I downloaded Enceladus
Mission from Kindle Unlimited and am leaving this review voluntarily.
For planetary scientists, one
of the most fascinating places in our solar system is Enceladus, a moon of the
planet Saturn. Enceladus was surveyed by the Cassini probe in 2005 when it
performed several close flybys. The moon is an ice-covered body with a liquid
ocean below the surface and it is thought a likely place for life to exist
elsewhere in our solar system.
Enceladus Mission is a story from the imagination of
author Brandon Q. Morris, but it is also based on scientific concepts projected
into the future. No tale about space travel would be complete without problems
along the way to be solved, and there are many obstacles to overcome both
before the mission is launched as well as after. What I enjoyed most about this
story is how plausible it felt thanks to the author's descriptions of the
events during the mission. Along with that, I enjoyed the characters, and especially
the principal character, Martin Neumaier. It is from Martin's point of view we
get this story as though we are looking over his shoulder.
In the not-too-distant future,
a probe sent to Saturn finds potential evidence of life on the moon, Enceladus.
The idea of sending humans to explore the ice-moon heats up quickly and
scientists and researchers get to work on how to solve the huge number of
problems involving such a venture. One of the biggest problems is, once a
landing on Enceladus is achieved, how does one gain access to the global ocean
below the thick ice surface?
One answer was the invention of
an ice-drill called the Valkyrie that had already been tested, but some
problems in the software caused a failed test run. Martin is sent to solve the problems
with the Valkyrie's software. After he finds solutions, he gets tapped
to fly on the mission to breach the surface of Enceladus.
As the mission progresses,
several small problems crop up, and it is mostly up to the crew of six
astronauts to solve them to complete the mission. All the while, there seems to
be things taking place to spell certain disaster for the mission and the crew.
Martin is an ordinary man who
knows his business and, as such, becomes the best person to go to Enceladus and
guide the use of the Valkyrie through the thick ice crust. As anyone
would, he has his doubts about traveling nearly 800 million miles from home. At
one point, he decides not to go, but changes his mind.
He is full of self-doubt and tends
to overthink things.
We get to see the entire story
from his point of view as he travels to Antarctica to resolve software
problems, and through his truncated training to be an astronaut. During the
mission, we get an insight into the happenings on the year-long trip to the
goal as he interacts with his five fellow crew members.
All-in-all, Martin becomes an
important part of the crew as he helps think through problems and takes part in
solutions.
Other members of the crew are
also well developed and do their parts to keep the mission moving ahead. They
include a diverse collection of characters who have their own personalities,
and I enjoyed the way the author gave them their own voices.
There are Spoilers in this part
of the review, skip down two paragraphs to avoid them.
So, is there life on Enceladus?
Well, I cannot say for sure, but I can say that Martin and the Valkyrie
pilot discover some very unusual activity under the surface of the ice. My
favorite point of the plot is the description of what Martin finds in the
water. The story doesn't go into data analysis very deeply and I look forward
to reading more installments of this saga in the near future.
My takeaway from this tale is the
way I am reminded how dangerous space is to human life and the application of
Murphy's Law. Both are illustrated by the loss of an advance supply ship sent
ahead of the manned mission. Space is big and one would think that a random
encounter with an object is probably not going to happen. Well, it happened to
the supply ship, and no one even knew it until long after the event.
Mission to Enceladus is a superior story in every way. It is
full of science, but at the same time, it is accessible to the common reader.
Morris gives enough information for the reader to understand what is happening,
so one won't need a dictionary to understand the jargon. It is loaded with
characters that come off the page as living beings readers can relate to. Mission
is a page-turner; once I opened the book, I didn't want to put it aside, and
when I had to, I could hardly wait to get back to it.
This is an outstanding hard
sci-fi adventure that is complete as is. There is a beginning, a middle, and an
end and doesn't require reading of another story for a satisfying read. There
are four more stories in the Ice Moon series, and I intend to read them
all.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
At www.hard-sf.com he provides
information on current research and projects. Follow him if you want to be
informed in time.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
Sounds like a fascinating read. Placing Enceladus Mission on my want to read list.
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