding out that we came back 15 years later?” the commander asked.

  “We haven’t announced anything yet. We’ll only do that once we have a plan in place. I think we’ll make a formal announcement in a few days,” he responded.

  “Understood, Houston,” Russell said.

  In that moment, everyone fell silent. Jones didn’t have anything else to say about the mission or other operational issues.

  “Houston... what about our families?” Frank asked.

  “I thought you might ask that,” Jones responded. “They all reacted very well. We contacted them about an hour ago. We shared the news with them with the help of psychologists—although, in the end, they really weren’t necessary. Some of your family members truly believed that you all were still alive, which is just exceptional. You could almost feel their joy over the phone. I’m going to let you know how they’re doing, but we’re also working on having you all communicate with them directly.”

  The crew smiled. Allison seemed somewhat concerned, whereas Frank couldn’t hide his enthusiasm. Russell, on the other hand, didn’t show much emotion. He remained stern and objective.

  “Russell, your parents are living in Colorado, on the same ranch. They are healthy and doing well, despite their age. Your dad was very excited to hear that you are alive. Your mom, on the other hand, is still suffering from the same condition as before. For her, you never died; in fact, you never even left, so your dad chose not to say anything. But he already told her that you’d be going to visit them soon.”

  Russell let a sincere look of happiness slip out. Despite his strong, subdued character, typical of a great commander, the human being behind that responsibility was on the verge of collapsing. Not because he would be able to see his parents again, but because he would not be able to share the greatest challenge of his life with his mother. She had lived with Alzheimer’s for years, which had kept her from sharing in her son’s achievements.

  “Frank?” Jones called out.

  “Yes, I’m h
ere. Go ahead.”

  “After thinking that you had been dead for 15 years, your wife thought it would be best to go back to New York to live closer to her parents. Your children are doing well, and the good news is that they’ll be here tomorrow to talk to you!” the director informed him.

  “That’s great! How wonderful! I’m so happy to know that my little ones are doing well, and that I’ll be able to speak with them soon,” he exclaimed.

  “But, Frank, they’re not so little anymore,” Jones interrupted. “Your oldest daughter is almost 20 years old. Your youngest son is almost 18. Both followed in their parents’ footsteps. Your daughter is studying engineering at MIT. And your son was just accepted at MIT, as well. He’s going to be moving to Boston in a few months.”

  Frank was unable to hold back his tears, or his sobs. He experienced mixed emotions. He was sad to know that his children had grown up without him around. He hadn’t been there for all of their firsts... the first boyfriend or girlfriend, the first fight at school; he hadn’t been there to teach them how to drive, and he hadn’t been there to celebrate their acceptance at such a prestigious university. At the same time, Frank was happy that they were all doing well, that they had grown up into well-developed individuals who were on the right path. He was happy to know that he would be able to speak with them soon.

  “What about my wife? How is she doing?” Frank asked.

  “Your wife was very happy to hear the news, as well, but she won’t be able to come here to talk to you. Your kids will catch you up on everything soon.”

  In that moment, Allison started preparing for her turn. She already had tears in her eyes from listening to the news about Frank and Russell’s families.

  “Allison, unfortunately, I don’t have any good news for you. I need you to be strong,” Jones explained.

  She imagined what he was referring to.