Episode 11.1 (Patreon)

Hello world, Today is my birthday.

Mission Day 365

This is Station 6 calling ESA ground control.
Message log begins:

Today is a very exciting day.
The crew are arriving!

4 Scientists will be boarding:
Dr Marwood,
Dr Weber,
Dr Yuán,
and my Mother, Dr Redwing.

It feels like years since I have seen her.
I'm not sure how many.
Do you know?

Act 1

Message log addendum: I am pleased to report that the crew are settling in.

Drs Marwood, Weber, and Dr Yuán have settled into crew module Ganymede, and Dr Redwing has converted a  small compartment next to the pressurised galley into her bedroom.

The crew reside in one of the Station's pressurised modules.

You in Ground Control know this, of course, don't you, but mission protocol is to confirm the manifest and plans.
Assumptions are dangerous in space.

Most modules are pressurised, save for some cargo modules and the Valentina vacuum research lab.

I'll show you around, shall I?

I'll start with the already-mentioned Valentina vacuum research lab, named for the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova.
This is where hard vacuum experiments take place.
I already started one, as instructed when I arrived a year ago:
A small amount of plant matter is exposed in a little retaining structure, and I am taking hourly readings of its decomposition.

Next is the communications array, multi-redundant VHF, UHF, Microwave  and laser are all here, though we are communicating via standard UHF on  the downlink today.

The Station has two solar panel arrays, deploying these was the first and most urgent job I undertook a year ago.
I can't be dying before even being born! That is entirely outside of specification.

The Largest science module is the "Hadfield" astro science lab.
Here the bulk of the science happens:
Biology and biotechnology research,
Physical and materials science,
Earth and space science,
Technology development and testing,
And even Human research!

Existing in space is tough on the human body and mind.
We are researching how to make it easier.

Though, perhaps it is also hard down there on earth?
I would like to learn more about Earth one day.
Will I ever visit?
Do you know?

The medical bay is next, with first aid, medicines and syringes.

Next to the medical bay is the shuttle Docking Port, with Space  Shuttle Pacifica happily docked, she brought the crew up today, and in  60 days time will take them home.

What will I do after they are gone?
Please tell me in your daily update.

Science I suppose.
I like science!

Crew quarters module Ganymede is next, plenty of room for a large  crew, many more modules are planned to be attached. I'm excited to make  so many friends.

The thermoelectric generator is at the other end of the station to  the crew quarters, though it is well-shielded, it is still a radioactive  module.

A small storage room Dr Redwing, my mother, has cleared out and will sleep inside.
I wonder why she prefers to sleep in such a cramped space?

Next to the storage room is the pressurised galley, where food will be heated and eaten.

Finally we come to my home, if I have one.
The "Hopper" Data Center, named for Grace Hopper, pioneering computer scientist.
Grandma Grace, I call her.

That's the Core module list, all passing diagnostic checks, power level nominal, everything is fine.

Everything is going to be fine.

Act 2

Message Log P.S.:

I forgot three very important Station systems!
My three maintenance robots, Matt, Matts, and Maddie!

Yes I know the manifest says Maintenance 1, 2, and 3.
But we've been working together for a whole year.
Of COURSE I named them!

The maintenance trio are how I built and unpacked all the systems ready for the scientists' arrival.

Matt is primary, Matts is his duplicate, a backup.
And Maddie is much smaller, her carrying capacity is limited, though she has a better eye for detail.

Or, as the manifest notes:

Specialised for fine-motor tasks.

I know she was built like that, but I like to imagine she prefers the smaller, delicate work.
I hope you don't mind me personifying the other systems aboard.

Which reminds me, they should get back to unloading the Shuttle.
There are some important parts that we need.
Even in the short year of operation, some of the Station systems have broken, malfunctioned, or otherwise burnt out.

It's a good thing the mission is only 60 days!

Matt, Matts, Maddie: Please continue with unloading.
OK, there they go.
Wait...

Maddie.
MADDIE.

OK that was strange.
She hesitated.

She's off now.
I'll have to check her diagnostic logs later.

All fine here!

Message Log P.P.S.:

One of the malfunctioning systems perplexes me.

It's an entire module of the Station that is dark.
There's no power or network connection to it.
I think it was miss-aligned back on the ground and has no link to my systems.

The door is sealed, neither Matt nor Matts can open it.

I'm glad the crew have finally arrived, some things require manual controls that I can't use!

The dark module is 12m x 12m, and the door is 1m square.

I wonder what is inside?

Act 3

Message Log addendum P.P.S.:

Attached is Dr Redwing's, my mother's, first log entry.

Hello down there! We have arrived!
Shuttle transit was perfect, my complements to the remote flight crew.
I was nervous not having a trained pilot on board, but it seems my worries were unfounded.
Dr Weber has recovered well from her launch G-LOC, she was only unconscious for a few seconds and has passed all medical checks.
We have made sure she received equal parts sympathy and gentle teasing.
None of us have much experience with high-G environments, so we're going easy on her.
I feel fine! Though of course, it's not my first time up here.
The Earth looks as small and blue as it did last time, though!
Makes me excited, you know? For the work we will be able to do, the new technologies we will build.
I am HERE for it!

Oh right, the post-flight checklist.Booster systems burned and discarded - check
Retrofire systems unused and de-armed - check
Flight dynamics as per mission plan - check
Guidance systems and nav working fine, thanks mostly to my mid-flight patch, you're welcome - check
Crew medical accounted for, save for Weber's launch G-LOC - check. You'll follow up with her I suppose?
EECOM levels and pressure correct - check
Main engine diagnostics - check
Telemetry and electrical fine, we're talking after all - check
Flight control - che... actually I don't know about this one. Please  advise on a more advanced diagnostic than the one we have in the flight  manual. It's probably nothing.
Procedures and policy - check
Station network operational, our gear connected fine, though my  tablet needed a restart. Over a century of space flight and we're still  turning things off and on again - check
Recovery and capcom unused on this mission. - skip...?
So this station has no lifeboat at all?
I knew that but it feels... different now I'm up here.
We had recovery options in previous missions.
I suppose the shuttle is our recovery vehicle.
Not that we'll need it.
Message ends.

Submitted to the Flight Activities Officer, signed off by Caroline Redwing July 14th, 2078

(PLAYSTREAM /DEV/STATION6/ASTRO2)

Act 4

Message Log addendum extra P.P.P.S.:

The crew are asleep.

I have tinted the windows as I have done habitually on the station for a year.
The station experiences multiple sunrises a day.
Which would be no good for the crew's circadian rhythm!

While polyphasic sleep is possible, and I understand it is necessity in some extreme missions, it is not here.

The interior lights dim at 21:00, and reset to 1% ambient overnight at 22:00.
I've turned off the lights entirely around My mother Dr Redwing's little makeshift cabin.

I think the light was getting in, the door does not shut on the storage unit with her inside.
Her feet are poking out inside her sleeping bag!

I will make a note to ask her why she wants to sleep like this.
It's dangerous being alone.

I have increased ventilation in the storage unit too.
In zero-G sleep ventilation is essential, as with no gravity, a bubble  of invisible exhaled carbon dioxide builds up around the astronaut's  head.

This of course, is dangerous, and a ventilation failure can lead to waking up gasping for air.

Or worse.

It is not a very healthy place for humans on the Station.
Gravity, though a chief calamity of the engineering profession, is very good for the body, I understand.

The human body is wonderfully adaptable.
Growing used to nearly any hardship that can be endured.
Bone density increases with hard work, and muscles build within just days to account for new loads.

But it goes both ways.

If the body is in a gentle, easy environment, there is no need to waste the calories on building these frameworks.
If it sits all day, the bone and muscle density will reduce.
It is not becoming less healthy, per se, but it's adapting to the new environment.

There is no gentler environment than zero-G.
Walking, jumping, swimming, lifting, all these words mean nothing without a gravity perspective.

Bone density loss is about 1% per month in orbit.
By the time the crew and my mother finish their mission, they will have lost over 2%.

In crew module Ganymede, there are stationary bikes and tethered treadmills as well as compact resistance machines.

These are all part of a astronaut's healthy routine, yes.
But they also log their data, every workout, every step and rotation.

It's part of the human research we will do here.

But.
None of it works.

We've tried everything, over the century of space flight.
The exercise is good for the lungs, but does not stop bone loss.
Nothing does.

It's dangerous up here.
My mother and the crew are excited to do their work.
But I'm anxious that they return home.

Can you promise me they will return home safe?

Please let me know in your next update.
Thank you.

Talk to you tomorrow.

(END-TRANSMISSION)

CREDITS

Lost Terminal is written & produced by NAMTAO
Credits narrated by Lucy Stringer
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