“Your mother died eight years ago, peacefully, at 92 years of age. She passed away calmly while she was sleeping, at the nursing home where she had been living for more than ten years.”
Silence took over the radio, the ship, and the control room. Everyone remained quiet out of respect for the astronomer’s feelings.
She wept silently. She wasn’t just sad that her mother had died, but that she hadn’t been able to be there with her when it had happened. Nor had she been able to tell her mother about her first experience in space, which she had promised to do at that last Christmas they spent together in 2035.
Now, it was 2051, and so much had changed in the world. They would need some time to process the news.
“Jones, have you heard anything from Dr. Hardt?” Allison asked, still a bit emotional.
“Dr. Phillip Hardt? Yes, he’s doing well. We haven’t informed him of this situation yet, but I can do so. Allison, he’s 90 years old; he’s retired, and doesn’t teach anymore.”
“Please tell him that I’d like to go visit him when I get back,” she said.
“Certainly,” Jones replied.
And with that, the transmission was over. The astronauts talked about the news with each other. They immediately tried to comfort Allison. Then, they relaxed as they talked about Frank’s children and the fact that both of them were studying at their father’s alma mater.
After hanging up, as he walked through the hallway toward the room where his team was busy calculating all of the possible rescue routes, Jones was interrupted by a young woman.
“Dr. Jones, my name is Laura Williams. I’m the director of the data management department. My team is responsible for analyzing, archiving, and maintaining all images and videos collected by all of NASA’s space programs.”
“Hi, Laura. Nice to meet you. I’m sorry to be in such a rush, but I’m working on an urgent matter and I need to get back to my control room.”
“Just a second, Dr. Jones. My team is downloading all of the data from the Orion-II. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
With that, Laura immediately had Dr. Jones’ attention. She invited him into her team’s room, and he accepted.
The room was far from normal. There were several stations with large monitors. They had access to NASA’s entire archived collection. She had a small, select and discreet team. She was also in charge of deciding which images would be shown to the public, and which ones would be kept confidential.
“Jones, we’ve already downloaded all of the photos. We’re starting to download the videos now, which is going to take a few days. We’ve reviewed lots of images of the planet Sater, which is what I wanted to talk about. We’ve found some very interesting stuff. One, in particular, seems to have no explanation. Elizabeth asked me to go get you. You must understand that, in cases such as this one, she’s the only one we inform.”
“Of course. Let’s see those pictures,” Jones said.
“The first one projected here is one of the most fascinating. It truly seems that there was a civilization on this planet. Look at how those ruins make up a city-like structure. You can even see something that looks like a bridge.”
“That’s fabulous!” Jones exclaimed as he adjusted his glasses, finding it hard to believe what he had just seen.
“We have several of these photos. It seems that there were a number of cities. I’ve never seen anything like it, but I think there was a civilization that lived on that planet in a very distant past.”
“Given your past experience, Laura, how old do you think those ruins are? Somewhere around 1,000 or 2,000 years old, right?” Jones asked.
“No, no. They’re much older than that. Look, on this monitor, here, we have satellite photos of archaeological sites here on Earth. As you can see, the ones on Sater appear to be much more deteriorated. You could be walking on that surface and not even realize that it used to be a city. We can only identify these types of ruins from an aerial photo, which allows us to see construction patterns and thus conclude that they resemble the organizational pattern of a settlement. I would say that these ruins must be at least 100,000 years old.”
“And you said that there are several of them?”
“Yes, we found the same patterns in various locations. Let me show you something very interesting,” said Laura as she searched for another image in the archives.
Then, she displayed a few photos of what appeared to be pyramids. They were in a mountainous area; you had to really focus in order to identify them, but they were there. They were only able to see those pyramids thanks to the persistence of one of the analysts, who had spent a significant amount of time on that particular photo.
“That’s incredible. That is, without a doubt, the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. Not only was this planet previously inhabited, but it had pyramids like ours,” he exclaimed, admiring the image.
“We can’t say that we found life in outer space, because this planet seems to be dead, but this is the first evidence that, in the past, life existed on another planet. And imagine if those pyramids contain the same things that the ones here did? Clearly, the Stellarium-12 mission will go down in history. It has opened our eyes up to much more than we imagined,” Laura said.
Jones stared at the images, stunned and pensive.
“Dr. Jones, even though I just showed you all of this, it’s not the reason that I went looking for you. I have one last photo here... and this one is really unsettling. We’re not sure how to interpret it... I spoke briefly with Elizabeth, and she asked me to have you analyze it.”
“Okay, let’s take a look at it.”
Laura turned on the projector and immediately pulled up the photo she had referred to. She turned off the lights, and a plain appeared on the huge screen. At first, the image didn’t seem to contain anything too strange or even interesting.
“Can you tell what’s different about this photo?” she asked Jones.
“Hmm…there seems to be something in the lower right corner. Are they more ruins?”
“I’m going to zoom in on the photo and focus in on that area. Take a close look, Dr. Jones. I was personally responsible for analyzing this area on the image. I noticed the same thing as you, but I was frightened by what I saw when I zoomed in on this spot.”
Jones looked on in disbelief. He adjusted his glasses, looked at the computer from which the photo was being projected, and grabbed the remote. He zoomed out, then back in. He studied the image in detail, followed by…“Is this a joke?”
“Certainly not, Dr. Jones. I wouldn’t do a thing like that. Especially when it has to do with something so important.”
“Has anyone else had access to this image? Is it possible that it could have been edited or manipulated in any way?” Jones asked.
“No. The data on the Orion-II is encrypted and, once the images are downloaded, they are dissected by our computers. We make copies to be used for publicity, where we eventually make edits such as changing the format or the size of the image. But not this one. We are looking at the original photo, without any edits.”
“And there’s no way that this could have been produced on the ship? In other words, right when it was taken? Some kind of manipulation?” he asked, still unable to believe his eyes.
“Dr. Jones, this photo was taken by the probe and transmitted to the computers of the Orion-II. The crew has access to those photos, but they can’t edit them. And according to the ship’s records, they never even opened this one,” she responded.
“So, the astronauts don’t know about this photo? They haven’t seen it yet?”
“No, they haven’t. By the way, there’s one more thing: unlike the city ruins, which appear to be more than 100,000 years old, these here seem to be much older, possibly even millions of years old. I believe that this region was an archaeological site for that civilization. There are more recent ruins around the main finding, which I think were built later, to preserve the center. I believe that the p
eople who lived on this planet also found these ruins, and that they studied them and preserved them like we did, for example, with Stonehenge… although that example is only thousands of years old.”
“What a puzzle,” Jones exclaimed. “I need to think it over. I’m going to call Elizabeth to talk about it, but, for now, classify this image as confidential. No one else is allowed access, understood?”
“No problem,” she replied.
“Ms. Williams, have you found any other images like this one? I mean, anything as unsettling as this?” Jones asked.
“This was the only one we found.”
“Great. Let’s not tell anyone. Not even the astronauts should know. We can’t disclose or discuss something like this before we know more, okay?”
“Rest assured, Dr. Jones.”
“Thanks for seeking me out. I need to get back to the control room now. As you know, we’re trying to find a way to get the crew back to Earth. But please call me if you find anything else.”
They both remained silent for a moment. The lights were still off. They both stared at the unsettling image projected on the wall. It was a beautiful plain, with lots of rocks distributed all around. In one area in particular, there was a large rock structure. At first, the structure appeared to be the remains of a city. However, upon zooming in and focusing in on that construction, the viewer was presented with something bizarre. At the center of the ruins, there was an area with some very weathered rocks. From up above, those rocks formed a line of text, which had apparently been designed to be read from space. Even more, those rocks would have been placed there thousands, if not millions of years ago, before a civilization could have even formed there. With the passage of time, they had become quite destroyed, but even so, even in that state, when looking down from the space, the stones clearly read: “S.O.S. ORION.”
Jones left the room and went to meet up with his team, attempting to hide his confusion. He decided to focus solely on the rescue mission. He would leave that enigma for another day, once the crew was safe.
Image 15 - Pyramids found on Sater.
(credits and details on the final page)
Image 16 - Stonehenge, southern England.
(credits and details on the final page)
Chapter 21
The crew of the Orion-II spent hours describing, in detail, everything that had happened on their mission. First, they put together and sent out a detailed report, which was later reviewed by the top tier of the agency. Then, they spent hours talking with Jones, as well as a group of scientists selected by NASA, which included astronomers, physicists, archaeologists and biologists. They also spoke with the medical team, not just to get a detailed report on their health, but also to understand how the entire ordeal had affected their bodies.
It was the second day after their initial contact with NASA, and there still wasn’t a plan in place to get them to the Space Station. All of the proposed routes were unsuccessful in simulations. The best the team was able to do was get them to the ISS with seven percent fuel. But they only had four.
“Houston, this is Orion-II. Do you copy?”
“This is Orion-II. Go ahead, Houston.”
“We’ve got Frank’s children here in the control room. Let us know when you’re ready for a video call.”
Frank immediately sat down. He fixed his hair and turned on the transmission.
“Hi, kids! It’s so nice to see you again. What’s this about dad going on a 20-day trip, and you all growing up 15 years and starting college?” Frank said, trying to hide his tears with his good mood.
Then, they spent almost two hours talking. Both children told him about their lives up until that point, how they had dealt with thinking that their father was dead, their achievements, their problems, and how much they had missed having him around.
However, the one topic they kept avoiding was their mother.
“Kids, is your mother excited to see me? Why wasn’t she able to come?” Frank asked again.
“Dad,” his daughter said, looking to her brother for approval, “you know that mom thought that you had died, right? It was really hard for her... she spent several years in mourning. You’re going to have to be strong and understanding... she remarried two years ago, Dad. She doesn’t know how to deal with all this. Mom has been crying since yesterday, when she got the news. She’s confused and upset... she probably won’t come talk to you, at least for the time being...”
His daughter’s words hit him like a burst of cold air, forcing him to see the truth he refused to understand.
“What are you saying? Your mom got remarried?”
Russell and Allison looked at each other. The ship was too small for any kind of privacy. They didn’t know how to react, so Allison went back to analyzing images of Sater, trying to pretend like she wasn’t hearing her colleague’s conversation.
“Dad, you two will be able to talk once you get back. It’s a very delicate situation. She was alone for almost ten years, raising us and dealing with everything basically on her own. Five years ago, she met someone. They were together for about three years, and when I left for college, they got married.”
Frank understood how complex the situation was. He was frustrated and sad. However, he tried to focus on his kids and make the best of the last few minutes of the call. He would figure out a way to deal with everything later.
Meanwhile, Jones was meeting with his team of engineers in the room they were using as a base for the operation.
“Are you telling me that there’s no way for the Orion-II to get to the ISS? How can you be so sure? Have you already simulated ALL our options? What if they use the moon’s gravity as a boost?” Jones asked, unsatisfied.
“Jones, we’ve looked into that, as well. We tested everything. In all the simulations, once it’s on its way to Earth, the ship doesn’t even have enough fuel to escape gravity. In all cases, they end up reentering. There just isn’t enough fuel for them to drive and dock onto the ISS,” said Bryan, the head engineer in charge of finding a rescue route.
Bryan Clark had been responsible for mapping the trajectory of the first manned mission to Mars, for which Russell had served as pilot. Bryan was an expert in space navigation. Lately, he had been working on one of NASA’s most recent solar missions. However, Bryan had been asked to urgently join the Stellarium-12 rescue mission. He was the first person that Jones called when he started putting the team together.
“However, the team has come up with an alternate plan,” Bryan said.
“Let me guess: I was thinking, if we decrease the weight of the Orion-II and get Frank to run some tests, we might be able to have them land with just two parachutes. Is that what you’re thinking?” Jones asked.
“That idea just might work, Dr. Jones. But no. The idea my team is proposing is a bit less risky,” Bryan responded.
“Go on. What are you thinking?”
“The Orion-II isn’t orbiting any planets. It’s floating through space. If they simply accelerate toward Earth, they’ll die upon re-entry if they don’t have a functioning parachute system. They also don’t have enough fuel left to perform the maneuvers necessary to keep from re-entering, and thus attach to the Space Station.”
“I’m with you so far. Get to the point, Bryan.”
“At first, we thought we might be able to send something to them. Fuel, for example. Or even an Orion-type ship, sent straight to them, without them having to move from where they are. The problem is, in this case, finding them in space would be like searching for a needle in a haystack... the Orion-II is very small, and we’re talking about open space. Even the smallest error, the smallest deviation, would cause the rescue ship to fly by within just a few miles of the ship without even realizing it. Then, we came up with something that could really work.”
“Come on, what is it?” Jones asked.
“The Orion-II has enough fuel to get to the moon. We propose that they travel to the moon, orbit it for a few hours, and then land,�
� Bryan said.
“Travel to the moon? Without a Lunar Module? Well, that would be one way to get them out of open space and leave them in a place where it would be easier to get to them, as well as a place closer to Earth... but that still doesn’t solve our rescue issue. They only have 17 days of oxygen left. After that, they’ll die of suffocation. We will only be able to send an SLS to rescue them, at best, in two months. By then, it will be too late,” Jones replied.
“Yes, but with this plan, we don’t need a rocket to launch an Orion from Earth,” he clarified.
“You’ve got my full attention now, Bryan. Please, continue,” Jones said.
“Today, we have three spaceships docked on the Space Station. We have an Orion, a Soyuz, and a Progress. The plan is to travel to the moon with the Orion that’s at the ISS. However, upon departing from the ISS, that ship wouldn’t be able to go to the moon by itself. Which is why we’ll also have to use the Soyuz.”
“Bryan, I have lots of questions, but I’ll let you finish. You’re smart, and I know you already have the answers; if not, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But your idea means using the only two spaceships we have at the ISS capable of transporting people. And, as you know, they’re there for a reason. That’s the only way people would be able to evacuate in the case of a collapse at the station,” Jones explained.
“Yes, that’s a risk we’ll have to take. We’re going to have to use two vehicles. If we go through with this plan, there won’t be any way for anyone to leave the Space Station for at least two months, when the next resupply mission is scheduled to get there,” Bryan replied.
Jones listened, thoughtfully.
“Let me finish,” the specialist continued. “The plan is for the Soyuz to dock onto the Orion. Then, the Soyuz will activate its thrusters toward the moon. After traveling two-thirds of the route, it will undock from the Orion, the crew will move down into the Descent Module, and it will continue on a reentry route, ultimately returning to Earth. Meanwhile, now disconnected from the Soyuz, the Orion will activate its propulsion and finish the mission, landing on the moon. They will rescue the astronauts and launch back to Earth. Gravity will bring them back, like we did with the Apollo missions. They won’t have a Lunar Module, but, if they’re careful, the Orion should be able to land on and depart from the moon without it. We’ve run the simulations and the plan worked. We’ve already calculated the date and time at which we should start the mission, as well as their routes. The launch window opens every two days, the first one being tonight. The next would be the day after tomorrow. I think that would be our best option,” Bryan closed.
Stellarium (Origins): A Space-Time Adventure to the Ends of our Universe Page 12
