I jumped in, “There will be rules, and some will be very strict. I imagine we can’t go certain places on the ship, as they will be off limits to everyone except the officers. There have to be strict rules on a spaceship.”
Sophie said, “Let’s be serious here. I have a question about where we are going. I have heard that on different planets we may have different weights. Right now, I weigh 120 pounds. What will I weigh on a new planet?”
I said, “That is a good question. I learned a lot about this in physics class. We are not going to be on a planet in this solar system. I can compute what you will weigh on each planet in this system, but I do not know anything about where we’re going.”
“Weight equals mass times surface gravity. Multiplying your weight on Earth by a certain number will give you your weight on the surface of each planet. If you weigh 120 pounds on Earth, you multiply that by 2.34, and you would weigh about 280 pounds on Jupiter, which would make you an obese, heavy woman. It would probably be difficult to walk around if you weigh that much. However, if you lived on Pluto, you would weigh 120 x .06, about seven pounds, which would allow you to jump higher than ever before. Each planet has a different number to use to multiply by your weight. The constant numbers are:
Mercury: 0.38
Venus: 0.91
Earth: 1.00
Mars: 0.38
Jupiter: 2.34
Saturn: 1.06
Uranus: 0.92
Neptune: 1.19
Pluto: 0.06
So, you do the math.”
“Wow,” said Sophie, “I would rather live on Pluto than Jupiter for sure. I could move a lot faster.”
“But you would die very quickly probably on either of those planets, so it is not an option for us. Also, Pluto is no longer considered a planet.”
“How many days in a year will we have?” asked Robert. “Right now, my birthday comes once a year or once every 365 days.”
I answered, “That is another excellent question. I am not sure since I do not know where we will live. I do not even know if we will have the same months of the year, since they are all based on moons and the sun. The Earth goes around the sun right now once every 365 days. If we go around more often, I do not know how that will affect your age or how we will figure out your age. If we lived on Jupiter, we probably would not live very many years. Pluto takes about 248 years to go around the sun once, so we would all die as babies if we count birthdays the same way as on Earth.”
Robert said, “Will they even have birthday parties on board the ship? What about candy, ice cream, cake?”
“I have no idea how they will do those things on board, but I suppose they will have some celebrations. People need to feel happy.”
“This trip is going to take a long time to get used to. I am going to miss: going horseback riding with my friends, swimming in the lakes and ocean, parties at my friends’ homes, great soup and salad, and restaurants. What will you miss the most, Robert?”
“I will miss: my PlayStation and the Madden games; the rock climbing we did with Dad; my football and baseball teams; and the best hamburger places you can find like Smashburger.”
I said, “I will miss: my wrestling friends; Sunday NFL football; NBA games; the walks to and from school every day as I pass beautiful homes and mountains; incredible views of flowers and trees blooming; and when it begins to snow in the fall.”
All three of them were becoming more and more depressed as they thought about what they would miss.
They were silent for a few moments, then Sophie said, “Look, guys, the one thing I will not have to miss is being with you two. And our parents. I know it’s corny. Plus, I will have some friends from school on board even if I do not marry them and become an old lady with no children.”
They all laughed.
When Dad and Mom came home, they asked about our evening.
Sophie said, “It was great. We did some sibling bonding.”
We all enjoyed a family hug.
Chapter 23 – Just a Walk in the Park
Sam Burns, Rocky Mountains, CO
Everything was becoming more and more hectic with all the planning for the Imagine. We’d already accomplished almost a year of training. We knew we would be going through around three years of training. Although we’d named the spaceship and undergone many tests, the daily training was grueling. We already saw huge improvements among members of our Goddard graduating class. I couldn’t believe how much stronger we were all getting and how many skills we were acquiring so quickly. Astronauts need to be generalists and we were definitely on track. No one was falling behind thankfully.
Some days we practiced our skills at monitoring our health in our suits. Other days we spent time thinking in three dimensions. Some days, we spent time underwater to practice the physically demanding experience of spacewalking. My favorite, although it was the scariest, was training in simulated real-time failures in virtual reality. Jose and Sally both loved it when we practiced survival techniques and learning about the human body. Robert’s personal favorite became studying electronics repairs.
I was so happy that what we were all really learning was how to allow cool heads to prevail since difficult tasks under extremely stressful situations would probably become our everyday life. It seemed like we needed to become experts at just about anything. Sometimes when I woke up, I wondered how we were going to get through another grueling day of training. Then, thankfully we’d have a chance to have a social life.
Sally and I had hardly had a moment together alone since graduation. On a beautiful day, we got together for a picnic at a local park surrounded by the Rockies. We brought sandwiches and some soft drinks.
“Sam, I would like to believe that everything will turn out all right, but I do have some questions for you on a spiritual level. Want to hear them?” Sally said.
“Go ahead and ask. My family is really not that religious, but we do respect people’s right to religion.”
“Okay, here goes. If we are leaving the solar system and galaxy, will God follow us there too, or would he remain on Earth?”
“Interesting question. I think the Declaration of Independence refers to God as a universal deity. That means if God exists, the deity will exist wherever we go.”
“Nice answer,” Sally said. “Next question, if you believe in a heaven, where will we go when we die in space? Do you think heaven is limited to Earth? Is there a different heaven if we live on another planet?”
“Another good question, Sally. I wish I knew the answer to that. I would hope that heaven is everywhere and no matter where you die, if you have been a good person, your soul will go to heaven.”
“Okay,” said Sally. “Will there be any religious leaders on board like a priest, a minister, a rabbi or an imam?”
“My dad and some of the officers can probably perform weddings and stuff like that. There will also be counselors to help people. I imagine some people will get very depressed after a long period on the spaceship and need someone to talk with. One thing my dad has always wrestled with is the topic of religion. He supports everyone praying in whatever religion they want, as long as it is peaceful. On the Imagine, he did not look for specific religious beliefs. I am sure he would not mind someone serving as a chaplain or minister or rabbi if anyone wanted to take on that responsibility.”
Sally continued asking questions. “What will the laws be on the spaceship and who will make them up?”
“Well, my dad and the officers will have some rules related to safety and performing one’s duty or job. I would think that crimes like theft and assault and even murder would be punishable, but I do not know how they will set up trials. It may be more military in nature. I have no idea. I would hope that no one on the ship does something stupid like harming another passenger deliberately. I don’t think my dad is going to kick you off the spaceship for something very minor. You have been asking all the tough questions. I want to ask you some.”