Chapter 4

NO MORE TEXTING

Landing on Mars the next day was totally out of this world! Raj, Yuna, Cozzie, and I sat buckled into our seats in the control pod as Mom steered the massive station toward the surface.

The station is made up of clear, round pods. Each one is connected to the others by clear tubes. The pods can be arranged in lots of different ways to change the outside shape of the station. They had been arranged in the shape of a spaceship for our long trip to Mars, but now they changed position as we lowered to the surface.

“What’s it doing?” I asked Mom.

“The pods were packed tightly together during our trip here,” she said. “I’m shifting them around so they will spread out across the Martian surface. Each pod will anchor into place and help keep the station secure.”

The station slowly lowered until it made contact with the Martian surface. By spreading out the pods, the station covered a much larger area.

We gazed out on the view and no one said anything. I could hardly believe my eyes. We were really on Mars. But I couldn’t help thinking it was a little creepy. In every direction rocks, red dust, and hills stretched as far as I could see. We were all alone and very far from home. I remembered what Apollo said about panic and fear and got an uneasy feeling.

Mom broke the silence. “When you unbuckle, remember that there is gravity on Mars. Don’t expect to float around anymore. You’ll be walking again, and it’s been a while, so be careful as you get your legs used to it.”

She unbuckled and got up slowly.

I did the same. I felt pretty unstable. My legs were kind of wobbly. I had to hold on to my chair for a few seconds to get used to standing again. The bottom of our pod had flattened out to become a floor. “Check out the bottom of the pod,” I said.

“The lower part of each pod flattens out when we land to give us a floor to walk on,” Mom said. “Otherwise we’d have to walk on curved surfaces throughout the station.”

Tia texted. She must have been watching the live stream back at the training center: Congratulations!

I felt kind of bad for Tia. I knew she would do anything to be with us on Mars. I snapped a few pictures and sent them to her and Allison in a group text. I was a little worried they’d only make Tia jealous, but I wanted to include them. I wrote: Getting used to walking again.

Then I group-texted Raj and Yuna: What do you think?

They texted right back.

Yuna wrote: Amazing!

Then Raj wrote: Can’t wait to check it out!

My phone buzzed again. It was Allison: I can’t believe you’re on Mars!

I looked up and noticed Mom staring at me. “What?” I asked.

“We’ve just landed on Mars, and you’ve hardly looked up from your phone.”

“It’s the only way I can communicate with Raj and Yuna,” I said.

“I realize that, but constantly looking at your phones is very distracting for you guys.”

“I know, but it’s the only way. We need some other kind of technology. Something that can translate what each of us says without having to look at our phones all the time.”

“You’re smart kids. You’ll figure something out.”

I looked at Mom and then at Raj and Yuna. “I think I might have an idea.”

“I knew you would,” Mom said.

I texted Raj and Yuna: Follow me.

We walked off toward Professor Will’s pod. It was so strange to walk again. We all kept giggling. We didn’t have to say anything. We were experiencing the same thing, and we all found it funny. I knew we needed a better way to have that connection without using our phones.

When we got there, Professor Will was under a Martian Master. He popped his head out when he heard us.

“Hello, Starr!” he said.

“Hey, Professor. I know you’re really busy, but I wondered if you might be able to help us with something.”

“Sure! What do you have in mind?”

“We’ve been texting each other the entire trip, and that’s kind of worked up until now,” I said. “But I think we’re going to have a hard time once we’re on Mars. Also, Mom is concerned that we’re always looking at our phones.”

“What do you kids have in mind?”

I texted Raj and Yuna: The professor is going to help us communicate better. I’m getting tired of texting, how about you?

They both texted back that they were tired of it too.

Raj added: We need some kind of audio translator. Texting is slow and distracting. I’ve had several ideas too. Does the professor have a supply room?

I texted Raj to say I was thinking the same thing. Then I explained what we had in mind to Professor Will and asked him if we could tinker around in his supply room. The professor scratched his head a few times and then said, “Right this way.”

The supply room was bigger than I expected. There were lots of containers holding all kinds of electronic equipment. Raj looked like he was in heaven.

Yuna texted: We need a device that translates what we say, not only what we type.

Raj nodded and typed: It needs to have a voice feature too so we don’t have to keep looking at our phones.

I typed: What if we put it in our space suit helmets?

“They’re in my workshop,” the professor said, looking over my shoulder at my phone. “I’ll get them for you.”

Raj immediately started taking apart his phone. I grabbed a container full of wires. Yuna took out a notebook from her backpack and started drawing a design. I had a feeling we were on to something big.