Trappist-1, page 11
part #3 of Mark Noble Space Adventures Series
‘Ten minutes,’ said Anna.
‘Fifteen minutes,’ said Anna.
Haven had a marginally thicker atmosphere than Earth. All we could do was hope for the best.
Images reappeared on the monitor, showing the flanges had done their job. The tank was still heading nose forward, so we were, as yet, not seeing the surface.
‘More forceful jet stream than Mars,’ said Anna.
‘Still stable. Within tolerances. We’ll be through it soon,’ said Chi.
‘Inflatable heatshield gone,’ said Anna. ‘Auto rotation any moment.’
The monitors showed the huge tank swivelling until we saw the land beneath the flanges.
‘Ready for sloughing,’ said Anna.
The flanges dramatically broke away, taking many of the tiles with them.
‘Five thousand metres,’ said Chi.
‘On target,’ said Anna.
The tank was now in wispy low cloud, as its motors fired to maintain its vertical orientation. Then the cloud cover broke.
‘Two thousand metres,’ said Chi.
Now we could see the landing site, the flat plain and shoreline.
‘Hundred metres. Spot on target!’ said Chi. ‘Fifty metres. Legs deploying.’
‘Touchdown!’ said Anna. ‘Motor shutdown. Standing vertical. Sensors read wind at six miles per hour.’
The dust or sand thrown up on landing slowly cleared with the motors now off. We were on the ground. The heat seemed to have vaporised the black material as it cleared its own landing area of the strange plant-like carpet.
The tank had landed on a planet circling another star! The monitors showed us very little, just the landing area and scorched rock. At the fringes was the alien plant life.
‘Completely stable,’ said Anna. ‘Nought point one per cent off vertical. Couldn’t be more perfect.’
The monitor showed a cable falling from the top of the tank then coiling loosely beside the legs.
‘That’s the tethers released,’ said Chi.
The left monitor swivelled and we could take in the scene looking towards the sea.
Bill, Tosh and Mary were now looking over our shoulders. The camera stilled, rotated through ninety degrees and the vista swivelled to horizontal.
‘Wow!’ said Mary.
The plain was certainly flat. In the foreground we saw some small boulders, a larger one in the middle distance. The black substance covered everything in that direction, right down to the water. Gentle waves approached the beach, hardly breaking and running up the shoreline. The sea was dark and oily in appearance, complementing the vegetation.
‘Atmospheric pressure about ten per cent greater than Earth,’ said Tosh. ‘Temperature a cool five C.’
Chi swivelled the camera to look inland.
Beyond the edge of the incinerated circle the plants continued into the distance, where spurs from eroded low hills pointed accusing fingers towards the ocean.
As the land climbed, the plant life became thinner until nothing but bare rock could be seen. Far away, the hills were crested in white, or what passed for white under the red rays of Trappist-1. No shrubs, bushes, trees or any other sign of Earth-like vegetation, nor animal life, but to be fair, animals would likely have been scared away by the tank’s landing engines. Did it mean that this world had evolved just one plant which dominated. Was there other life? Insects, small animals or other creatures not being seen by our cameras? Was the ocean teeming with life as it was on Earth? The cradle of evolution, but with creatures which never ventured out onto the continents. A water world, perchance?
There was only one way to find out.
‘First excursion, Tosh, Bill, Chi and me,’ I said. ‘I need Bill, for his pure physical strength and Tosh because he is also a biologist as well as being a medical doctor. We need to concentrate on finding life.’
We continued to monitor the screens as Chi swivelled and zoomed the two cameras.
I supposed that if there was any way for an alien world to be boring, this would be a prime example. Blacks and browns dominated the scene.
18 Descent
The Rimor was ready. We had enough stores for a couple of weeks plus backup emergency supplies. The cupboards were filled with scientific equipment, containers, microscopes and many electronic sensors and scanners. Unlike the Mars trip, we were also carrying an inflatable boat and a submersible. As Haven had an Earth-like atmospheric pressure, the full-pressure suits were securely stowed. The simple airtight suits would be sufficient for this expedition. Hopefully, we’d be able to breathe the air and discard the backpacks.
Chi occupied the pilot’s seat, with me in the command slot. Behind us were Tosh and Bill. Chi’s pink and yellow mouse-faced childhood cuddly toy sat on top of the dashboard – her mascot. It was called Shooey and she tapped it for good fortune. It smiled back at us, indifferent to our hopes and fears.
‘Separating,’ said Chi.
We heard the undocking noises and through the windows we could see that we were drifting away from Spirit.
Chi applied some gentle thrust to take us to a safe distance.
‘Two thousand metres,’ said Chi. ‘Orientating.’
‘Three, two, one, mark!’ said Mary over the radio.
Chi hit the automatic countdown. Once again we were waiting. In one minute we’d be on our way to the surface.
‘Zero,’ announced Chi and we felt the main engines start. They fired for twenty-five seconds, slowing us down and causing us to enter Haven’s atmosphere.
Once the engines cut off, Chi swung us around and that put the hull in the correct position for atmospheric entry. The Rimor began to vibrate as the hull bit into the fringes of the atmosphere.
The flames and sparks were far more noticeable as we pierced the heavier air of Haven. Outside, the heat shield was gradually vaporising. By the time we were through the worst, only the lightweight polymer-aluminium skin would remain… as long as SpaceX had got it right!
Once through the dangers of entry into the atmosphere, the Rimor became a sophisticated glider, Chi working the flight surfaces to control our angle of descent.
‘Twenty thousand metres,’ said the computer.
Radio blackout was over. ‘Spirit, Rimor here, do you copy? Over,’ said Chi.
‘Copy you,’ replied Mary. ‘Any problems?’
‘No, excellent, gradually slowing.’
We descended rapidly towards the land mass we recognised from orbit.
‘Under Mach 1,’ said Chi.
To the north of the continent was our landing site on the island we’d christened, New Manhattan.
‘Five thousand metres,’ said Chi. ‘New Manhattan visible.’
‘Hey, I can see the tank,’ said Bill from behind me.
The orange structure stood out against the blacks, greys and browns of the landscape below.
‘Powering up,’ said Chi, and we all waited with anticipation to sense the engines coming into play.
‘Under power,’ said Chi.
‘Copy that,’ said Mary from orbit.
The Rimor was now behaving exactly as it had on Mars and during tests on Earth. Chi’s expert hands had it under control as it made its way towards the tank.
Chi banked us around the landing area, giving us excellent views of the sea and adjacent headlands.
‘Happy with that location in front of us?’ asked Chi.
‘Looks good,’ I said. ‘Tosh?’
‘Keep clear of the plants, as that could mark highwater point,’ Tosh said.
‘No problem,’ said Chi, swinging the aircraft around so that it pointed towards the tank. The nose lifted and we came to a halt, maybe ten metres above the ground, a hundred and fifty metres from the tank. Chi eased off the power and we settled gently onto a plant-free area thirty metres from the water.
‘Engines cut,’ said Chi.
‘Copy that,’ said Mary.
‘Venting engines. Stable landing. Rimor has landed on Haven,’ said Chi. ‘I’ll relocate us nearer the tank when we return from the first excursion.’
In front of us was a strange world of subdued colours. The rocks were mainly dark brown, looking like sandstone, but there were grey outcrops further up the hills. The vegetation, which now looked more dark greenish-grey than black, covered the land up to about thirty metres from the water, further in some areas. Perhaps it couldn’t survive isolated on the land.
‘Stay, no stay?’ I asked.
‘Systems fine, stay,’ said Chi.
Tosh looked at his scientific console, ‘Stay,’ he said.
‘Stay,’ said Mary who could see all of the ship’s vital signs from Spirit’s sensors.
‘Okay, prepare for EVA,’ I said.
We unstrapped ourselves and began to don the lightweight airtight suits. Much easier in the cramped space than the pressure suits had been on Mars.
‘All sealed and checked?’ I asked.
‘Yes,’ came from each of the others.
‘Opening the inner airlock door,’ I said.
We crowded into the small chamber.
‘Inner door sealed,’ I said.
Normally we would now open the outer airlock, but we’d put in place a contamination system. I pressed a red button on the wall. Disinfectant flooded the airlock killing any Earth bugs then the outer door swung away from the ship.
The first thing I noticed was the cold. These suits were insulated, but we were not using the heating facility as it meant we would have more time before recharging the backpacks.
I was first into the opening and feeling for the top step. The first human to set foot on a planet in another star system.
‘I’m taking the pressure off all future astronauts, by not saying anything about our arrival on Haven, other than this: we all know how momentous this is, but its importance reflects the skill and knowledge of all humankind, not that of any particular individual,’ I told the others.
Once we were all down the ladder, we looked down at the strange plant.
‘Let’s get the tethers into place,’ I said.
We walked towards the tank, Bill carrying the pneumatic stapler. The tank was in good condition. The tiles had sloughed off as required and the surface was now fully exposed, ready for lift-off. The tank was as light as a feather, its weight and stability purely down to the liquid hydrogen and oxygen it contained. An examination of the engines showed that they were intact and undamaged. The legs were in good condition too and, after the disaster on Mars, extended much further than they had on the red planet. The tank had settled to just one point one degrees off vertical which was quickly compensated for by Bill using the jacks.
We picked up the ends of the tethers, took them to their maximum extension and Bill stapled them to the ground. The whole exercise took less than an hour.
Using my tablet, I signalled the device on the top of the tank and it took up the slack so that the tethers were taut.
Tosh opened his case of equipment while Chi and I examined the underside of the Rimor for any damage. The heat tiles had been stripped away by the friction of entry into the atmosphere followed by the force of the wind while we were still supersonic, exactly as planned. All the brackets and fittings had survived the journey and were ready to latch on to the tank for lift-off.
‘Air looks breathable,’ said Tosh, examining a small tablet attached to his atmosphere sampler.
‘We won’t sample it yet,’ I said.
‘No. I’ll need to conduct microbiological tests on it first anyway. We don’t want to be breathing in any pathogens,’ Tosh said, peering into his microscope. ‘I’ll also want to test how our bacteria react with the plant. We don’t want to poison any alien lifeforms. Very strange, this plant.’
‘How?’ I asked.
‘It contains thousands of micro filaments. The dark colour makes best use of the red sunlight and the filaments appear to move water from frond to frond,’ said Tosh. ‘Nothing like it on Earth.’
‘It’s slippery too,’ said Bill, grinding his shoe on a patch at the base of the tank. ‘It reminds me of that horrible algae you find growing on boat slipways. Treacherous.’
‘Yes, indeed,’ said Tosh. ‘We’ll need to be careful when walking on it.’
‘Any other life?’ I asked.
‘There are microbes, but I can’t see any creepy-crawlies. I’m going to get some water samples,’ Tosh said and made his way gingerly towards the shore.
Suddenly, he lost his footing and went down heavily. ‘Damn it. Really slippery,’ he said, getting back to his feet.
‘No suit damage?’ I asked.
He studied the suit environment monitor which was attached to his sleeve. ‘No, no problems.’
Walking crablike, one step at a time, ensuring each foot was planted firmly before moving the other, he reached the sea. He scooped up some water into several sample flasks.
Returning to his equipment box, he put samples into his electronic microscope.
‘Ha, yes. There is sea life. I can see some plankton. That suggests there are likely to be predators. The pH is 9.8 which is higher than Earth and salinity here is 1.032. That’s to be expected with the longer period of land erosion Haven has probably experienced.’
‘Do you want the dinghy unpacked?’ asked Bill.
‘I don’t know,’ said Tosh, half smiling, half serious. ‘Not sure I want to venture onto the water in an inflatable boat until I know a little more. Don’t fancy becoming dinner for a giant squid or something.’
I laughed and walked over to him. We watched these tiny shrimp-like creatures moving around in his water sample, like daphnia or copepods in pond water.
‘Fascinating. Alien life on our first planet, and larger than single cells,’ I said and stood up. ‘Okay, Bill. Can you unpack the dinghy. Let’s get out into the bay and see what coastal life there is. I presume you’re not really objecting, Tosh?’
‘No, of course not, it’s you two who’ll be in it. I’ll film you getting eaten!’ he said and laughed.
‘We’ll take care,’ I said. Could there be a danger?
The dinghy was compressed into a compartment under the lander. Bill extracted it, connected it to the Rimor’s pump and it gradually expanded itself, like the xenomorph in Alien, opening out and extending into a six-metre vessel.
Bill attached the small electric outboard motor to the rear of the boat, Tosh gave us some sample flasks, and I removed the seascope from another compartment. We waded into the shallows, trying our best not to slip on the black algae-like carpet.
We climbed in and Bill applied the power. The inflatable moved smoothly through the oily surface of the bay. About fifty metres out, Bill stopped the boat and I used the seascope to look down into the water over the side of the vessel. The seascope was an open-topped lightweight cylinder the size of an extra-large saucepan but with a glass bottom. Once it broke the surface and you looked down into it, everything beneath became clearly visible. The simplest tools were often the best.
‘Anything?’ asked Bill.
‘The same plant seems to cover most of the rocks, but the action of the waves keeps it from covering the sand, which is more brown than yellow.
‘Ah, a fishlike creature,’ I said. ‘Move us out another ten metres.’
The whirr of the motor pushed the boat farther from shore. Bill stopped it again and I looked back into the sea.
‘More fish. Pass me the camera,’ I said.
I took photographs. The animals were four to six centimetres long, torpedo shaped with a long fin running the entirety of each side. The fins rippled along the animal’s whole length to create forward motion. They were quite rapid on occasion.
‘Nothing any bigger?’ asked Bill.
‘No, just minnows. Here, have a look,’ I said, passing the seascope back to him.
I surveyed the surface which stretched into the distance. It was unbroken, exhibiting only the gentlest of swells. Looking back to shore, even as the waves reached the land there was barely any breaking action.
‘Crustacean,’ said Bill.
I joined him at the seascope and we observed a shelled creature making its way across the sand, stopping occasionally to graze on the black algae.
‘Eight legs,’ said Bill. ‘Like a crab, but the body is elongated similar to a lobster without claws. Seems to be feeding on the algae.’
‘Whoa! Did you see that?’ I asked, looking out into the bay. A distinct shape had broken the surface about two hundred metres away.
‘No. What?’
‘Get us back to shore. Quickly!’ I shouted.
Bill returned to the tiller and the motor started, taking us deeper before turning towards shore. This time we both saw the creature break the surface.
‘Wow. That’s big,’ said Bill, and turned the motor to full power.
Twenty seconds later the bow hit shore. We quickly climbed along it and got onto the slimy beach, pulling the inflatable behind us.
We stood and looked out to sea.
‘Tosh, Chi, did you see it?’ I asked.
‘Yes,’ said Chi arriving from down the beach. ‘It looked like a seal or something.’
‘No, I looked up too late,’ said Tosh. ‘I did warn you about giant squid!’
‘I thought you were joking. Chi, did you see a head?’ I asked.
‘No, nothing but its back.’
‘There it is again,’ said Tosh, pointing down the beach to the left.
I filmed it as it swam up and down the shoreline, as if frustrated that we’d got away.
‘I guessed there could be predators,’ said Tosh. ‘Wouldn’t fancy that thing surfacing underneath the dinghy.’
‘Or coming straight through it,’ I agreed. I considered we’d had a near miss. ‘Thank goodness we weren’t any further out.’
‘Think that rules out any further use of the dinghy,’ said Tosh.
‘Tie it up, Bill. You want to get to the ice cap, Tosh?’
‘Well, one of those glaciers we spotted will do,’ he replied.
‘What about the air? Should we sample it?’ I asked.
‘Not yet, Mark,’ said Tosh, examining his sampler. ‘We need to remain suited until I get a clear reading on all of the trace gases and microbes.’
