The Mission of No Return

by Frank Cereo

  “We are at T-minus thirty seconds.” A voice from Houston Control announces over the radio.

  “Roger that Houston T-minus thirty seconds. All systems are a go up here.” Captain Laird replies.

  When Captain Laird looked around the cabin of the ship he could have cut the tension with a knife. The seven scientists were on their first space flight and the nervousness could be seen on their faces as the ship vibrated as the engines powered up.

  “Relax people as soon we are set into motion, the vibrating will cease and you will be in for the smoothest ride you’ve ever experienced. You won’t even know you’re traveling at half the speed of light. It’s a thrill of a lifetime to reach Jupiter in just over an hour.” Captain Laird expresses to the crew.

  This does little to comfort the scientists as the countdown came over the radio from Houston. The ship design had the pilots sitting in front of the small cramped bridge of the ship. The seven scientists sat in the rear as four sat on the left and three sat on the right as their seats hugged the walls.

  “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero.” A voice from Houston Control announces over the radio.

  “We have ignition.” Commander Rescott says as pushed the button to propel the ship into deep space.

  With the engines accelerating, a jolt came that pinned everyone against their seats and Earth was gone in a flash. The crew of nine was on their way to Jupiter in record time.

  Chapter 2 – Orbiting Jupiter

  When the ship reached the speed of traveling at half the speed of light, the vibrations stopped in the cabin as the maiden voyage of the Evolution and the new hydrowarp engine were underway. A trip that would see over three hundred and seventy million miles covered in just over an hour. This would be the future of space travel. The captain reassured everyone that everything was safe and they could take off their helmets but they had to remain in the hard suits and seats until they reached their destination.

  “Wow this is just as exhilarating as hot unadulterated sex.” Stephanie reiterates to the entire crew.

  Everyone got a little giggle out of that remark as it was unexpected.

  “Houston this is Evolution and everything seems to be in order.” Captain Laird says into his microphone.

  “Everything looks good on our end Evolution. All systems are a go. Enjoy making history.” A voice from Houston Control announces.

  Time passes quickly as the ride is a smooth as a brand new car on a newly paved road. With everyone enjoying the ride, the flight goes in sequence and according to plan. The ship glided across open space with ill effects. The ship then prepared to slow as Jupiter was getting larger in the front window.

  “Look at that view, isn’t she beautiful.” James says with a smile on his face.

  “It couldn’t agree with you more.” Amanda replies.

  “Prepare for engine shutdown on my count, three, two, one, and shutdown.” Captain Laird shouts out to Commander Rescott.

  Commander Rescott pushes the button for engine shutdown. As the engines shuts down, you could hear the outer doors closing. Without the sun light to power the hydrowarp engine, the turbines slow to a halt and that slows down the ship in the process. At that point the commander takes manual control as he brings the ship slowly into Jupiter’s orbit.

  “Alright Albert, guide her in.” Captain Laird says to Commander Rescott.

  With that being said Commander Rescott uses his thrusters to lock the ship in the outer orbit of Jupiter. You can feel the ship pull into the orbit as the gravitational pull of Jupiter takes over.

  “We’re locked into orbit sir.” Commander Rescott says.

  As you looked out of the one hundred and eighty degree front window, the site was unbelievable as the ship revolved around the largest planet in the solar system. The ship was now locked into orbit cruising at an astronomical speed that rotates around the planet every ten hours. The large red spot was bolder to the naked eye as the huge planet dwarfed the Evolution. You could see the clear definition of all the parallel reddish brown and white bands surrounding the planet.

  “Okay everyone it’s safe to unbuckle and take off your hard suits.” Captain Laird says.

  As soon as that order was given, the crew was like a bunch of kids in a candy store. They all unhooked their safety belts, took off their helmets, gloves and boots. Then they followed by taking off the hard suits themselves. With the ship being equipped with a gravitational device that is equivalent to Earth and no one would float around the ship. The scientists were amazed at the view of the large planet and her sixty three moons. The most distinct moon was Io, the largest moon of Jupiter, as she was visible out of the window of the ship laying only about 50 thousand miles away.

  “Take a look at that James.” Stephanie says as she points to the large moon.

  The moon covers the complete right inner side of the window as it passes along side of the ship and moves ahead. Io is traveling twice as fast as Evolution as it races past the ship.

  “Never in a thousand years would I ever imagine seeing this.” James says with a look of amazement.

  Io is a geologist playground because it is a volcanic body with heavy lava flows and lava lakes. The sulfuric landscape sports large volcanoes that stand over fifty thousand feet from the surface. It has been known that the lava spews reach over four hundred thousand feet into the air. Io is so close to Jupiter that it orbits just above the cloud cover of the planet.

  “Alright people we have to do an instrument check on the engines. Then we need to do an internal equipment check to prepare for landing.” Captain Laird says to the entire crew.

  Commander Rescott runs the diagnostics on the engines. Everything checks out with the exception of the main turbine, it seems to have a skip in its timing. In the meantime the scientists are doing an equipment check as they go through everything in the storage compartment that is located behind the crew’s quarters. Josef has the equipment checklist and reads off the items as the crew verifies.

  “Captain everything checks out on the engine diagnostic with the exception of timing on one of the turbines.” Commander Rescott says.

  “Will it screw up our trajectory when we head home?” Captain Laird asks.

  “I don’t think so but I’ll check with Houston Control with the numbers.” Commander Rescott responds.

  “Sounds like a plan. Get those numbers off to Houston Control immediately. At this distance it will take a half hour for the message to reach Earth.” Captain Laird orders.

  “Aye sir I’m on it.” Commander Rescott replies.

  As Commander Rescott gets the numbers off to Houston control, the captain goes in back to check on the scientists as they finish the checklist.

  “How is it going back here?” Captain Laird asks.

  “We are just finishing up.” Josef responds.

  “Okay, when you’re finished get back to the bridge. We will need to make our final preparations before we descend down to the planet surface.” Captain Laird says as he turns and makes his way back to the bridge.

  “Captain the message was sent to Earth about fifteen minutes ago. I told them we were in final preparation for our decent to the planet surface.” Commander Rescott says.

  “Excellent Albert, we will wait for Houston’s reply before we descend to the surface.” Captain Laird responds.

  As the scientists returned with anticipation of landing on the surface, Captain Laird gives them the bad news that they will have to wait for Houston’s reply on the engine turbine. He tells everyone to get a little sleep because it will be an hour or so before they hear anything back from Houston. With that being said everyone went back to their small cramped quarters for some sleep.

  The crew exited the rear of the bridge toward the center that lead to a small corridor. The small corridor had five doors off each side totaling ten in all. The doors were about five feet apart and behind each door were the crews living quarters. When you opened the door a small bed was on t
he right side. Above the bed was a cabinet that was the same length of the bed which protruded only about a foot from the wall. The cabinet had a door that swung upward and slid over the top. Inside the cabinet was the crew’s extra clothing and personal belongings. Last but not least on the left side of the small cell like room was a small desk and chair that contained a personal laptop computer and accessories.

  The end of the corridor led to a Y shape that went into two different rooms. To the left was a small lab that contained everything that the scientists would need to complete their experiments. The right side led to a small galley that had two small round tables with five chairs at each table. On the wall there were three vending machines, one for meals, one for drinks and one for snacks. There was a supply in each machine for ten days which was twice as much needed for the five day journey. The last compartment behind the galley was a five by twenty foot storage compartment that housed all the equipment needed for the Jupiter landing.

  Everyone was in their personal quarters with the exception of Captain Laird who remained on the bridge. They all lay down to try and get some rest, but with the excitement of landing on Jupiter they tossed and turned. Stephanie, Amanda, and Michael lie on their bunks and read a novel while Commander Rescott played games on his laptop. Time went by slowly as they minded their time.

  Chapter 3 –Jupiter Landing

  When the message came back from Houston an hour and seven minutes later they were given the okay for landing on Jupiter. As for the timing issue Houston would reconfigure the computers that would correct the problem. With that being said the captain acknowledged Houston and told them the next contact would be made from the surface of Jupiter. Captain Laird then pressed a button on the console that was the intercom.

  “Attention attention all crew members report to the bridge. We have been cleared for landing on Jupiter. Our next window of opportunity is in twenty-seven minutes. Over and out” Captain Laird says.

  The crew began to gather on the bridge within two minutes of the announcement. Within four minutes all nine members were accounted for on the bridge.

  “Today we make history so let’s suit up.” Captain Laird says as he expresses some emotion.

  The crew members begin to suit up into their hard suits. The suits were left on their seats on the bridge anticipating a landing on the largest planet in the solar system. The dressing took about fifteen minutes of the twenty-five minutes that remained on the clock. They all proceeded to sit into their assigned seats and buckled their seatbelts as tight as possible for their protection. The only one that had a problem with her seatbelt was Jennifer because for some reason it would not latch. She was assisted by Commander Rescott as he got the latch to close and lock. With that issue resolved, Commander Rescott returned to his seat at the helm of the ship. He hooked himself up with the five point harness that came over his head and latched into the clasp that is located in his lap. With everyone in position and belted in, the mission was moving forward. The clock slowly moved downward as the crew was anxious as they waited patiently for the engine thrusters to fire. This journey would take another hour as their landing point would be just outside of the giant red spot. As the clock struck zero the rear thrusters were fired at max. As the ship pushed forward, the crew members were jolted back against their seats. Maximum speed for entry was at about two thousand miles per hour. The plan was to enter the atmosphere with the flow of the wind and from there use the guidance system to project their trajectory to the planet surface. On the planet, Jupiter’s winds blow constantly. Most of the planet is a liquid state in the form of hydrogen and helium. Up until recently, the giant red spot was discovered to be a solid mass floating on a vast sea of hydrogen within a violent storm. The atmospheric temperatures are known to be as cold as -130 degrees Celsius or -200 degrees Fahrenheit. On the surface, temperatures are a little warmer but not much because to keep hydrogen in a liquid state it must be very cold.

  As the ship enters into the atmosphere, it begins to warm up as the friction from the hydrogen on the outside of the ship burns brightly as they enter into Jupiter’s outer atmosphere. Commander Rescott has control of the ship as it shimmies a little during the entry. The seven scientists have a firm grip on their arm rests as they have never experienced this before. Jennifer closes her eyes as she began to feel the motion from the ship. Amanda sits with a concerned look on her face as if she was headed for her own death. On the other hand Josef was enjoying the ride and the motion.

  “Hold on to your ass, you’re going to feel another jolt here as we enter the upper atmosphere and enter Jupiter’s jet steam.” Commander Rescott yells over the fierce noise of the ship entering into Jupiter’s atmosphere.

  The noise is similar to that of Niagara Falls but three times louder. When all of a sudden the noise stops, the ship is pushed forward which pushes the crew back against their seats with twice as much force as the initial thrusters. Soon the ship goes with the flow of the planet’s jet stream as it slowly descends. The ship slows down to one hundred and twenty miles per hour as it descends about ten thousand feet per minute. With the planet made up off mainly hydrogen that fluctuates from boiling to freezing, it creates a positive electrical environment. In other words there are thousands of lightning strikes that occur hourly that are followed by horrendously loud cracks of thunder that can be deafening at times.

  At that point the guidance system takes over for Commander Rescott. The ship descends quickly as it moves into position for landing. It feels like a jet when it drops for a landing when a wind shear allows it to drop a few hundred feet at a clip.

  “It’s really hard to see outside.” Huey says.

  “That would be the density of Jupiter’s hydrogen clouds.” Michael answers.

  The ship prepares for landing as it enters into its final descent on approach. The liquid hydrogen begins to form on the windows as the landing gear can be heard as they are set into position and locked.

  “Alright just as we rehearsed this during training, we are going in fast and hard so put your head between your legs for safety.” Captain Laird says with his face turned towards the crew.

  “One hundred feet sir,” Commander Rescott says.

  “Here we go there is no turning back.” Captain Laird says.

  “Fifty feet, twenty five feet, ten, five, touchdown,” Commander Rescott counts down.

  When the ship’s wheels hit the frozen hydrogen surface they bounce. The crew member’s jolt forward as the wheels makes contact with the ice. These high intensity wheels were made to absorb this type of terrain as the ship rolls vigorously. The landing takes about three or four minutes before the ship finally comes to a complete stop.

  “We have landed. Everyone can unbuckle and take your helmets off.” Captain Laird says.

  You can hear all the safety belts unbuckling and sliding back into place just as Jennifer spews her lunch all over the deck of the bridge. The crew members all gather around the window to see the surface of Jupiter but the visibility was zero.

  “When will the clouds clear?” Amanda asks.

  “Never,” Michael answers. “This is it. The weather remains the same every day.”

  Then there is a flash of lightning in front of the space craft followed by a loud crash of thunder that causes everyone to jump.

  The ship is equipped with a grounding system that will protect it from lighting strikes. As for the crew members when they walk on the surface of the planet they will be unprotected from this anomaly.

  “Houston Control Evolution has landed. We are preparing for a surface walk within the next fifteen minutes, over and out.” Captain Laird says and transmits to Earth.

  One thing that factors into the quick surface walk is that Jupiter’s day is only ten hours long. Five hours of daylight followed by five hours of darkness. From the computer’s calculation it will be dark in about one hour. In the darkness, no one will be allowed outside the ship as the temperature will plummet and with poor or no visibility this wi
ll increase the odds of death. The lightning strikes and thunder continue with great intensity

  “Today’s walk will consist of Michael and I. Our goal will be to test the atmosphere, temperature and ground conditions. So everyone else can get out of your hard suits and get comfortable because tomorrow is another day. This is when we will commence all our tests in full swing.” Captain Laird says to the group.

  The other seven crew members take off all their gear and put it in their lockers. With their hard suits off, they were all outfitted with matching white space coveralls with their name above the left breast pocket and a United States of North America flag mounted on the left sleeve. The entire crew returned to the bridge as the captain and Michael made their way to the air lock. As the air lock pressurized to meet Jupiter’s air pressure, they both checked their hard suits to make sure there were no leaks. When the air lock was pressurized Captain Laird opened the hatch that came inwards. The round door was about three feet in diameter. The door opened inward and used hydraulics because of the gravity and high winds. As the captain exited the air lock, he turned and began his descent down the twelve rung ladder. One step at a time as the density of his body was a lot heavier than that of Earth. His body was heavier by two and a half times his weight. If he fell down he would never be able to get back up without assistance. When he reached the bottom of the ladder, he stepped carefully as his feet landed on the surface of Jupiter.

  “This is the first step for mankind on a mission that will revolutionize space travel as we know it today.” Captain Laird says back to the crew as it is also broadcasted back to Earth.

  “Congratulations captain,” Jennifer said over the intercom.

  “Way to go sir,” Commander Rescott said.