Yves Giraud - Kahnu

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.

“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 seconds, 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.

“Now, you’re starting to sound just like François. Give those two a chance to land on another world, and they think they’re Gods of the planets!”

“Hey. Wait a minute…” began François.

“You know you’re the only one for me, baby,” said Dedrick to Vera.

“That’s more like it.” She gave him a playful smile.

“Oh, come on you guys, you’re not gonna start this right now, are you? None of that romantic crap, OK? Come on, let’s get to work!” interjected François.

Dedrick looked at his French friend with lassitude and got back to his seat.

“Ok. We need to contact the station and give the rover our coordinates. Check on our exact location while I attempt contact,” said Dedrick to François.

After making a few adjustments to several dials in front of him, Dedrick grabbed the keyboard and started typing a direct message to ARC 2, one of the two rovers waiting for the ship’s arrival at the Mars First outpost.

“Hello ARC 2. This is Mars First One team leader, Dedrick Sokolov, requesting transport assistance.”