He and Jiaying had discussed for a long time what would be best for the mission. Originally, the commander was supposed to join the pilot Francesca in the drill vehicle, since she was an exobiologist. Now she would stay on board the ship with Marchenko, who was not only a doctor but also a trained pilot who had initially been assigned to steer the lander module.
Yes, Francesca can control both the lander and then afterward the drill vehicle. But what if something happens to Valkyrie and the pilot? thought Martin. Of the three remaining astronauts, Jiaying was the only one with experience as a pilot from her time in the Chinese space program. She had ambitiously climbed every step of the career ladder, and finally, as a reward, was given a spot in the Enceladus mission, to be a shining example to others.
As Hayato was more of an engineer by background, while Martin had considerable training in geology, the question of who was to sit in Valkyrie next to Francesca was soon decided—Martin Neumaier, who already had achieved such great things concerning the control of the drill vehicle while back on Earth. Initially, Jiaying had not quite agreed with this. Martin believed her, that this was not based on ambition, but on concern for him, as the journey below the ice doubtlessly would be the most dangerous part of the mission.
“Well, I won’t give a speech,” said the commander, who had been the last one to enter the lander. “But we still owe you something. We have been waiting for a suitable moment to announce the name of our son. This was for various reasons, and we ask you for your understanding.”
Martin saw there were tears in Amy’s eyes.
“I personally had hoped there would be a moment both festive and joyful, but this voyage does not seem to be made for that. And we were a bit afraid you would disagree with our choice of name, find it too solemn or even silly. But now I cannot let Hayato go without wishing him a safe return, also in the name of our son—his son. We will really miss you, Hayato, both me and our son Sol.”
Francesca, who stood next to the couple, hugged them both.
Marchenko nodded. “Good name,” he said, “very practical, nice and short.”
Jiaying first hugged Marchenko, then Amy. It was both congratulations and a farewell.
Martin shook the hands of the two people who would stay behind on ILSE. Amy’s hand felt warm and moist, while Marchenko’s was rather rough.
Hayato was about to hand the baby to Amy, but the commander rejected the gesture.
“Just a moment,” Amy said. She jumped back to the CELSS. She returned a few seconds later. She held five small bouquets of flowers in her hand. They were pansies, with small blue petals. She had secretly made her dream come true. Each of them received one of the bouquets, even Marchenko, who would stay on board the mothership with her. Hayato hugged her one last time and tearfully handed Sol to her. Martin felt warm and fuzzy inside.
Now it was time for retreating. The commander gave Marchenko a signal. He waved to them once more and then disappeared into the hatch.
“Well, get working and come back safely in a few weeks,” Amy said as she turned around and also retreated into the mothership.
Hayato wiped his eyes, went to the hatch on their side, and locked it.
“Mothership hatch locked,” Watson confirmed.
They could take the AI along anywhere. It was distributed among the computers of the ship, the lander, and Valkyrie. Its components communicated with each other on the same radio band the crew used, though not in human language but in bits, and therefore incredibly fast.
Martin sat down. The back of his seat vibrated, so he knew he had better buckle in. The monitor in front of him displayed a diagram of the lander module. At the very front was the engine that would get them safely down and bring them back again. Behind it was the habitat module where they were currently situated, surrounded by fuel tanks and storage modules. One of the storage units contained the laser concentrator that would receive the laser beam emitted by the ship and pass on the energy to Valkyrie via a fiber-optic cable. At the very rear was a steel construction that held the bottle-shaped Valkyrie. Martin thought, Cone, cuboid, and cylinder all in a row—the lander looks a bit as if it has been assembled by a toddler.
“Like a fruit skewer,” Jiaying remarked, who obviously was also looking at the shape of the lander. Martin glanced at her. Her eyes were reddened.
Francesca, who had streaks of makeup down her cheeks, was responsible for the flight. Technically, the flight would be mostly piloted by Watson, but she could always take control if she recognized a danger for the lander.
“Uncoupling from mothership initiated,” the AI said. A sharp, metallic sound could be heard from the outside of the hull. The clamps that had been holding the lander were opening.
“Two seconds braking impulse by main engine.”
The large, cone-shaped engine burned kerosene for two seconds. Since it was aiming in their direction of flight, the impulse decelerated the lander a little bit, which was sufficient to get it into a lower trajectory. The crew carefully increased the distance between lander and mothership, meter by meter.
After about a minute, the engine ignited again briefly. Both Watson and Francesca were satisfied. Then it was time for a longer burn that brought them down to an altitude of four kilometers.
“Radar lock,” Watson now reported. The ground radar had been activated. Martin’s monitor started displaying a false-color image of the surface. Now they needed a last confirmation from the mothership. The repurposed radar antenna was scanning the intended landing site.
“All systems go. Landing site secure,” Watson confirmed.
The craft moved quietly toward the shining white moon. Martin remembered their launch from Earth, during which they had been shaken quite a bit. However, Enceladus possessed no atmosphere to speak of.
“High gate.” Francesca had identified the landing site visually as well. It was now in sight. Martin switched his monitor to optical display. The landscape below them was craggy, as if someone had wildly stabbed a knife into a piece of butter, which was then frozen and covered by snow. It did not look like there were any smooth areas on which to land.
“Watson, last check,” the pilot said.
Their altitude was now three kilometers, which the monitor displayed as 3,000 meters. Due to the mass of Valkyrie, the fuel on board would be just enough to return to the orbit of the mothership. If they descended any lower, they would not be able to abort the mission. Martin felt a lump in his throat.
The AI replied, “All systems go. Deceleration vector as planned.”
We are sinking further, Martin noticed.
“Watson, status of landing struts?” Francesca’s voice was completely calm, though Martin could feel her intense concentration.
“Landing system go.”
“1,000 meters. Preparing to land. Watson, automatic landing activated.”
Martin thought, A completely manual landing in this area would be suicidal. They needed to hit the landing site so there would be enough space for launching Valkyrie.
Francesca continued, “150 meters. Low gate.”
Martin felt the craft lean to the side. His heart started to beat faster. During the last part of the approach, the craft took on a typical rocket position. Control jets adjusted it precisely.
“Prepare to land,” the pilot announced.
Starting at an altitude of about 100 meters, Martin could not see anything on the optical display anymore. The jet exhaust had stirred up ice crystals from the surface. Martin switched to lidar. The lander was aiming exactly at the center of the small plain below them. Despite this, Martin grabbed hold of his seat and felt his palms becoming moist.