To the Red Planet

[ReuKinChe]

Audacity lay atop a small tower of explosives, as it stood on an island of humanity in the cold darkness of space. Launch Dock 1 was abuzz with radio chatter, from both the Lumian Space Station and the Earth below. A public broadcast was being sent to TV channels and online streaming websites back on Earth. The fifty astronauts within the ship were performing final runs through a checklist, as they conversed with Mission Control.

"T minus 60 seconds. Automatic checking sequence activated." noted a clear and calm voice.

Suddenly, there was silence, except for the rhythmic tapping of fingers on hard plastic. Engineering robots moved away from the ship, ejecting small gusts of thrust as they moved back to their programmed positions.

"T minus 30 seconds. Automatic checking sequence completed. No issues found."

The robots had moved back into their rows, and shut down. A protective metal flap was closed, shutting them into their box.

"T minus 15 seconds. Autopilot activated."

"Ten seconds to lift off."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five." 

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

The arms holding the ship released their grip, and pulled back.

"Liftoff!"

The nozzles of the engines began to glow red, as a jet of superheated gas blasted out, pushing Audacity forwards. The jet continued in its almost perfectly straight direction, only disappearing when it had lost its incandescent glow. After 3 minutes, the fuel container detached, before being collected by a pre-placed drone.

Gradually, Audacity unfurled its solar sail, as it escaped low-Earth orbit. The 800 by 800 metre sail glittered in the darkness, as the solar wind slowly, but surely, nudged it on its way to Mars.

 

After 300,000 years of existence, humanity is ready. Long before our species even existed, our evolutionary forebears would look up to the sky above, and wonder. Wonder about what those bright points in the night were. Wonder how they were formed. Wonder if we could some day reach them. But for much of our history, wondering was the only thing we could do.

Today, we fulfilled the hopes and dreams of the billions of wonderers before us. We are part of a long and unbroken line of explorers, from Zheng He to James Cook. But this is only the beginning of what we can do. Much like Audacity has once again pushed our boundaries, audacity will continue to for eternity.

Our exploration of the cosmos is one of the most human endeavours. After all, what could be more human than the exploration of new worlds. Like those before us, we will go where no one has gone before.

 

Note: This is a personal RP, and is part of a series. You are free to interact with it, by roleplaying formal congratulations and the like, but please don't roleplay acts of aggression, such as trying to nuke Audacity or something. Thanks for your cooperation.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Reuben Cheuk
It censored the genus name of the human species, because it thought it was a slur

[ReuKinChe]

The solar sail was withdrawn, and Audacity's ion thrusters were fired up, as the ship began to decelerate to a safe velocity as it approached Mars.