March 15, 2017
Astronomy 112

                                                                  Planet Mars
         0900 Hours, Year 2020, Month June, Day 20

SELENA DREW: Selena Drew reporting Spacecraft Apollo has landed. I repeat Spacecraft Apollo has landed.
NASA: Landing is a success. Permission to carry on Mars discovery.

     Dressed in my spacesuit, I couldn't feel the cold air on Mars crawling it's way into my body. It was well below 80 degrees Fahrenheit freezing. (https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-mars-k4.htm)
This spacesuit has thermal heating inside so that the cold wouldn't be a bother and the helmet wouldn't fog up with the cold or my breathing. Each of my colleagues have a specific task that needs to be complete before we head back to Earth. And as captain, it's necessary that everyone leaves back with the all information that will help the future of humanity.

         Once walking out the ship, my colleagues and I stepped on the red ground. The surface stretched on, the rocky planet painted red. Towering mountains with no other forms of life. The red planet Mars became an obsession to NASA until they made it a reality to land on the desolate planet.

        Finally, history has been made. Mark Bline, Jeff Harmon, Rose Russell and I, Stella Drew landed on a planet where humans were thought to have never made it to.

         We walked onwards, Rose and I stayed side by side while Jeff and Mark walked together just a few feet in front of us. The red rocks crushed under my feet, crackling into dust. From a distance, Mars moons Phobos and Deimos can be seen in the atmosphere. (http://www.space.com/28403-astronauts-mars-skywatching-phobos-deimos.html)

          We stopped in the middle of nothing, just looking around at the plains. Just dust and rocks surrounding our presence. Gazing up at the sky, the sunset lights up Mars with orange, red and violet hunes.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy_on_Mars)  Jeff took out a small clear container, scooping up the dust into it. He rose up brushing the remaining dust off of his spacesuit gloves. Mark pulls out his blue sheet with an outpost design, he scanned the area to find the perfect spot for the final build on Mars. (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/dr-marc-solar-system/life-on-mars.html)

"There, right there. That's the perfect spot for the outpost to be built." Mark's voice came through the intercom.

       He pointed to an even bigger opened space with a hill higher than us. A great setup for a building along with a few equipment hidden below the hill.

          We all decided to walk to the open space, looking around the dust wasn't that bad, just very rocky. Rose decided to snap pictures to the area, each will be heading back to NASA as soon as possible.

          Suddenly the sky began to darken, the ground began to rumble. The dust and rocks shake and hit against each other. I looked around and behind Jeff there was a big cloud of gray and sparks of what looks like electricity.

"WE NEED TO GO NOW!" Jeff yells through the intercom.

      We all turned around and ran back towards the Spacecraft. As we the ran, the dust cloud seemed to be gaining on our trail. All of the Mars rocks started to bounce around above ground, floating in air then shooting themselves straight into our path then into the big gray cloud.

          Just halfway back to the Spacecraft, all of a sudden a burst of spark hit the ground and bounced back about an inch from where I was running. I skidded to a stop and dropped to the ground. The storm was closing in fast, faster than we can run.       We were at a disadvantage. There was a chance that we wouldn't make it out alive.

         With the rocks and electricity, we can try our best to avoid the magnetic force. Mark, Jeff and Rose were caught up with me, and Jeff pulled me to my feet again.

"There's no stopping for a break, Selena. Move it, we'll make it. Come on." Jeff said, tapping my shoulder reassuring the situation will get better.  I nodded and once again following Jeff as we ran.

           The spacesuit wasn't making the situation better either, sweat dripped down my forehead and skin felt clammy. Looking back the storm, it seemed as if it grew twice as much then ever. More sparks flew, dust moving in faster. Soon, the spaceship was just a few feet away. I wanted to breath a sigh of relief, but now wasn't the time. As long as everyone was in that ship in one piece and safe from the storm.

"WE NEED TO GET NASA ON THE INTERCOM ASAP. AND BRACE YOURSELVES FOR THE WORST!" I shouted as we all ran into the Spacecraft.

        Jeff took the chance to be the last one to close the door as the cloud moved closer to the Spacecraft. We were sitting ducks as the electricity dust storm could take out our power. Rose fingers moved swiftly on the keyboard as she sends for help back to NASA. And at the moment she sends the message back for help the spaceship rattled and shifted causing us all to tumble upside down. My back pressed in between the command center and techs. Mark and Jeff tumbled into each other, gravity took Rose rolling her back onto the ceiling of the spacecraft. The very next second, the lights went off. We were plunged into the dark Spacecraft. We waited till the storm passed, our breathing was the only sound that was echoing in the dark. The shaking stopped, still no one moved.

"Don't worry, there's a back up generator. We will be back online with NASA once we get the generator going again." Mark says in the dark.

        There was a part of me that had doubted that we will ever make it back on Earth. (https://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/venus/q2811.html)