Laura nodded. “Enough of you boys flying spaceships and counting heartbeats, it’s time to get down to what we’re really here for. Extra-terrestrial geology!”
Kaz pulled his chair closer and leaned in. The total blackout on news had been holding, and he didn’t want to be overheard.
“Are the two of you ready for everything that could happen tomorrow?”
Laura frowned. “What don’t I know, Kaz?”
“The thing is, we’re not really sure.” He began listing what was on his mind. “We’re hoping to land within easy walking distance of the Soviet rover, to see what’s been interesting them, but it might be a hike, depending where Chad touches down. And Chad is going to have to spend extra time ensuring the cosmonaut stays safe—she’s had no training for a moonwalk. The Russians have asked for some senior politico to talk to her while she’s on the surface, so that will tie up comms for a while. We’ve set schedule aside to place Luke’s body on the surface, and have tried it out in the sim here, but we’re not really sure how long it will take. And a lot of what we say is going to have to be repeated via the interpreter, which will also slow things down.”
He looked at JW. “What did I miss?”
The doctor set his coffee down. “You’re talking best case. We’re gambling that Chad will find a way to work with Svetlana under stress. He’s the only one who can fly the ship, or fix things when they break.” He looked at Kaz. “And we both know Chad’s a . . . perfectionist.”
And maybe something a lot worse, Kaz couldn’t help but think, then cautioned himself to keep his mind open. Just because the sheriff had wanted to dig deeper didn’t mean he had to jump to conclusions. He turned to Laura.
“I’m sorry, but all of this will steal potential science time. We’re really gonna have to prioritize. What’s your best guess about the terrain Chad’ll be walking across?”
Laura stared back at him for a long, sober moment as she processed yet another change in the mission. She said, “It’s in the corner of an old crater called Le Monnier that got inundated with lava at some point long ago. It doesn’t have too many meteor craters in it, so the lava’s fairly young, and flat. There’s likely an even layer of dust on everything, with scattered rocks from more recent impacts. Should be okay for both landing and walking.”
She took a drink of her beer. “Our orbital photos aren’t great, but the most interesting thing we’ve seen nearby is a rille—a long, straight arroyo in the lava plain, just to the west.”
JW asked, “How did it get there?”
“Likely as the lava cooled it contracted. Like mud when it dries out, it sometimes leaves straight cracks.”
Kaz had been thinking. “Any further guesses on one of your holes in the Moon being close by?”
She nodded. “Yes, we’ve been looking at formation models. They’re not common, but there’s a fair chance that there might be some. If so, they’ve been too small to see from orbital cameras.”
He nodded. Chad had been in on those briefings, so if he encountered such a hole it wouldn’t be a surprise. Maybe worth warning the cosmonaut about, though.
“How steep are the sides likely to be?” JW was picturing potential injuries.
“The rille could be quite steep, since it’s more of a crack than a valley, but it’s likely been drifted in along the edges with millions of years of dust and rock. But if there’s a hole, it’s a pure vertical drop, like a well, or a Florida sinkhole. And we have no idea how stable the edges might be. Better to stay clear.”
JW looked at Kaz. “With all the items they removed to save weight, how good will our camera views be?”
Kaz shrugged. “There’s just the color TV camera, deployed on the side to watch them climb down the ladder. It’ll be up to Chad to move that onto a tripod once they’re both outside.”
Laura, imagining how little of the science she hoped for might get done, was looking for options. “How long are you going to let them stay outside?”
JW answered. “That’s determined by how fast they use up their oxygen, and exhale CO2 for the suit to scrub. We have lots of data on Chad, but none on Svetlana, and she may have to work harder since it’s not her own suit. Also, she might not get her biomed sensors attached correctly, so we could be guessing a bit.”
Laura frowned. That wasn’t an answer. “So, how long?”