Mission Mars: Satellite Explosion
By: Dishita Gohil
It was my dream ever since I was little to be an astronaut. Space has always fascinated me. I also wanted to be an engineer. Being part of the “Satellite Group” is my dream job. We go on missions to either build and deploy satellites or fix them. My father, Neil Armstrong, was the first to go on the moon, and now I want to be the first to go to Mars.
My name is Nate, by the way. I have been training for 4 years with a carefully chosen class of 4 others. We have Amy. She is pretty hardcore. One time, on a Satellite Deploy mission, the Satellite Booster machine wasn't working. So instead of helping, she kicked the steel door down, while Karen was trying to fix it. Karen is pretty smart. She is always at the top of our class. There is also Jake. He always tries to raise morale by these dumb parties. He is always dancing at some point. We also have Tammy. She has no emotion. She is just a straightforward person. One time, on a dangerous practice mission to the moon, we had a group hug, and she filed a complaint to H.R. That's my team. We haven’t ever been on a serious mission. But we have never experienced anything more dangerous than this one…..it's time I tell you my story.
I woke up and rubbed my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to go back to bed but we had some weird emergency meeting. At 6 am. On a Sunday. I reluctantly dragged myself out of the room and into the washroom. Then, (not to my surprise) Jake greeted me with a hug.
“I had the best dream. It was about marshmallows and guess what?”
“What?” I asked annoyed and wanting this conversation to be over.
“You were there! Saving the day!”
The alarm blared with our CEO on the P.A.:
“Emergency meeting NOW.” We quickly got ready, and rushed out of the bathroom, running to the control center. Jake and I arrived and met the girls there, already ready. The entire command center was present. I knew this was not like a normal meeting. This was a big one.
“This is a very important meeting. I have to tell you with great sadness, that our satellite that's orbiting Mars is going to explode.” Jake and I exchanged looks.
“It’s spraying electricity everywhere, and if we don’t fix it in time, it will be the end of humanity. Unfortunately, it cannot be fixed by a machine. A team will have to go. Who would like to volunteer?” I was very surprised. And the next thing I knew, the rest of my team was raising their hands up.
“Raise your hand Nate.” snapped Amy.
“Yeah. You have always wanted to go on a mission to Mars, and this may be your only chance,” said Jake. Knowing that Jake had a point, I agreed.
“Well then, I guess you all are going. Be ready by tomorrow.” said our CEO. And just like that, I was going to Mars.
The next day, my team had to wake up at 6:00 to get ready. We had to wear our spacesuits (which took like a million years since Amy refused to wear one, saying it was too ugly) and at last, we had to say our goodbyes to everyone. I called my parents. My dad answered first and told me that he was very proud that I was going to go somewhere no one had ever gone before. On the other hand, my mom started crying, and told me to come back home, and not go on the mission. She was worried, and I understood why. She said no one ever came back from Mars, but my dad and I assured her that I would be fine. After the goodbyes, we all headed into the spaceship. Only a couple of people were watching us take off since the mission was happening on short notice. As we all got in, I could tell everyone was terrified. Maybe except Amy. This was our first real mission and the most dangerous in space mission history.
“I can’t!” I said, “this is too scary. We could lose our lives.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” said Amy, clearly annoyed. “We all just have to stick together, and always remember our training, and how long we have waited to go on a real mission. And of course, you have to listen-”
“To me!” everyone except Amy said. And then everyone rolled their eyes (except Tammy of course) and sat in our seats. The countdown started. I was so nervous, but I knew that we had been trained, and we would be fine.
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, take off!” and then, I was off on my first mission
I was the first to see it. Earth, from outer space. It was so beautiful. You could see the blue water, and the green land. The white clouds above it. I was astonished. It was just like I imagined. Amy, Jake, Tammy and Karen and I all stared out the window.
“There shouldn’t be any gravity,” said Karen curiously. “We should be floating.”
“We won't be because the breaking satellite is already affecting the gravitational force around it,” said Amy. “Shouldn’t you know this?”
That's when we all started arguing. We were fighting so much, that we didn't even notice what we were approaching.
Amidst all the fighting, Amy said shakily, “Guys?” while pointing at the window.
The group looked out the window. Karen was terrified.
“A region of gravitational acceleration that-”
“A black hole.” interrupted Amy.
“Quick! Steer this rocket to the right. The power of the black hole may not be enough to pull us because of the broken satellite.” said Karen
“Whatever. Who cares if we die. This mission sucks anyway.” said Tammy.
“No one asked you, Tammy.” said Jake. While they were all arguing, I quickly ran to the steering wheel and yanked it to the right. You must be thinking, What happened? Did you guys get sucked up by the black hole? Think logically. If I was sucked up by a black hole, I wouldn't be telling this story right now. We did survive, thanks to me. I yanked it just in time, and we barely missed the black hole. Again, thanks to me.
Everyone ignored each other. No one talked. Eventually, we all fell asleep. Two hours later, I woke up. No one else was awake, so I woke everyone. We had reached Mars. We all discussed the plan. The plan so far was that we would go out and try fixing it.
“What about the spraying electricity? It’s everywhere.” said Karen
“We have to take the risk. If something messes up, there is a red button that we could press to get the satellite to self destruct, but once activated, we only have two minutes to get away.” said Jake.
“Well, we could try fixing it, but just in case we have to activate the red button, someone will have to stay here in the rocket to activate the button. Once it gets activated, one of us just has to press the button and get out of there."
"I will stay here. Just tell me or give me a signal. I will be ready." said Karen.
“And I will press the button,” said Jake. We all looked at Jake. We knew that he knew that this was a dangerous task. But he was very stubborn, so no one argued. It was time to put the plan into action.
We all got ready to go. Jake, Tammy, Amy, and I all went outside the spaceship and started moving towards the satellite. Karen stayed inside and waited for a signal.
“We have to figure out what’s wrong with it. Why it’s spraying electricity.” said Jake. He went toward the satellite. And at the moment the electricity wasn’t spraying on his side, he dove towards it.
“OMG! The whole inside of this satellite is burnt!” yelled Jake, as he tried to fix it.
“Get out of there!” I screamed. Jake threw himself out of the range of electricity. Just as he reached towards us, a shot electricity hit him.
“Jake!” we all screamed. His limp body floated close to us. I checked his heartbeat.
“He’s alive,” I exclaimed. “We need to get him to the spaceship. And whoever goes, tell Karen to activate the button”
“I will take him,” said Tammy, as she took Jake towards the ship. All of a sudden, tons and tons of electricity started shooting out at once. Making it in would mean no coming out. It was a one-way ticket. I looked at Amy. I knew what she was thinking, but I couldn’t let anyone die. Amy jumped for it, but jumped towards her, and pushed her away. We started pushing and shoving each other, as she tried to jump into the electricity, and while I tried to stop her.
“Let me go in!” screamed Amy.
“NO WAY! THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY!” I screamed back. And that was when she pushed me so hard, that I was too far away from her. And then she did it. The one thing I will always remember, and always regret.
“AMYYYYYYY! NOOOOOOO!” I screamed. She took one look at me and jumped in. She got to the button and just as she was going to press it, a strike of electricity hit her. She hit the satellite while hitting the button. And then her eyes closed, and she fell over. I saw her lifeless body float into space. There was no getting her back now. It was over.
I silently floated towards the rocket and went inside. The others all looked at me.
“Did you guys hit the button?” asked Tammy. I didn’t know how to tell them. Jake was still passed out, and Amy was dead. I couldn’t.
“Yes,” I said, barely holding back the tears. They both celebrated.
“Where’s Amy?” asked Karen. And I started crying. They both ran to me, and then, everything went black. When I next woke up, Jake was awake too. They told me that the satellite had self-destructed and that we saved humankind. And then I remembered what had happened. I told them everything. They all stared at me, and Karen started crying. While Tammy comforted her, me and Jake went out to see if we could find Amy’s body. We did, and we brought it back.
“Oh Amy!” cried Karen. Tammy didn’t say anything. She just stood there, staring at Amy, no expression on her face.
“Let’s go home.” said Jake. As he turned on the spaceship, it wouldn’t move. We checked the gas tank, and you can guess, there was no gas.
It's been a couple of years now, since the mission. We live on Mars now, starting a new generation. It's been a long time, and we all miss Amy a lot. I will never forget how Amy died, and I will always regret letting her go and press the button. Lifes good, and we all live happily together.
----End----
