The Ice Moon Explorer by Navin Weeraratne
Authors: Navin Weeraratne
Tags: Artificial intelligence, female protagonist, Space Exploration, saturn, transhumanism, enceladus, women in science, planetary science, hydrothermal vents, scientist as hero
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The Ice Moon Explorer
"I've said over and overthat Enceladus is
the most accessible habitable zone. It would win hands down over
Mars or Europa. Europa is bathed with such intense radiation that
it's hard to imagine biology. If organic materials are found on the
surface, how do you know that it's not organic material raining
down on the surface? But with Enceladus, what's inside is
accessible. You don't have to scratch. You don't have to dig. You
don't have to sniff. You don't have to do any of those complex
things. All you really have to do is land on the surface, look up
and stick your tongue out."
- Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Science Team
[1]
2065, Saturn's E-Ring
"Pilot, where did Titan go?"
The Ice Collecting Explorer's (ICE) scoop was
fully unfurled. I looked through its translucent membrane. It had
been clear as clingwrap (which it was related to) in the morning.
Already, it was fogging with micro particles of ice and silt.
"Titan?" said the computer. "Titan is right
where it is, lady."
A red square appeared on the smart glass
cockpit. It caged a large dot of light.
"Yeah but it can't be there," I pointed. I
looked at the time. "Shouldn't it be still behind Saturn?"
"Well it's not."
"Yes but how come? Titan's orbit is sixteen
days."
"I don't know man. Why is the sun less bright? Are there cats? Why
do only assholes wear Fedoras? You just leave the orbital mechanics
to me, and you worry about the icy moon geology."
Images from Enceladus Observer were on screen
(two decades and that probe was still ticking). Enceladus was
streaming ejecta into space like a hundred oil well fires.
"How many geysers are we up to?"
"Eighty three in the last pass," said Pilot.
"Judging by plume volume, the eruptions will last a few more
days."
"Isn't that a record?"
"For our mission, yes. Talk about right place
and the right time."
Indeed.
There was an ocean under Enceladus. As it
freezes, it gets smaller. Its forty kilometer ice shell cracks, and
fissures form. Enceladus's core heats the ocean, which drives water
up those fissures. It blasts into space, some returning as snow.
The rest orbits for long as ten million years. It'll snow slowly,
down on Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. It's been happening for eons:
Saturn's E-Ring is a giant, frozen, ocean sample.
"We can send the lander to collect the
heavier matter."
"Let's wait till the snowing is finished. I
don't want to dig it out again." You'd think digging out my car
after a blizzard wouldn't be a thing a billion kilometers from
home. Shit work. It's why we still have a crewed program.
"What's in our scoop?"
"Life," said Pilot. "Lots of high heat
silica. Bacterial fatty acids. It's traumatic down there - we even
have shredded DNA."
Far away and locked under ice, we had
expected Enceladans to be unique. They should have been a different
pathway of life, altogether. Instead, they were related to us. This
meant a common origin. Did Earth-Mars meteorites seed Enceladus
like they did each other? How did they punch through the ice? Or,
had simple life already spread through the cluttered early solar
system? Perhaps DNA was older than the Earth.
"Prep the bioreactor, hydrothermal vent
conditions. Let's cook some ice and see what happens!"
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean am I sure? Of course I'm
sure!"
"Maybe we should do a sort first, separate
fresh ice from older, E-Ring matter."
"This ice is right out the geyser.
These are the purest samples we've ever had. Why are you
even suggesting contamination? Camping for an eruption, was your
idea."
"I just don't want to take any chances."
"Well, we'll have half a ton of ice once this
is done. Kapoor can take his time checking it. I'd rather not wait
eight weeks to see what's alive down there. We can set up the
bioreactor, today. Tomorrow, we'll have plankton and wrigglers to
look at."
"If there are too many wrigglers, they'll eat
all the jellies and plankton. You'll just have a dead aquarium in a
few days. I'm not the one
"I've said over and overthat Enceladus is
the most accessible habitable zone. It would win hands down over
Mars or Europa. Europa is bathed with such intense radiation that
it's hard to imagine biology. If organic materials are found on the
surface, how do you know that it's not organic material raining
down on the surface? But with Enceladus, what's inside is
accessible. You don't have to scratch. You don't have to dig. You
don't have to sniff. You don't have to do any of those complex
things. All you really have to do is land on the surface, look up
and stick your tongue out."
- Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Science Team
[1]
2065, Saturn's E-Ring
"Pilot, where did Titan go?"
The Ice Collecting Explorer's (ICE) scoop was
fully unfurled. I looked through its translucent membrane. It had
been clear as clingwrap (which it was related to) in the morning.
Already, it was fogging with micro particles of ice and silt.
"Titan?" said the computer. "Titan is right
where it is, lady."
A red square appeared on the smart glass
cockpit. It caged a large dot of light.
"Yeah but it can't be there," I pointed. I
looked at the time. "Shouldn't it be still behind Saturn?"
"Well it's not."
"Yes but how come? Titan's orbit is sixteen
days."
"I don't know man. Why is the sun less bright? Are there cats? Why
do only assholes wear Fedoras? You just leave the orbital mechanics
to me, and you worry about the icy moon geology."
Images from Enceladus Observer were on screen
(two decades and that probe was still ticking). Enceladus was
streaming ejecta into space like a hundred oil well fires.
"How many geysers are we up to?"
"Eighty three in the last pass," said Pilot.
"Judging by plume volume, the eruptions will last a few more
days."
"Isn't that a record?"
"For our mission, yes. Talk about right place
and the right time."
Indeed.
There was an ocean under Enceladus. As it
freezes, it gets smaller. Its forty kilometer ice shell cracks, and
fissures form. Enceladus's core heats the ocean, which drives water
up those fissures. It blasts into space, some returning as snow.
The rest orbits for long as ten million years. It'll snow slowly,
down on Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. It's been happening for eons:
Saturn's E-Ring is a giant, frozen, ocean sample.
"We can send the lander to collect the
heavier matter."
"Let's wait till the snowing is finished. I
don't want to dig it out again." You'd think digging out my car
after a blizzard wouldn't be a thing a billion kilometers from
home. Shit work. It's why we still have a crewed program.
"What's in our scoop?"
"Life," said Pilot. "Lots of high heat
silica. Bacterial fatty acids. It's traumatic down there - we even
have shredded DNA."
Far away and locked under ice, we had
expected Enceladans to be unique. They should have been a different
pathway of life, altogether. Instead, they were related to us. This
meant a common origin. Did Earth-Mars meteorites seed Enceladus
like they did each other? How did they punch through the ice? Or,
had simple life already spread through the cluttered early solar
system? Perhaps DNA was older than the Earth.
"Prep the bioreactor, hydrothermal vent
conditions. Let's cook some ice and see what happens!"
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean am I sure? Of course I'm
sure!"
"Maybe we should do a sort first, separate
fresh ice from older, E-Ring matter."
"This ice is right out the geyser.
These are the purest samples we've ever had. Why are you
even suggesting contamination? Camping for an eruption, was your
idea."
"I just don't want to take any chances."
"Well, we'll have half a ton of ice once this
is done. Kapoor can take his time checking it. I'd rather not wait
eight weeks to see what's alive down there. We can set up the
bioreactor, today. Tomorrow, we'll have plankton and wrigglers to
look at."
"If there are too many wrigglers, they'll eat
all the jellies and plankton. You'll just have a dead aquarium in a
few days. I'm not the one
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