Chapter 8

While Commander Best and the crew readied V2 for landing, the Space Kids gazed at Mars orbiting below them.

The planet’s thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon did nothing to conceal the pink, orange, and red hues of the mysterious and unfamiliar world. Rather than having easily discernible masses of green land and blue water like Earth, Mars appeared to be one entire chunk of dry rock, dirt, and dust.

Like Earth, Mars had polar ice caps, volcanoes, mountains, canyons, weather, and even seasons. But that was where the comparison ended. There was no greenery, no forest coverings, no animals. Some evidence suggested there had once been water on the planet hundreds of thousands of years ago, but there were currently no waterways, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Not yet anyway.

In time, it was hoped the Alpha Colony might be able to generate air, water, and crops so that Mars became inhabitable and even self-sufficient. In recent months, there had been significant developments in the conditions enjoyed by the scientists and researchers living and working on the far-flung galactic outpost.

The Alpha research facility had grown to accommodate around eight permanent personnel. Since colonisation seven years ago, around two hundred scientists, explorers, officials, and their families had called the planet home at one time or another. But the truth was, Mars remained a hostile planet. The latest setbacks and this mission showed that.

The only way life could be sustained on Mars at present was beneath a gigantic glass dome. It used a mix of solar and nuclear power to run the various machinery required to support the colony and to create enough oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere to support the colonists.

A huge amount of the power produced went to creating oxygen and controlling gravity within the dome. Outside the dome, the atmosphere remained unbreathable, and the natural gravity of the planet sat at only thirty-eight per cent of that on Earth. Fun if you wanted to do some superhero bouncing and bounding, but unhelpful if you were trying to work.

As V2 hurtled towards the Martian surface, Olga tried to connect with the colony once more. Again, there was no answer.

‘Warning! Sensors detect strong solar winds,’ V2 said. ‘Abort landing!’

‘Stay the course,’ Commander Best said. ‘We must complete this mission.’

Nash shot Raj and KC a look of trepidation, but he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t up to him to question the commander.

‘The winds must be interfering with Alpha’s communication systems,’ Olga said.

‘I sure hope that’s the only reason for their silence,’ Felix said.

‘Me too,’ Orson agreed.

V2 continued plummeting through the Martian atmosphere, the shuttle and its inhabitants shaking with the force.

‘Warning! Solar winds are causing damage to outer shields,’ V2 said.

‘I said, stay the course!’ Commander Best insisted.

‘Jane, perhaps you should reconsider,’ Orson said.

‘It’s Commander Best to you and don’t question me!’ the commander snapped. ‘We’re landing this craft so strap yourselves in. This could get hairy.’

The spacecraft spun around and around and continued to shake and rattle while Commander Best fought to maintain control.

‘Navigation instruments damaged,’ V2 informed the crew.

‘We’ve blown off course,’ Orson said. ‘We’re miles from the landing site.’

‘I can’t see where we’re going!’ Felix shouted.

‘Shield malfunction,’ V2 said. ‘Outer shell compromised.’

Alarms sounded. Nash gripped tightly onto his seat, his knuckles white from the effort. Cooper’s extra-tech will see us through, Nash told himself. It has to.

Orson glanced back at Nash and his friends. ‘Brace for impact, kids.’

The three friends held each other’s hands, staring grimly ahead. Landing on Mars was complicated at the best of times, even on the specially cleared and flattened landing site near the colony. But elsewhere, the terrain across Mars was rocky and jagged. Large cracks lined the planet’s surface, which was filled with obstacles including rough boulders, cliffs, and massive impact craters from asteroids and comets. If V2 hit one of those, the mission would be over, and lives might be lost.

With a huge bang and a sickening crunch, V2 crash landed. Nash’s entire body was jolted from the impact, his head whipped forwards then back. His hands and arms went wide, and his feet were flung high in the air before coming down and hitting the shuttle floor with a painful thud.