“We copy that, Tom.”
Unable to see the ladder below, Tom carefully counted off each step in his head until he was positive he was located on the last rung. He leaned over and looked down at the gold, gleaming landing pad just over three feet below his boots. The colorful, flickering foil contrasted drastically with the surrounding grays and blacks. It was as if the small, circular footpad was magically glowing, summoning him to step down and enter a new world that would change his life forever.
Tom grinned from ear to ear, jumped enthusiastically off the ladder, and floated down onto the three-foot diameter pad. He turned and looked out at the magnificent vista that engulfed him. His excitement was amped up to an all-time high. The last time he had this feeling, he was a young child about to turn on the lights in the wee hours on Christmas morning to see his gifts. “Houston, I am ready to step off.”
“Roger, Tom. Good luck.”
Tom jumped off the pad and floated for a long beat before landing firmly on the moon’s surface, his boots kicking up some fine lunar dust. The small particles hovered over his space boots. “Houston, you have one happy astronaut here. The ground is covered with a few inches of gray dust and all is okay.”
“Roger, Tom. Congratulations, and try not to get too dirty.”
Tom smiled at the poignant comment, remembering how David often bitched in private about the excessive dust he had to deal with inside the Lunar Module after his spacewalks.
Dusty chimed in with exhilaration in his voice, “All right, Tom, it’s time for me to come out and play too!”
Tom didn’t bother answering. He was too busy hopping around having a good time. “Oh, man, this is fantastic.”
“Closing hatch.”
Tom skipped his way over to the equipment bay. He eagerly flipped open his wrist checklist to verify what he needed to do next. A big grin shot across his face when he saw a picture of a Playboy Bunny taped to the second page, a beautiful blonde with all the right curves. He radioed into mission control, “David, I am on page two of the checklist. Tell the backup crew that everything checks out fine. Thanks for their help.”
A slight chuckle confirmed that his friend knew about the practical joke. “Roger, Tom, I’ll pass that on.”
26
LUNAR ROVER
Tom felt every ache and pain throughout his body. Every little noise echoed in his ears. The faint sunlight squeezing through the window shade penetrated his closed eyes. Come on, Tom, get to sleep! He squeezed his eyelids tighter, which only made his mind race more. Discouraged, he popped his eyes open and stared up at the LM’s ceiling a few feet above his face. After sleeping like a baby the night before in Explorer, he was disappointed he wasn’t able to get needed shuteye during the mandatory rest period. He had gone over in his head both the schedule for their final EVA and the steps needed to steal the lunar core sample. He was mentally ready for the following day’s activities. But for some reason, his mind wouldn’t allow him to relax.
Stripped down to his liquid-cooled undergarment, Tom struggled to get comfortable in his hammock, which hung crossways in the cabin just above Dusty’s. After long hours working in his space gloves, Tom’s hands were covered with many cuts and bruises. This made a simple task like adjusting his blanket painful.
Frustrated, he took a large breath. Inhaling the gunpowder-like smell from the many moon rocks stored onboard was just another reminder of where he was. He wanted to scream out in frustration. He rolled over and cracked open the fiberglass window cover that darkened the cabin interior. He looked down at the sundrenched lunar surface and focused with pride on the motionless American flag. He was still amazed he was actually on the moon. He tilted his head slightly up to Earth, high in the black sky. The heartwarming sight gave him some comfort. He pulled his arm out from under the blanket and positioned it so shards of sunlight hit his Omega watch. It was almost midnight in Houston. Anne was probably already asleep. He looked back out toward the colorful ball and blew her a loving kiss. Miss you, Sweetheart. Sleep tight. I’ll be home soon.
A whisper came from below. “Tom, are you awake?”
Tom quickly closed the cover. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
A bit louder, Dusty said, “No, I’ve been tossing and turning over the last hour. I just can’t get to sleep.”
“Me neither. It’s pissing me off. I might have to take some sleeping pills.”
Dusty let out a deep sigh. “I keep replaying our moonwalks in my head. It’s as if my mind is preventing me from getting any rest since this is our last night on the moon.”
“Maybe that’s it.”
“I can’t believe we’re down to our last EVA. Where did the time go?”
“It’s because we’re so busy. Every minute is practically accounted for.”
Dusty replied with sincerity, “Well, I bet you this will be the highlight of my life.”
“No doubt it will be tough to top this experience. I’m sure we’ll reflect on it and dream about it for the rest of our lives.”
Sarcastically, Dusty shot back, “You’re going to be dreaming about me, Tom?”
To keep the humor going, Tom answered, “When that dream has the Playboy Bunny on my checklist coming to life, I’ll make sure something happens to you. Not enough room in here for the three of us.”
“Yeah, just kick me out for another moonwalk.” After some rustling below, Dusty said, “So Anne is cool with you looking at a nude picture on the moon?”
Tom looked up at the ceiling as he thought of Chris with his arm around Anne. He said through clenched teeth, “Absolutely. We have total trust in each other.”
DUSTY YELLED OUT excitedly, “Whoa! Watch out for that one.”
Tom grinned as he veered the lunar rover around the 20-inch rock, lunar dust spitting out from the bottom of the spinning wheels, getting the men even filthier. With only a 14-inch clearance for the chassis, Tom had to avoid running over big obstacles. He was doing his best imitation of Mario Andretti as he raced dizzily through the boulder field, often going airborne due to the bumpy terrain. He felt like he was riding on a bucking bronco as he tried to make up time. They were thirty-two minutes behind schedule, and every one of those precious minutes cut into the time needed at the end of the EVA to snatch the lunar material.
Dusty sat in the right seat and was their navigator, picture taker, and tour guide for the folks back at mission control. His voice shuddered from the rough ride. “We don’t need to hit any more big rocks.”
The electric rover had taken quite a beating over the last few days from Tom plowing over his share of moon rocks, putting some golf ball-sized holes in the wire mesh that made up the wheels’ metal tread. “Gotcha, buddy.” The more Tom drove, the more comfortable and confident he became in the machine’s ability. It was a good thing both men were strapped into their “lawn chair” seats, or one of them would have certainly been thrown out. The only thing missing in all the fun was a booming sound system blaring Beach Boys music.
They had just finished up at their station 11 stop and were off to North Ray Crater. With their spacesuits pressurized, Tom chose not to fight the suit. He sat with his arms and legs extended in a relaxed and ballooned-out position. His only challenge was positioning his right arm and keeping it steady so he could operate the T-shaped hand controller that was located on the center console and operated the buggy. His fatigued arm had the handle shoved all the way forward as they flew over the surface at a record pace, rotating the handle left or right to avoid the fast-approaching craters and rocks.