One Small Spin

Illustration by Shirley Chan

Cape Canaveral—NASA today announced the successful launch of Rover I, the first robotic interplanetary probe designed to fulfill NASA’s mandate to explore the Cosmos using “smaller, faster, and cheaper” technology. Rover I will conduct an exploration of the surface of Mars, achieving the same goals as a manned mission at a fraction of the cost.

Rover I Landing Site, Mars—Rover I rattled away from the pad of its lander, six wheels spinning almost effortlessly in the weak gravity, leaving small rooster-tails of fine red dust in its wake. A video camera mounted high on the front swiveled back and forth to transmit a view of its path to observers eagerly awaiting the news on Earth. Encountering a small patch of boulders lying like carelessly abandoned playing pieces from some mighty game of Martian marbles, Rover I consulted its navigation programming, then turned ninety degrees and surged ahead once more toward a smooth patch of sand. Hitting the smooth patch, its wheels began spinning faster, hurling greater spumes of red powder into the thin atmosphere. Pivoting, Rover I succeeded only in digging itself deeper into the sandy depression, all six wheels now buried up to the hubs in Martian “quicksand.” Halting at last, it sent a plaintive query back to Earth. Working across millions of kilometers, human technicians sent commands to rock back and forth, their efforts resulting in Rover I burying itself up to its axles in the soft red trap.

NASA Conference, Houston—

“There must be some way to free Rover I from that patch of dust.”

“I’m afraid not, Doctor Singleton. We’ve tried everything, even using the sampling probes to dig in for leverage, but Rover I just got too deep into the fine sand to pull itself out unaided.”

“Unaided? What sort of aid does it need?”

“Actually, a mild push would do the job, or a tug on an extended sampling arm.”

“That doesn’t do us any good.”

“No, sir, but at least Rover I can examine the portion of the Martian surface within the radius of its sampling probes.”

“How large an area is that?”

“About four square meters.”

Talking Points, to accompany NASA Press Release—

Q. “How would you characterize the results of the Rover I mission?”

A. “As noted in the press release, Rover I performed in accordance with its design parameters. The robot landing vehicle has successfully conducted an extremely in-depth examination of a limited area of the surface of Mars.”

Q. “Exactly how much of the surface has Rover I explored?”

A. “Since Rover I continues its activities, the exact area which has been exhaustively examined is naturally in flux.”

Q. “If Rover I was such a success, why does Rover II need to be sent?”

A. “Rover I has only been able to examine a limited area. Rover II, by building on the experience of Rover I, will be able to cover a much larger portion of Mars.”

Cape Canaveral—NASA announced that telemetry from the Rover II delivery vehicle indicates a successful soft landing on Mars. After conducting a series of self-checks, the robotic Rover II will continue the exploration of Mars begun by Rover I.

Mission Control, Houston—

“Oh, Geez.”

“What?”

“Rover II’s High-Gain Antenna won’t deploy. It seems to be stuck.”

“So punch it. Try rocking it with retract and deploy commands in series.”

“I did. Whatever it’s snagged on won’t let go. We need a few more ounces of force.”

“Where are we going to get a few more ounces of force on Mars?”

NASA Conference, Houston—

“Why can’t Rover II function without the High-Gain Antenna deployed? Our space probes have been able to work using lower gain antennas as back-ups.”

“Yes, Doctor Singleton, but a planetary probe is dealing with too many variables for low-gain antennas to work for control. Right now we can’t tell what the attitude of Rover II is, or get anything approaching a video feed.”

“So?”

“After Rover I got stuck, Administration insisted on positive control from Earth of all movement by Rover II. That means we have to use the camera to identify a clear path before we transmit a movement order.”

“Listen, ladies and gentlemen, there’s a lot of high-level interest in making the Rover program work, especially after all the money expended to date.”

“We know that, Doctor Singleton. We think we’ve worked out a way to jar the High-Gain Antenna free. It should be relatively low-risk, and it’s our only real option.”

Mission Control, Houston—Commander Stan Halstead leaned over the control console, eyeing the readout dubiously. “Let me get this straight. You guys are going to deliberately crash Rover II into a rock?”

The console operator rolled his eyes at a companion manning the next console. “Astronauts. I thought you guys were scientists. Look, we need a couple of ounces of extra force to pop the High-Gain Antenna open, so we’ve identified a nearby rock formation and exactly calculated the necessary speed to achieve an impact that will deliver those ounces of force without damaging Rover II. Piece of cake.”

Halstead shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it. Personally, I d have thought the extra variables would have made the problem too hard to work from here.”

“What extra variables?”

“You know, planetary gravity and terrain. If Rover II’s going uphill even a little, it’d be too slow to get enough impact, and if it’s going downhill at all, it might go too fast and break something. With the High-Gain Antenna out, I’m amazed you were able to determine enough about the surrounding terrain to compensate for that.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Mars—Rolling sedately toward a large boulder, Rover II hit a steep slope four meters short of the target. Accelerating wildly, the probe struck the rock violently. The High-Gain Antenna popped free, whipping forward and slamming against the video-camera mount, which shorted out in a flurry of sparks. With debris from the shattered antenna lying across the power bus, Rover II’s power cells overloaded and erupted into flame. Briefly, a small bonfire warmed the cold desolation of the Martian plain.

Cape Canaveral—The launch of a booster carrying Rover III, the latest in a series of robotic planetary explorers, was celebrated by NASA today. Rover III, following in the footsteps of the first two Rovers, will continue the awesome exploration of another world despite some controversy over the program here on Earth.

Senator Claghan, in a testy exchange with witnesses before her subcommittee, demanded to know how cost-effective the Rovers have been compared to a manned mission and inquired whether NASA was continuing to evaluate manned alternatives or was “fixated on the non-human option.” NASA insisted that all alternatives remained on the table despite an official stance in favor of robotic exploration missions, and trumpeted the success of the robotic policy to date.

Doctor Singleton, senior NASA administrator in charge of the Rover program, noted that the Rover explorers have provided unprecedented information on the Red Planet. Rover II, he noted, elicited a remarkable level of detail on the difficulties of navigating through the rugged Martian terrain despite the unexpectedly short life of its power cells. When quizzed by Senator Claghan regarding the wisdom of dropping explorers into “rugged” terrain, Doctor Singleton announced that a different landing site with more promising terrain had been selected for Rover III.

Rover III Landing Site, Mars—Rocks ranging in size from clenched human fists to ones that rivaled the height and width of supermarket shopping carts littered the smooth plain. Coming down gently, the probe delivery vehicle landed slightly askew, propped on one of the smaller stones. Latches retracted, allowing clamshell doors to fall open with slow dignity, a fall that was halted prematurely when one section struck against one of the larger rocks. Inside the probe, Rover III spun its wheels impotently, unsuccessfully trying to climb out of its tiny prison.

NASA Conference, Houston—

“Only one door is stuck. Why won’t the rest open?”

“Because they’re all slaved together, Doctor Singleton. The idea was that the combined weight of the doors would make sure they all fell open.”

“Why did we drop it into all those rocks?”

“They were too small to see from orbit. It looked like a smooth plain.”

“What can we do? We need answers, people!”

“Well, there’s no way to open the doors enough for it to get out, but Rover III can see segments of the planet through gaps left by the doors when they partially opened. We think some of the sampling probes might be able to reach through the gaps and get some surface samples.”

“So it’s not a failure, then? Rover III can carry out its functions?”

“It can’t go anywhere.”

“But where it is, it can do everything, right?”

“Kind of like Rover I?”

“No, not like Rover I. This is a totally different situation. The landing vehicle suffered from a minor problem, but there’s no failure on the part of Rover III. Am I wrong?”

“No, I guess not.”

Senate Hearing Room, Washington, DC—

“If Rovers I, II, and III have been so successful, why is Rover IV needed, Doctor Bray, and where is Doctor Singleton?”

“I’m sorry, Senator Claghan, but Doctor Singleton had to remain at the Cape for final launch preparations. Senator, like any exploratory program, each mission can only accomplish so much. Exploring the New World required more than just Columbus’s first voyage, and we’ve got literally an entire new world to discover here. The fact that much more remains to be found is no reflection on the undeniable achievements of the earlier Rovers.”

“I’m a little vague on these ‘undeniable achievements’ you’re citing, Doctor Bray. My staff has uncovered numerous complaints regarding the paucity of data produced by the Rovers.”

“Senator, scientists are like little children when it comes to raw data: they always want more and they always want it now. I don’t believe you’ll find any scientist unwilling to admit that the Rovers have been responsible for producing unique and uniquely valuable information about Mars.”

“I am willing to concede that, but must reiterate my concerns over the small amounts of that information. My staff estimates that, in toto, based on the data released to date the first three Rover missions have conducted in-depth examination of less than ten square meters of Mars.”

“Senator, I can’t imagine where that figure could have come from.”

“Do you have a different one?”

“I’ll have to check with Houston, but I’m certain we’ll be able to provide a different number. As I’m sure you are aware, Rover III is still functioning so the amount of Mars being covered is constantly changing.”

“I’d understood Rover III is immobile, Doctor Bray.”

“I don’t know where you got that information, Senator. I assure you, and I’d be prepared to assert this under oath, that Rover Ill’s propulsive system is not now and never has been inoperative.”

Rover IV Landing Site, Mars—High in the sky, so deeply blue it hovered on the edge of black, a new light flared to life among the brilliant stars. Initially racing across the heavens, the light slowed, crawling to a halt, then began tracking in the other direction. Finally, the fiery beacon winked out, but soon afterwards another light appeared, growing in size rapidly as it hurtled toward the surface. Somewhere in the distance, the meteor struck with such force that Martian soil trembled briefly.

NASA Conference, Houston—

“What happened?”

“The retros fired on schedule, but they didn’t shut down. We sent an override to make them halt, but by the time it got there their fuel had been expended. Apparently, not every retro burned out simultaneously, so the final spurts started a tumble in the probe. We can’t be sure from here, but we think the result was that instead of kicking the landing vehicle into its planned trajectory, the prolonged burn ended up spinning it through the atmosphere at the wrong angle and too high a speed. The landing vehicle couldn’t deploy and the whole thing hit the planet in a catastrophic impact.”

“How could such a minor failure have wrecked the entire mission? Who failed here?”

“We’re sorry, Doctor Singleton, but there was nothing else we could do. By the time we could see the problem and get a command back, it was too late. Even iight-speed isn’t fast enough to maintain positive control of a quickly moving situation that far off.”

“ ‘Sorry’ is not an acceptable response. We cannot afford another, um, limited success. Period. There’s too much visibility, too many questions being asked. The next mission must produce a wealth of results, or large portions of NASA’s interplanetary exploration budget will be on the chopping block.”

“Is it time to reconsider the entire programmatic approach, then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Doctor Singleton, every problem encountered by the Rovers to date on Mars would have been easily overcome by a human explorer on-scene. Perhaps a manned mission—”

“We are committed to the Rover unmanned exploration program. Understand? NASA cannot afford the expense of a manned mission.”

“But the cost of five robotic missions—”

“And, I might add, there is nothing human explorers could do that the Rovers cannot. Robotic explorers carry all the scientific equipment human explorers could.”

“But if the best way to explore Mars—”

“The best way to explore Mars, and every other planet in this system, was determined before the Rover program began. Robots are faster, cheaper, and better than manned programs. Every official evaluation since then has reconfirmed that finding. I know, because my office was responsible for producing those evaluations.”

“Excuse me, Doctor Singleton. They assigned the Rover office responsibility for evaluating the success of the Rover program?”

“Of course. Who knows more about the program than we do? Now, I want a solid proposal for a means to ensure no limited successes like those we’ve encountered with Rovers I through IV.”

“I told you. Send a human.”

“You don’t appear to be functioning as a team player. Perhaps you’d be more comfortable in the trans-URANUS probe development office. Yes, Doctor Bray?”

“There may be a way, sir, to avoid these problems without using a manned spacecraft. It’s really just a matter of perspective.”

NASA Conference Room, Cape Canaveral—

“I don’t understand.” Commander Halstead peered at the laptop com_: puter screen with a quizzical frown, then back at Doctors Singleton and Bray. “This looks exactly like a scaled-down version of the preliminary spacecraft design for a manned mission to Mars.”

Doctor Bray shook his head with a tight smile. “It’s not. This is something else entirely.”

“What?”

“It’s a Forward-Deployable Maintenance Facility, or FODMAC for short.”

“Huh?” Halstead jabbed one finger at the diagram. “Isn’t that the lander?”

“No. That’s an Individual Egress Module, or IEM. It’s to be used only if maintenance activity on Rover V is required.”

“Maintenance on Rover V?” Halstead questioned. “Does this mean the ship—”

“The FODMAC.”

“—Is going to Mars?”

Doctor Singleton frowned and wagged one finger at Halstead. “No, no, no. Nothing in the FODMAC’s mission statement has to do with going to Mars. The FODMAC will simply be required to maintain necessary proximity to Rover V to be able to conduct maintenance if essential.”

Halstead let out a long breath. “Excuse me, but I take it I’m going to be the one manning the, uh, FODMAC?”

“No,” Bray corrected gently. “You will be assigned to the FODMAC. The FODMAC is not defined as a manned vehicle.”

“Even if there’s a man inside?”

“Come now, Commander Halstead,” Doctor Singleton chided. “Just because we work in this building doesn’t make it a manned vehicle, does it?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but this building won’t be going into orbit around Mars.”

“Neither will the FODMAC,” Singleton stated sharply. “An orbit is defined as the movement of a smaller body around a larger one. The FODMAC will always maintain a fixed position relative to Rover V or its landing site. It will not, therefore, ever be in orbit.”

Halstead leaned backward, eyes shifting from one administrator to the other. “I am, however, an astronaut. Why do you need an astronaut to occupy’ something that isn’t a ship and isn’t going to Mars?”

Brav cleared his throat and smiled again. “I see you haven’t read your e-mail yet today.”

“My e-mail?”

“Yes, if you had, you’d know that your job classification has been officially changed. You are no longer occupying an astronaut billet. Commander Halstead, you are now an On-scene Maintenance Technician.”

“I see. What if I don’t want to be an On-scene whatever?”

The two doctors exchanged glances. “In that event,” Singleton advised, “you will of course be released from duty with NASA and returned to your parent military service for assignment. Naturally, the secrecy oaths you signed regarding classified mission details will remain fully effective, and any discussion of the FODMAC or your role in it will be forbidden. Alternatively, you can choose to participate, and have some role in this historic mission. The choice is yours.”

Vicinity, Mars—

Commander Halstead shifted uncomfortably, trying for the millionth time to fully stretch in the small compartment that had been home for months. His head jerked as the communications panel buzzed to warn of an incoming message.

“FODMAC, this is Houston. Rover V has encountered difficulty deploying from the pad of the landing vehicle. Conduct an egress and carry out necessary maintenance.”

Halstead’s heart leaped. “Roger, Houston. I understand you desire I conduct a landing on Mars near the Rover.”

Long minutes passed as light waves crawled back and forth through the emptiness, before Houston’s reply finally roared forth. “Negative, FODMAC! Negative! Your reply used improper and unauthorized terminology and has been purged from system records. We repeat, you are to conduct an egress using the IEM and achieve necessary proximity to Rover V to conduct any required maintenance, then return to the FODMAC ASAP. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, Houston, I understand.”

A trail of footprints marked the Martian soil, leading from the still-smoking site of the IEM touchdown to the pad where Rover V sat like a huge, ugly stamen in the middle of a petal formed by access panels that had dropped open on every side. Halstead glared sourly down at the machine, noting that the retaining clip on the left rear quarter of the Rover had failed to release and was holding it captive. Pulling out a long screwdriver, he bent awkwardly, inserting the tool inside the latch and tugging. The latch popped open and retracted, freeing the Rover, which immediately surged into motion, seeming to bustle merrily away across the red landscape.

Commander Halstead trudged heavily back to the IEM, pausing at the ladder, then stared toward the glowing spot of light far above that marked Earth. “To hell with it,” he muttered, then fished an oblong of stiff paper from the tool kit and smiled at it. One side of the postcard was given over to a picture of the American flag. On the blank side, Halstead had earlier written “KILROY WAS HERE” in large letters. Jamming the screwdriver blade through the paper next to the flag’s union so that it served as a crude jackstaff, he planted the tool handle-first in the soil, then stepped back and sketched an elaborate salute. Leaving the tiny marker, he climbed back into the IEM.

NASA Press Conference, Houston—“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the robotic probe Rover V is successfully completing every assigned task. Our knowledge of a wide area of the planet Mars is being significantly augmented with every passing hour as a result of the analytical and exploratory capabilities of Rover V. In short, this is an outstanding success for our planetary exploration program. Every person involved with the Rover program should be immensely proud, as should every American.”

“Excuse me, Doctor Singleton, but rumors persist that a manned expedition was somehow integrated with the Rover program and played a role in this latest success. Can you comment on those rumors?”

“I do not know why this kind of irresponsible rumor-mongering continues to be given credence. This sort of innuendo has surfaced before and our comments are on record.”

“Nonetheless, Doctor, can you categorically deny any manned involvement in the Rover program?”

“Sir, every line of the Rover mission plan, funding authorization, and mission objectives is available on-line for your review. Use any keywords you want to search through them. I can categorically state you will find no reference to a manned mission to Mars therein. Does anyone else have questions?”

“Doctor Singleton? There has been an ongoing dispute over the relative worth of manned missions versus robotic exploration, with partisans of human explorers insisting there is no substitute for human involvement given the inherent limitations of any machine and the huge distances involved in space travel. How does this success for the Rover program affect that debate?”

“We have not been involved in any ‘debate,’ as you characterize it. We were assigned the mission of achieving planetary exploration quickly and at minimum cost, using robotic explorers, and we have done so.”

“But, Doctor, this is the fifth Rover mission. Counting the previous Rovers, the time spent designing them, building them, and in transit to Mars, as well as the costs of all those missions, wouldn’t a single manned mission have been both faster and cheaper?”

“I can’t speculate on such issues. Our orders were to conduct robotic exploration of Mars, and we have done so. I really can’t understand why the press is trying to harp on the allegedly limited success of earlier Rover missions instead of the positive news of Rover V’s accomplishments.”

“Doctor Singleton, in light of what you’ve characterized as the Rover Program’s overwhelming success, is there any foreseeable need for future manned missions outside of Earth orbit?”

“I would say the official record speaks for itself in that regard.”