Arra's Flight Log

[nipulsansei]

So, today we prepare to enter Duna orbit. I have to admit, I'm a bit scared; no one's ever tried this before... well that much should be obvious, right? But what I mean is, our ship, the E3, while it might have been to the Mun and back, and to Minmus and back, something like landing on Duna is completely different.

Naris tells me it's fine, she's gone over all of the data from the probes we've been shooting at Duna, and she expects it to be just like landing on Kerbin, just with fifty percent more thrusters and one-hundred percent less chance of a water landing. How I wish I shared her optimism.

Miphe is her usual self, bubbly and enthusiastic. She's so hopped up about the mission that I doubt she even cares about the risks involved. Just yesterday she was all smiles, crowing about how she'd finally get a chance to do something, i.e. repack the 'chutes after we land. When I noted that we might not even land in one piece, I was booed and told that Naris knows what she's doing.

Yes, it is true that Naris had stuck every landing she's attempted - with one exception; the Kerbin highlands. Landing on a hill, at a steep angle, with a ship like the E3, means that the ship isn't taking off again. And last I looked at the ProbeSat images, Duna looks like nothing more than one big, slanted hillside, just waiting to topple a ship.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by Naris, who tells us to buckle up. We just have time to strap ourselves in before she hits the thrusters and we start our deceleration burn. It olny lasts for a few seconds, we're not trying to park ourselves in an orbit under our own power; we're going to use an atmospheric braking maneuver. I have been assured that it's perfectly safe - unless the ship dips below about 8,000 meters. In that case it could turn into, 'hello hillside'.

In the meantime, while we descend toward Duna's atmosphere, I have work to do. I don my EVA suit, pop the hatch and head out to do some science.

As I cling to the ships hull, I look to my right and catch my breath. I'm just in time to see Ike eclipse the sun. I watch in wonder as the two orbs brush past each other, like dancers in a celestial ballroom. Slowly, the sun begins to emerge from the other side of Ike, it's glaring brightness forcing me to avert my eyes.

I collect the data from the various experiments then head back into the capsule. Naris asks what took so long, I reply that I was interrupted by a stellar phenomenon. She shrugs and I smile inwardly; I'll tell her and Miphe later.

We're once again buckled into our seats as we begin our aerobrake. I half expect there to be sheets of red and orange flame licking our small lander, but I find myself happily disappointed. It seems that Duna's atmosphere just isn't thick enough to ignite our ship.

We pop the 'chutes and begin slowing at about 1200 meters. Naris applies the thrusters and complains once again about how she wishes she could adjust the thrust limiters on the fly. Miphe goes into her usual litany of reasons why such a thing wouldn't work, spewing technical jargon that goes way over my head. Geology, botany, zoology, and mineralogy are my fields of specialty; applied mechanics, on the other hand make my brain hurt; almost like I just wasn't born to understand how and why they work.

Naris is hitting the thrusters as hard as she can, cursing the engineers for having limited the ships throttle to fifty percent. Miphe asks what's wrong; Naris replies that we're coming in too fast, she miscalculated the burn and we're going to hit hard. She shouts for us to get into our EVA suits; just in case; and leans on the control stick, fighting to get us into an uptight position before we hit the ground.

Naris wins the fight and the landing gears are pointed at the ground. She shouts; five seconds to impact. I finish zipping up my EVA suit and grab hold of the nearest support. Miphe follows my lead just as we feel a tremendous shockwave rattle the lander. Naris yells that we've lost two landing gear, and I can hear the hiss of the RCS thrusters as they try to hold us in a more or less upright state.

All three of us hold our breath. The RCS system slowly shuts off. There's a low, grumbling sound from below us, but the lander stands firm.

We all three exit the vehicle to survey the damage. Miphe lets out a low whistle at the sight while Naris quotes Valentina: "Hey, I can still fly it, so it's fine, right?"

Miphe and I groan in unison, then go about our chores. While I collect science, Miphe takes a look at the broken lander legs. I hear Naris ask if she can fix them; Miphe's response is cut short by the angry sizzling of a live electric system. Miphe replies in the negative.

One the science is collected and the 'chutes are repacked, we each plant a flag. Miphe sets up the automatic camera and the three of us pose for a victory shot.

I give the uninviting Duna landscape a final look as Naris and Miphe board the E3. "So long", I say, silently, "I won't be coming back."

Edited June 1, 2015 by nipulsansei