Paul Gillebaard: Moon Hoax

Having no writing background and not sure where to start, I met with Ed Gibson to discuss my idea for this book. Ed had written a couple of novels and flown in space. He was very encouraging and gave some wonderful early suggestions and advice. Over the following years, he was always available to address both technical and writing questions. The book would have died in those early days if not for him. So a BIG thanks to Ed. Thanks to Charlie Duke for answering a question that could only be answered by a moonwalker. Thanks to the experts in their field, Ying Li and Kathy Greff. Thanks to Ted for some early ideas for the book and Gus for a meaningful suggestion. Thanks to my editor, Kelly Lynne. She took an unpolished book, and made the words jump off the page. She was a great help and supporter. Thanks to Lola Gillebaard (mom), my second editor. In a simple two line comment, she made a huge impact on the overall story line that proved to be the heart and soul of the book. Finally, I have to thank my wife, Anne. There is no way I would have even typed the first word if it wasn’t for her confidence and belief I could do it. I still scratch my head wondering how she knew I could write a book. She was always there to pick me up whenever I hit a roadblock. No matter the obstacle, her comment was always “just write.” Thank you, I love you with all my heart.

The sweat began to pool on Commander Tang Liwei’s face, causing his space helmet to fog up slightly. Tang sneaked a second to turn his head and rub his nose on a piece of sandpaper placed on the inside of his helmet for such a reason. As he rubbed the sweat off his nose, he couldn’t help but think of the pressure placed on him to get this maneuver right. He and Wen Jungho were going to attempt China’s first moon landing ever in a spacecraft never tested or flown into space. They would be landing on the back side of the moon, never tried before because of the lack of radio contact with Earth. Essentially Tang and Wen would be on their own when landing their spacecraft, making all the decisions themselves if any problems occurred. Tang felt the mission had, at best, a 60 percent chance of success.

They were given only two options by their commanding officer: land on the moon or destroy their spacecraft. Under no circumstance were they to come around from the back side. Those monitoring the flight on Earth with radar would observe the separation between their Lunar Lander and the Lunar Orbiter Module as the two spacecrafts came around the moon, concluding China was in fact trying to land. Tang would have to land the Lunar Lander, nicknamed Jian , in less than a quarter of an orbit on the back side, allowing only a quarter to reconnect with their Lunar Orbital Module, nicknamed Yi , after completing their assignment on the lunar surface. Both maneuvers hosed a ton of fuel.

A destruction button was installed and to be used during their landing attempt if they could not land in the designated time frame set by CNSA, the China National Space Administration, littering the surface with unidentified pieces of the destroyed Lander. As commander, Tang would have no choice but to push the button if that did happen, leaving their fellow taikonaut, Nei Zango, to return to Earth alone in Yi. Of course the world would be told all three taikonauts returned safely. Tang accepted this responsibility and had no problem pushing the destruction button if it ever came down to this. He was a hard-line military man and orders took precedence over anything else.

As the two taikonauts began to go behind the moon, a lonely silence now filled Tang’s helmet. He no longer heard the chatter from Beijing’s Command and Control Center. Instead, the calm and quiet was broken up by only his breathing, rapidly increasing and getting louder. Hearing his own breathing seemed to have a calming effect on him. Hearing only his breathing and nothing else reminded him of the importance of staying alive to complete the mission he had spent years training for. He and his fellow taikonaut, Wen, stood in the zero gravity of the Jian. Both taikonauts were anchored to the floor by spring loaded straps as the Lander sped around the back side of the moon. Nei had just finished taking pictures and video of Jian as it floated away from his spacecraft per his orders from CNSA.

China told the world the purpose of this mission was to go to the moon, not land. The world believed they were still two to three years away from having the capability to land. China had come a long way in the world of space exploration since the development of the Shenzhou spacecraft and the Long March rocket, similar to Russia’s old design of the early ’70s. China had already successfully sent unmanned satellites to the moon, but according to Chinese news reports, CNSA was having troubles completing their Lunar Lander.

China was now ready to send their first manned Shenzhou spacecraft to the moon. Rather than waiting for the completion of the Lunar Lander, China told the world they decided to do their first manned lunar orbit, a good test run before attempting to land. The flight would also allow them to take better 3D images of the lunar surface to determine the best landing site for a future mission. Putting men in lunar orbit would be a huge technological achievement in itself. Only one country had ever sent a man to the moon, and that was the United States. Even Russia had never sent a man beyond Earth’s orbit.

Tang was on a mission of a lifetime, set to be only the thirteenth man to walk on the moon. Only most of the world would never know it, not even his family. His moon walk was to be done in total secrecy. Only a handful of officials and CNSA personnel would ever know of this great feat. On Tang’s return to Earth he would be honored as being part of the first Chinese crew to orbit the moon and would be given a hero’s welcome, but there would be no public recognition of him or Wen ever walking on the lunar surface.

Tang was handpicked for this particular mission by the top brass because he was one of their best taikonauts; he was also chosen for his loyalty to the military and his country. They knew he would put his country before himself, or even his family.

The Jian zipped along at over 1400 meters per second. Tang took one last look at his checklist before stealing a look out the window at his destination below. The deserted moon seemed to be beckoning him to come down and play, like the dirt piles he played in as a kid. He was ready to play.

Tang gave Wen a slight nod before he reached for the hand hold above his head, signaling he would soon be firing the #4 engine. Wen, understanding what was to come, gripped his hand hold. The spacesuits both men wore made moving around difficult, especially with the large, bulky gloves. Tang hovered his gloved finger over the switch that would fire the descent stage engine, sending them down to the moon. Out of radio contact with CNSA, he now relied on the computer to give him the signal when to proceed.

Tang waited patiently, eyeing the indicator light in anticipation of what was to come. He was ready to do this, to land on the desolate surface outside his window. The round plastic light cover he stared at finally illuminated with a bright green color, sending a charge throughout his body. This was the signal he was waiting for, the sign it was now okay to go play. He instantly pressed the switch. A sudden loud noise rocked the spacecraft as the #4 block engine fired, sounding much louder than Tang had experienced in the simulators. Tang’s grip tightened as he struggled to hold on. Since the engine’s outlet faced in the direction in which they were going, when the engine fired it acted like a brake in space, pushing against the ship’s momentum and slowing them down. As the spacecraft reduced its velocity, it began to fall toward the moon. Tang kept a watchful eye on the monitor, making sure the computer shut off the engine once they reached the required delta V. Tang’s eyes never wavered, ready to cut the engine if the computer failed. After a long sixty-eight seconds the engine stopped and a surprising silence and stillness took over. They were now falling toward the moon. The lunar horizon began to appear flat outside Tang’s window, indicating they were getting close to the surface. Everything was going according to plan.