Sample of Work - Destination Europa
1 - Destination Europa
“Today marks truly a historic event for America, and a huge step forward in space exploration. After years of planning, we’re finally landing humans on Europa. Isn’t that crazy Paul! I distinctly remember the first time we landed on the Moon. Now we’re already going to Europa!”
“I definitely agree Bill. It’s just amazing to me how far we’ve advanced in spaceflight. I mean, this...”
The streets lay empty, the shops quiet and deserted. Not a single soul was outside. A newspaper wrinkled, silently blowing in the wind. A crow flapped noisily, landing in the middle of a road. Wind stirred trash and leaves in a vacant square. Office buildings were blank and empty, devoid of workers. A stray cat slinked down empty pavement. Slow breezes blew through abandoned towns. On the beach a lone radio echoed in unison with the waves. Water gushed out of many fountains, untouched, undisturbed, left alone. Clouds lazily ambled across the upper blue expanse. The sun filtered through them, revealing lone dirt roads and open fields. The pigeons busily occupied bare sidewalks. One of mankind’s most momentous events was about to occur. It was the first time humans would land on Europa.
Families gathered around their televisions, closely listening. No one spoke a word, as their eyes remained glued to the screen. Everybody, all over the world, eagerly awaited the landing of Europa 1.
“Before the landing we’ve brought on the famed scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson. So Neil, for all those non-science people like me, what exactly is Europa?”
"Thanks for me having me Bill. Europa is one of the four moons of Jupiter. It’s what you’d call a Jovian moon because it’s in the outer solar system. The planet it orbits, Jupiter, is a Jovian planet. It’s quite different from Earth, which is a terrestrial planet.”
“What’s the difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets?”
“Well Bill, you see, in the inner solar system you have the terrestrial planets. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The terrestrial planets are rocky and smaller. In the outer solar system you have the jovian planets. These planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are gaseous and quite large.”
“Interesting. So what makes Europa so special? Why are we going there?”
“Europa is definitely a unique case. It’s surface is solid ice, but underneath is where the magic is. Many scientists believe that there is a vast ocean underneath the thick ice. It is speculated that Europa’s ocean has twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of water!”
“Yeah, and many believe that there might be life in that massive ocean. The goal of the Europa 1 mission is to drill through the ocean ice, into the water below. Maybe a new life form will be discovered.”
“One last question Neil. In your opinion, what makes this occasion so momentous?”
“We’ve explored Mars. We’ve explored the far reaches of the solar system. We’ve even ventured outside of the solar system with Voyager 1. But with humans? No. The farthest we’ve ever sent humans is to the Moon. And that was during the cold war. That was centered around competition, and proving how great America is. We we’re trying to outdo Russia. Now we’re doing the same thing, but solely for the sake of science. Yes, we have sent probes all over the place, but we’ve never ventured that far as a species. We were meant to explore. Humanity is meant to travel among the stars. Space is the next frontier.”
2 - The Crash
The thick ice shattered violently, a million shards drifting silently into the perpetual night. Metal crumpled, intensely splintering upon impact. A port window exploded into multiple fragments. Alarm lights urgently blinked, lighting up dark corridors. Thick smoke seeped into the command room. Fire engulfed the crew quarters. Wires and machinery snapped and crackled, and an electrical maelstrom ensued. Computer gauges and lights went haywire. An oxygen tank hissed loudly as air rapidly seeped out of it. The spacecraft quickly rebounded back up into the impenetrable dark. It returned to the surface, smashing through a glacier. After rolling quite a few times, Europa 1 settled against a massive cliffside.
3 - Awakening
John slowly awoke in the dark, slumped against a smooth metal wall. Red lights occasionally blinked, revealing twisted and shattered metal. Dense smoke obscured most of the room. He coughed loudly, hazily observing his surroundings. Something wet and thick oozed down the side of his head. John weakly reached up, his hand shaking from exhaustion, feeling his forehead. Red covered most of his palm. Out of shock and bewilderment John attempted to stand up. The room instantly began to whirl around him. He slumped back down on the floor, resting his back against the wall. Thinking quickly, John tore off a large part of his t-shirt, tying it around the gash. He stood up again, stumbling forward into the wall. Eventually the hatch came into view. Dimly lit red lights illuminated a small round window and thick lock mechanism. John limped over to it. He leaned into the cold metal, his vision almost blurring into blackness. John weakly tried to turn the handle. It wouldn’t budge. Frantically, he searched around in the darkness. The smoke was worsening. Coughing violently, John searched next to the door. The emergency lighting revealed a small fire extinguisher. He ripped it off the wall, feeling his way back to the hatch. John slammed it against the handle numerous times. The lock eventually shattered, falling to the ground with a clang. The thickly bolted door slowly slid open. Stumbling out into the hallway, John began to slowly feel his way down a dark corridor.
4 - The Command Room
John immediately made his way to the command tower. The pitch dark was occasionally lit up by dim red lighting. Broken electrical cords hung down from the ceiling, sparks fizzing out of them. In varying areas pipes and metal panels covered the floor. Large gashes in the white paneling opened up into black storage rooms below. In places these massive holes stretched across whole corridors, with their sharp twisted metal edges.
John eventually reached the command room. The door was latched, and the sirens blared loudly. John peered in through the window. The main port window was completely shattered, revealing the icy outer wasteland. The other astronauts’ heads slumped into their laps, completely unmoving. An emergency message loudly repeated itself in between the sound of sirens.
“The command module is compromised. The command module is compromised. The command module is compromised.”
“Damn! God Damnit!”
John stood there silently for some time, fear and panic invading his mind. After some time he came up with a plan. It was dangerous, but a plan nevertheless. He needed a way to quickly contact people back on Earth. John knew that if he didn’t get help soon, he was doomed to a cold lonely death. The command module was ruined, so it was impossible to use the ship’s main communication system. The only way to reach the communications center would be to use portable communication equipment. But that would also require him to venture out on the frozen surface. After some thought, John decided that it was the only option. Another terrifying thought immediately entered his mind. This realization chilled John to the core. Engineer John J. Dumont was the only survivor of Europa 1, and the only man to ever venture out onto Europa’s surface.
5 - The Alien Vessel
John trudged out onto the ice, equipment cases in both hands. He glanced down at his suit panel, noting the oxygen levels. Looking back up, John observed his surroundings. Chills went down his spine, and John was filled with a deep sense of awe and amazement. Europa’s surface was unlike anything he had seen before. Magnificent cliffs of ice rose up hundreds of feet above. Jagged edges of ice angled in all directions. The sun was a bright circle over the barren landscape. The nearest cliff towered over Europa 1. Gaping caves in its side led deep into darkness. Jagged triangles pointed toward the void above. The ship was completely dwarfed underneath the magnificence of the closest cliffside.
Breaking out of his daze, John quickly began to set up the equipment. He was almost finished attaching the power packs when a light caught his attention. The bright beam of light emerged over the nearest glacier. It rose slowly, a second appearing slowly after it. Then a third beam, even brighter, rose in unison with the other two. John stumbled back, covering his eyes. The dimly lit Europa 1 was completely illuminated in incandescent light. The blindingly bright light seemed to engulf everything. A dark silhouette emerged. It slowly moved toward John, its head glowing a strange color. The silhouette silently approached him and then stopped. Its wrinkled grey hand reached out. Shaking violently with fear John reached out, shaking the figure’s dark hand, and the silhouette nodded slowly in the calm stillness.