“Yes, sir. Of course, Mr. Zakawi. Thank you,” replied Lars, knowing exactly what he meant.
#
Keeping the media out of the whole story had been impossible, but Mars First’s legal department had done a great job at lessening the negative publicity the incident had fueled.
With or without enemies, Mars First had nonetheless managed to reach its goal of having the first go at sending humans to Mars. NASA was still eight years behind, at best.
By now, many of the early skeptics were on board, not because they had suddenly found the venture a beautiful one, or a great benefit to humanity, but mostly because the financial gains couldn’t be ignored. “Mars First Now” had become the most viewed show in the history of television and the internet, combined. The ratings had gone off the charts.
For the men and women of the future Mars First colony, the public interest had been as intimidating as suffocating at times. So many had contacted them via email or through the countless social networks, blogs, and fan pages on the internet, that the astronauts had soon found themselves unable to keep up. The Mars First administration had eventually dedicated a small part of their PR department to handle all incoming correspondence.
Fourteen hours before lift-off
“…before. This adventure, you are all four about to embark on, is the most profound and the most daring journey ever undertaken by man. In less than six months, you will land on Mars, a planet no man has ever set foot on. A bare world, millions of kilometers away from our own Earth, where you will have the opportunity to establish a land post, a beacon for mankind, the first human foothold on another planet, and a successful first step toward interplanetary colonization. You will stretch the reach of our species millions of kilometers into space. Be proud and be brave. The whole world is watching you. You have our admiration, our support, and our love. May God be with you all.” President Jarvis stepped off the podium and walked to the four astronauts to shake their hands.
Several thousand kilometers away, Makar Sokolov, was watching his son, Dedrick shaking the hand of the most powerful political figure of our time, the president of the United States of America. Makar had never felt prouder. His son was going to Mars. His name would be forever inked in the history books, Dedrick Sokolov would be remembered for generations to come. A few meters away, Dedrick’s mother, standing in the shadow of the doorway, was crying silently.
#
The two black SUVs were almost at the entrance’s check point. Inside the leading vehicle, François, feeling smug as he looked at the large “Bienvenue” sign, couldn’t resist a smart remark.
“So, I guess you guys couldn’t do it without the French. Good thing we’re here.”
Sabrina, seated next to him, rolled her eyes. Everyone else in the car ignored him as well. François was used to it. Team One had just arrived in Cayenne, French Guiana, that same morning, along with Lars. Without delay or rest, an SUV and escort had taken them directly to Kourou where the launch of MF1, the Mars First One spaceship, would take place in a few hours. Looking out the tinted windows, the astronauts watch the tall rocket in the distance slowly get closer as they approached. The two vehicles were soon joined by a military jeep and given priority access through a restricted area, leading the convoy away from all the media vehicles and reporters gathered outside for the event. Every major news media that had been able to secure a seat was there. Countless TV crews and journalists had come to immortalize the historic moment. Some family members were there too. Vera’s sister had arrived the day before, and so had François’ parents and brother, to his amazement. Sabrina’s mother, still recuperating from an unexpected surgery, had been unable to leave Guatemala. As for Dedrick’s parents, his dad, far too proud to let anyone know he had an absolute fear of flying, had turned down the invitation, blaming the whole thing on his wife for not feeling well, as he so often did.
The jeep soon left the two vehicles go on alone, and the convoy eventually arrived at the launch pad.
“So, this is it, ein?”
François, his head tilted back, was standing outside the SUV. They were stopped right at the end of the ramp leading to the launch tower. Only a few dozen meters away from him, the Mars First One rocket, MF1 for short, was towering above him and Dedrick. In a few hours, they would both be strapped inside the cockpit, along with Vera and Sabrina, ready to finally begin their journey to Mars.
“Yep! This is the real thing,” replied Lars, looking up at the impressive machine. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” he said, with a radiant smile.
“It’s big!” said Vera, stepping out of the vehicle.
“That’s what she said,” echoed the Frenchman.
“Oh, stop it, François. You’re such an idiot at times,” shushed him Sabrina.
The beautiful outer-casing of the enormous rocket, its black and white glossy paint shining in the bright mid-afternoon sun, was protecting one of the most brilliantly engineered pieces of machinery on the planet. Securely anchored down to the gigantic platform below, “la fusee sans frontiere,” as François had called it, was standing proud and tall, majestic in its awesome grandeur, its nose aimed straight at the skies, as if ready to depart at any moment. Two tall scaffolds encircling the giant were occupied by twenty or so workers, busy at various tasks on different levels. Automatic valves were randomly releasing steam and smoke out of pipes and hoses connected along the frame.
“Follow me, please,” Lars said, as he walked toward the small building to their left, the four astronauts of team one in tow.
After passing through a few doors and security check points, the five of them finally walked into the main control room of the small dwelling.
“This is where the last checks on the rocket are performed, before the ground crew leaves the platform. At T-minus two hours, fifty minutes, the ship will be filled with propellant, water, and oxygen. Once that stage is performed, at about T-minus forty minutes, you will be brought by a van to the foot of the tower, along with four crew technicians. After they have securely seated and strapped you all in your seats, they will close the hatch, come back down to the platform, and once mission control confirms all systems are a go, will head back to ground control at T-minus ten minutes, at the latest. That’s where I’ll be, witnessing your last moments on Earth, and your trip to the new world. Exciting! You will soon be flying to Mars. I envy you!” finished Lars with a tinge of regret.
“Wow! That doesn’t leave much room for error,” said François.
“You are right, but we have anticipated most scenarios, and are well prepared. We have several emergency vehicles on standby, as well as two large helicopters. Once the fuel has been dispensed, the least amount of time the ship stays on the ground the better. There are several good reasons for that, but we don’t have time to go into it right now.”
None of them said anything else. They were feeling both exhilarated and a bit scared, so close to the imposing machine, but the four astronauts also felt confident about their own role in the success of the mission, and that was what mattered most.
“Let’s go to the top, shall we?”
A few minutes later, the exterior elevator transporting the five of them arrived at level four, the top level of the right scaffold. Lars opened the door, and they followed him across the bridge.
“This is the door to your living quarters for the next six months. I believe you are quite familiar with it by now. I want you all to see the real capsule for yourselves. It’s identical to the one you have trained in for the past three years, but this is the real thing. It’s gonna be your new home now, and if everything goes as planned, it will be for a very long time.”
“I didn’t see Lars as a sensitive man, but I could swear the CEO is about to cry,” thought Dedrick.
T-minus four minutes
Team One was, strapped, secured and ready. They had all confirmed it multiple times. Over ten years had passed since that first day of training. They had prepared for this mission as much
as any other astronaut would have. They knew their jobs inside out and had prepared for any scenarios the experts had thought of. At the same time, everyone knew the risks were countless, and a certain amount of nervousness was understandable, especially now, minutes from lift off.
For Vera, the fear was compounded with the disheartening news that Cathy had recently become engaged to Bruce, her steady boyfriend of the last six years, and that she wouldn’t be there for her sister’s wedding next year. She missed her terribly. Her mother would have been proud of her younger sibling. If there was an afterlife, she hoped she was watching over her.
“I hope you’re proud of me too, mom,” she thought.
Even François, who loved to play the role of the calm and charismatic Frenchman, and whose phlegmatic personality always gave the impression he was in control of the situation, was now feeling the angst and nervousness of the anticipated ignition. “Takeoff and landing; If we make it through those, we’re OK. Of course, we got to hope all goes well during the flight too. It’s going to get old real fast with the four of us in here too. Six months… Why did I get myself into this again?” The challenges ahead were hard to imagine, but that was what made it all worth it. A man had once said: “Don’t live lost in the past, and don’t dwell long on the present. Always move towards the future for there you’ll find all your answers.”
The world was looking at them. They had a job to do and François hoped he was up to the task.
Vera was strapped tightly in her seat, her eyes glued on the dozens of switches and gauges filling the control panel above her, but she wasn’t really looking at them. She was four minutes away from leaving Earth forever, and every cell in her body was trying to resolve the unbridgeable gap between her euphoric feeling of excitement, and her growing fear at the realization the next few minutes would be some of the most dangerous she would ever live.
Of course, they all understood the risks. They were aware of the countless dangers and innumerable variables that could play a catastrophic role in the outcome of their brave undertaking. Some would call that being foolish or irresponsible. Better yet, some would say they were complete idiots for taking such risks, but others would call them heroes, true explorers, frontier breakers to be admired and envied. Being a hero wasn’t a goal for any of them, even if the public attention they had all received in the last few years had made them famous despite themselves.
To a lot of people around the globe, they were the new “Apollo Nine” of their time, and all the human pride and wonder that had followed the first Moon landing, were back in full force.
Either way, Dedrick Sokolov, Vera Via, François Menardais, and Sabrina Lazano were finally about to enter the history books, and in the process, so was the entire world, for this was truly going to expand the range of man’s reach in the solar system. If the mission was successful, humanity would have begun its first step towards space colonization.
#
“T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift off!”
The fantastic roar of the enormous rocket engines came along with the powerful vibration from down below. In an instant, the nine-hundred-ton vessel pushed its enormous weight off the ground and began rising, exerting its tremendous G-Force build up on the four astronauts, pressing their bodies uncomfortably against the back of their upward facing seats.
It was a clear day, a beautiful day in French Guiana, and an ideal one for a launch. Leaving a huge trail of white smoke behind, the rocket rose without a glitch and reached the upper atmosphere within seconds. By then, the unpleasant effects of the acceleration had already lessened and given place to the much more comfortable feeling of weightlessness. Minutes later, the rocket’s nose separated; releasing the MF1 capsule and its crew. The MF1 boosters engaged within seconds, sending the ship on its way to the International Space Station where it was to refuel. The crew was already preparing for the docking procedures. It would be the first and last stop before the long journey, to refuel and collect some needed laboratory equipment and cargo, sent ahead to reduce the initial payload of the launch. Outside the small window of their cabin, the day gave place to the purest of starry nights.
Forty-eight minutes later, the crew was saying its last goodbyes to Earth, and MF1 was off on the longest and most daring journey ever attempted by man.
One hundred seventy-five days after lift-off
“Twenty-eight – sixteen - zero – four – fifty-one,” said Dedrick slowly, over-articulating.
“Twenty-eight – sixteen – zero – four – fifty-one!” repeated François as he entered the numbers on the keyboard pad in front of him. Vera and Sabrina were strapped in their seats, right behind the two men. Dedrick could hear Vera’s fast breathing in his in-ear monitors. The ship was now only four kilometers above the Martian surface.
“Ship lined up with target. Fifteen seconds to retro-rocket boost,” announced Dedrick. “Ten – nine – eight – seven – six – five – four – three – two – one – retro-rocket burn!”
“Burn confirmed,” signaled François.
The red planet had been gradually slowing down the ship using what engineers called a “Ballistic Capture” technique, where the gravity of the approaching planet is used to reduce the velocity of the vessel, rather than the ship’s rockets having to do all the work. Now, ready to enter Mars' atmosphere, the team was more alert than ever. The shaking vessel was on its final vertical descent, clocking at over 9000 kilometers an hour, and gradually slowing down. In the small cockpit, the four astronauts, experiencing the effects of several G’s from the strong deceleration, were doing their best to manage the discomfort, while trying to contain their fear and excitement. Soon, they would set foot on Mars. They would be the first humans ever to set foot on the red planet. If they landed safely, that is. They had just learned the ship was off target by a few kilometers and had been forced to choose a new landing site.
Listening carefully to the on-board computer, all four closed their eyes and gripped their seats tightly as the artificial machine began relating their approach.
“15,000 kilometers to target landing site.”
The shaking was now starting to subside, and all systems were still green.
“13,000 kilometers to target landing site.”
François tried to look out the small porthole window to his left, but his range of motion was too limited to see anything but the night sky.
“6,600 kilometers to target landing site. Separation module release in five – four – three – two – separation module released! Detection confirmed.”
Throughout the descent, Dedrick was keeping a close eye on the monitor in front of him, occasionally looking at the thin slice of orange landscape his window allowed him to see below the ship. All the numbers looked right. MF1 had traveled almost six months in space without a single glitch, and aside from a slight trajectory adjustment at the last minute, the landing on the red planet below appeared to be going just as smoothly.
A sudden jolt pushed the team members deep in their seat. They all clinched their armrests harder. The shock was strong enough to give Vera a short felling of panic.
“Stabilizing parachute deployed... parachute confirmed…all systems green…descent angle optimum.”
“Didn’t need the confirmation on the parachute. I think we all felt that one!” thought François.
“Two hundred meters – One hundred fifty meters – One hundred meters – Fifty meters”
François let a heavy sigh.
“Thirty meters – Twenty meters”
Sabrina swallowed.
“Ten meters – Five meters – Four meters”
Dedrick inhaled deeply and held his breath.
“Retro-rocket burn.”
A tear began to slide down Vera’s face. The ship was vibrating uncomfortably again.
“Two – One – Touch down! Ship leveled and stabilized. Engine shut down. All systems operational. Welcome to Mars!” finished the artificial voice.
For a few secon
ds, the four were silent. Outside, a small cloud of dust, picked up by a light wind, flew by.
“Oooh oooh!! Yeah!” suddenly screamed François, jolting the others in their seat.
Dedrick removed his helmet. “Welcome to Mars, guys. We made it!”
“Oh, my God! I can’t believe we’re here,” said Sabrina as she loosened her harness and leaned over, trying to see outside the porthole window next to her.
Dedrick was already turning off a few switches overhead, while reading the data on the computer screen in front of him.
“How far off are we?” asked Vera seeing his troubled facial expression.
“Actually, only two point six kilometers,” he replied. “That’s not great, but it could have been worse.”
“Sweet!” offered François with a smile.
Sabrina was now standing by the window, looking at the orange desert outside. She could see the edge of the plateau a few hundred meters away. Beyond, the giant cliffs of the Valles Marineris canyon seemed to go on forever.
“Can you guys believe we’re really here? It’s amazing! I bet everyone is celebrating back on Earth. Especially at Headquarters! I can see Lars now, jumping around his desk like a little kid.” added Vera.
“Actually, no one on Earth is celebrating anything because no one knows yet, remember?”
“You are correct, Sabrina. They won’t know for another twenty minutes or so. We’ve successfully landed on another world, and we’re the only ones to know!” said Dedrick with a big smile. “How amazing is that?” He got off his seat, grabbed the Guatemalan woman in his big arms, and lifted her off the floor of the cabin effortlessly, laughing.
“Hey! Easy there, cowboy!” reminded him Vera, looking at the two with a teasing frown.
“Ha, ha! Don’t worry, Vera. He’s not my type,” reassured her Sabrina.
Dedrick put her back down.
“What do you mean, not your type? Am I not the most handsome man on the planet?” as he winked at her.
Kahnu (The Guardians of Tomorrow Book 1) Page 6