Baby Steps

They say the journey matters more than the destination. I disagree. The destination is everything.

- Alex O’Hearn, biologist, Odyssey I

We managed to put all six wheels and eight feet on the ground without a hitch. It was flawless, actually. After all the bizarre contingencies we trained for, all the obscure error messages we familiarized ourselves with, and all the improbable weather conditions we learned to grapple with, the real flight was refreshingly vanilla. 26°C, 88% humidity, strong but steady northeasterlies near our landing site, consistent with Vander’s predictions…couldn’t have asked for better.

The atmosphere outside Little Iliad was thick with oxygen, water, ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and various poisonous gases. The atmosphere inside the shuttle was thick with excitement. The whole crew was in high spirits. Vander reestablished contact to congratulate us and wish us a safe and productive expedition. Luo was too airsick to dare open his mouth and speak, but he flashed me a shaky grin before disappearing into his spew-bag. Rashid, who was brooding over his breakfast just a few hours ago, was back to his usual splendid humor. Alex peeled his face from the side window for a moment to give him a thump on the back. “Good landing, Andy,” he said. I still don’t know why he calls him that.

No one remembers who set foot on Ilian soil first. No one cares. We all did it together. We’d credit Vander if we could get away with it, but he surrendered that chance so he could conduct some of the most important planetary research from his unique vantage point.

It’s become sort of an astronaut tradition to riff on Neil Armstrong’s famous words, with Bruce McCandless II on his spacewalk, Anzhelika Zarubina on Mars, Gregor van der Berg at the discovery of ancient Martian life that catalyzed the search for life beyond, and finally, the lucky technician who downloaded the first images from the Beagle orbiter that started it all.

Rashid had the honor this time, and his delivery was nothing short of inspiring. “And that’s four small steps for mankind, and the last step for the poor creature you’ve got under your foot, Alex.” Words can’t describe the look on Alex’s face when he peeled the remains of our first alien contact off his boot. In short, our landing was graceful…what followed, not so much.

- Erin Carellos, engineer, Odyssey I