BUDDIES IN SPACE

Emma Johns, a US scientist, stood looking out the glass window of Destiny lab in the International Space Station. The infinite view of space that has no day and night made her crazy.

The luminant globes that lay scattered everywhere in the tranquillity of space was the embodiment of eternal beauty and power for her. It was her father Athens Johns, who was a scientist at NASA, had shown her a video of space for the first time. Then she was a second grade student. When she finished viewing it, he asked: “My dear angel, do you like space?”.
“I want to go there” She replied. At this her father held her over his head and said with a very bright smile: “ definitely Emma, one day you will be able to go there”

Emma was in her late twenties now. She had neatly cut golden hair and glaring blue eyes that were amazingly sharp. Her appearance was a magical mix of tenderness of a young lady and authoritativeness of a seasoned scientist. When the memories that were integral to her heart  flowed into her mind and filled it, she pressed her face against the glass window of the space station and murmured “my dear...dearest papa, I did it...I did it...” Just before Emma joined NASA, her father died in a car accident. Now she took it as a predetermination of God to dissolve him into eternity for accompanying her in her space travels.

The international space station that can accommodate six crew members at a time had only three persons then. The space station was as large as a home having six bedrooms and as wide as a football court – including the solar panels. Normally it was occupied by a minimum of five persons from different countries. Responsibilities would increase in proportion to the reduction in number of occupants. Every person, apart from their research works, should also look after the shared functions relating to day-to-day management of the gigantic space station, which was controlled by fifty two computers.

Space was like a paternal land for Emma. She felt her father's presence there. Therefore she was able to live in the space station for long without any intimidation. All those came there along with her had left it already. Thereafter at least a dozen people from US, UK, Japan, Germany and Russia visited the station and returned. She alone continued there as a connecting link for different batches of visitors. Now her fellow crew members were Takeshi from Japan, who arrived there one year before, and Alexey from Russia who arrived six months before.

Normally, astronauts are deployed in the international space station only for six months continuously at a time. Beyond that there are chances for the prolonged stay in space to adversely affect their mental and physical conditions. But quite interestingly, the major assignment of Emma in her space mission was to help NASA study how long human beings can live in space at a stretch.‍ Therefore her return journey would happen only when she decides to return because of physical and mental strain or the medical board advises NASA to recall her because of some medical reasons that they remotely identify during the regular medical checkups in the space station.

Takeshi should have returned six months ago, but for the withdrawal of his substitute from the mission at the last moment. Then Takeshi, on his own will, agreed to stay back for another six months. Alexey’s mission was for one year.

After two weeks, four newcomers would join them. Out of four two  would return after three weeks. Takeshi would also say goodbye to the international space station along with them. The newbie astronauts  were undergoing rigorous training in United States. As part of the training they were also used to conduct video conferencing with the crew in the international space station. Emma very much enjoyed her interactions with them. Most of their queries to her were out of an equal mix of curiosity and anxiety.

The International Space Station orbits the Earth at a speed of sixty thousand miles per hour. But they got a feeling of movement only while viewing the zoomed images of fast moving earthly terrains on the computer screen. From the window side, Emma floated to her crew cabin. Crew cabins are actually work cum rest stations of the crew members on board the space station. Each member will get a separate cabin.

While floating into the cabin, the first thing she noticed on the monitor was a warning that said in three months piece of a rocket part would pass very near to the solar panel of the space station. Along with the warning, there was also detailed instructions on the procedures to be followed to avoid a possible collision. They had to lift the position of the space station a little bit. Along with that a video conferencing to discuss the matter in detail with the Ground Control was also scheduled. The message concluded by expressing gratitude to Takeshi. It was Takeshi who identified the approaching rocket part during his regular space watch one week ago and intimated the same to the Ground Control. Therefore, immediately after reading the message, Emma rang up Takeshi, who was then in the Japanese Laboratory in the space station, and congratulated him.

Takeshi was an interesting character. Emma and Alexey used to call him as "Jocker Robot”. He was a typically workaholic Japan guy. But he had amazing ability to make others laugh through his humorous comments. Based on the living protocol on board the International Space Station, in a typical day, crew members would spend twelve hours working, two exercising, two preparing and eating meals, and eight hours sleeping. But Emma and Alexey suspected whether Takeshi slept even three hours a day. Because  whenever they examined the video recordings of their sleeping time, they saw Takeshi floating in between his crew cabin and Japanese Laboratory many a time.

In space, where there is no regular day and night, their wristwatches decided day and night based on Eastern Standard Time. When their watches ticked 9 p.m, they started to prepare for sleep. When it showed 10 pm, they entered into the sleeping bags those were fixed to the wall of the crew cabins and started to sleep in  standing position. Since there is zero gravity, astronauts can sleep at any position. However, to avoid floating and hitting against instruments while on sleep, they use sleeping bags  fixed in standing position.

Though there was strong friendship among all the three current crew members in the space station, the friendship between Emma and Takeshi was stronger. “If ever we marry each other, let us continue in the space station till death. Otherwise I will not be able to kiss you without the support of a ladder” - a too short Takeshi used to tell this to six feet tall Emma.

They had permission to take one day-off every week at the space station also. During day-offs they used to view cinema, play cards or read books. They could also ring up relatives. But Takeshi availed day-offs only very rarely. Because, for him, nothing else was as enjoyable as his work. Moreover, he did not ring up relatives since his arrival at the space station. In short, he was working with the same easiness and enjoyment as he were working in a building in Tokyo.

But the case of Alexey was extremely different. Only half of his mind was in the space station and the remaining half was in Moscow. He loved to live like a boy who walk hand in hand with his grandma through the snow covered pavements of Moscow during the winter days. However during working hours he fully concentrated in his experiments. 'The machines that work longer in zero gravity situations' was his topic of research. His research outputs would become a part of the spaceships, satellites and rockets in the nearest future. The advancement in his research was a regular source of inspiration for Emma and Takeshi. Alexey was very passionate about research. But the problems usually started at the time for sleep.

At the tick of 9 pm, he used to behave like a little boy who was highly homesick. He would start to think about his grandmother and the beautiful childhood days in their home in Moscow. Everyday, before sleep, he spent at least ten minutes with Emma sharing his sentiments about his family. Emma always wondered whether Alexey was putting her in the place of his grandmother. While sending him to bed at the end of that highly emotional conversation Emma kissed him on his forehead and pinched him at the cheek. Then she was really becoming his grandma.

Amidst that usual conversation between Emma and Alexey, Takeshi would be floating between his laboratory and crew cabin many times, quite naturally. At times he patted Alexey on his shoulder and told him humorously and with a loud laughter " hi guy, don't snatch my girl away from me by telling grandma stories". Then Emma and Alexey would also laugh and reply “people won't get peace of mind without shutting down this naughty robot”

Normally, homesick persons like Alexey would be eliminated at the first round of selection process for space missions. But here, Alexey, along with conducting experiments, was becoming himself a specimen for experiments; experiments to study how long highly homesick individuals can sustain in space!. It was part of Russian researches on space tourism.

Finally the day much awaited by them arrived. It was the day on which their new colleagues would start their space journey at 3.47 early morning from the cosmodrome at Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Therefore, all of them woke up well before the usual time, though they slept very late on the previous day. There were a lot of final preparations to be completed to guide their new colleagues once they enter into the space. Sitting in the comparatively large Control Room at the space station, they watched the launching of Soyuz, which carry their new colleagues. The space station was orbiting just two hundred and forty mile away from the surface of the earth. The rocket would enter into space on the eighth minute after its launch. But it would take another three days for Soyuz to reach the International Space Station and the astronauts to enter it. During those days and initial few days after the newbie astronauts’ entry, the duties of the existing crew in the space station would increase many fold by way of providing counselling, training and other amenities to the newcomers.

They kept on sending messages to the Ground Control on the trajectory of the rocket that carried Soyuz. Along with that they were also having their breakfast of specially cooked dried meat and fruit juice. It required substantial skills to carry out daily routines in zero gravity in space including to eat and drink. Before they could finish the breakfast, their new colleagues had entered into space. Carefully watching the movement of rocket, they finished their breakfast without wasting either a single drop of fruit juice or a minute piece of the dried meat. The lavishness on the earth is completely impossible in space. Firstly the available foods  have to be used for a longer duration. Secondly the expense for transporting each packet of food to space is unimaginably high.

The food stock also reached the space station along with the Soyuz missions being carried out in every six months. Takeshi, who was very fond of food, used to say that the people arrive in each mission were like relatives visiting our homes with food packets as presents for the children. Sometimes instruments for experiments and food stuffs were also sent to the space station using pilotless cargo spaceships.

A Soyuz spaceships would always be connected to any one of the modules of the International Space Station like a lifeboat. The spaceship that newly arrive in each six month would be attached to any of the modules of the space station. The return of each mission would be in the spaceship that came on the previous mission. This procedure is followed to ensure there would always be a fully functioning Soyuz attached to the space station for emergency purposes.

The international space station started to receive video messages from the crew members of the new mission a few minutes after Soyuz entered space. When the image of Delmira, the mission commander and a German Engineer, was seen on the computer screen for the first time, Emma, Takeshi and Alexey clapped with much enthusiasm. Following that, images of all the four astronauts were seen on the screen. Deipali Singh from India, Henry Richard from US and Alyona from Russia were the three others. They waved hands and said “hello”. Then waving hands back Emma welcomed them " I am Emma, the station commander. Warm welcome to the International Space Station. We are all set to receive you". Thereafter their conversations turned into purely technical matters. Both the teams were also receiving frequent instructions from the Ground Control.

That day, Emma, Takeshi and Alexey worked for more than eighteen hours. While Emma and Alexi were moving to their crew cabins, they saw Takeshi standing at the glass window pressing face against it and staring at the infinity of space. It was unusual. Emma floated towards him and asked “What happened to my Robot?”. Then turning towards her with a sorrowful smile he said: "the time remaining for me here is just three weeks . To be frank, I don't like to return". Hearing it Emma stood amazed, though it was an expected one. After she came to the space station two years back she met many persons, who were mad about space travel. But she also noticed that they were all awaited the return trip with much expectations.

"Don't worry my Joker Robot, I will also pray for an early opportunity for you to revisit. But now you should sleep. We have to do a lot of things tomorrow”. Saying it she pulled him gently. Then he also moved along with her.

On the third day after Soyuz arrived in the space, all of them were very busy at work since they woke up. Very crucial moments were before them. Their new friends would be entering the space station that day. They were also looking at Soyuz through the glass window. It was floating very near to the space station. Before they went for sleep on the previous day itself Soyuz had reached in the close vicinity of the space station. The countdown triggered by the ground control was progressing steadily. Emma and Takeshi got the computer operated robotic arm of the space station ready to catch the shuttle. Along with that they were also listening to the continuous instructions from the Ground Control and were giving instructions to  Soyuz commander Delmira. Crucial decisions had to be taken in lightning speed considering the safety of four invaluable lives in Soyuz, safety of Soyuz and above all safety of the international space station that was built over decades and spending billions of dollars by many countries together.

Finally, ending all the anxieties, Emma and Takeshi caught Soyuz using the robotic arm of the international space station and attached it to the harmony module. It was from that module the newcomers had to enter the space station. Alexey was working in the Harmony module. Subsequently more than two hours of close examinations were conducted to ensure there were no leakage at the points that connected Soyuz with the space station. When the commanders of the Ground Control, Soyuz and Emma unanimously agreed that the results of the examinations were fully positive, the valves of Soyuz and the space station started to open slowly and simultaneously forming a tube passage. At that time Alexey was standing ready to help the new colleagues at the space station end of the tube passage. The astronauts started to flow through the tube one by one. Alexey embraced each astronaut gently over the spacesuit and guided them in. By that time Emma and Takeshi positioned the live cameras to transmit the reception ceremony to the Ground Control and joined Alexey to receive their new colleagues.

A simple but warm welcome ceremony for the new colleagues, commencment of training and counselling for them, humorous comments of Takeshi...everything together created a festive environment in the space station that day. Perhaps, it was also an ideal example of converting work pressure into festivity. Since the value of each microsecond being spend on board the space station was very clear to those reach there and those send them there, their activities were carefully planned ones.

Through out the next three days, Emma, Takeshi and Alexey were very busy with training their new colleagues. Each location in the space station, instruments and their operations were thoroughly introduced to the newbies during their training period itself. They also obtained additional inputs through video conferencing with the crew in the space station. However, once they entered the space station, they realized there were a lot more things remained to be learnt.

Perhaps the most challenging task of the newbies were to overcome the space adaptation syndrome. Symptoms of it varied from one person to another. However largely they faced nausea, vomiting, anorexia, headache, malaise, drowsiness, lethargy, paleness, and sweating. Emma, Takeshi and Alexey were always ready with medicines, adaptation syndrome managing equipments and exercise tips to support their new colleagues.

The responsibility to train the new members in space walking was entrusted with Takeshi. Emma and Alexey wished all the best to Dipali Singh and Henry Richards who were to go on their first space walk along with Takeshi in the second week of their arrival and helped them to wear the spacesuits. Takeshi had extraordinary ability to make others confident to do challenging new activities. Moreover he was wonderfully skilled in space walking. Since he was a spacecraft Engineer, he also carried out a lot of space walk for repairs and constructions as well. Emma very much loved to have space walk with him. Each time she used to learn a new lesson from him. After viewing Takeshi and others floating in the open space, Emma and Alexi went to the control panel.

Three weeks passed very fast. Takeshi, Dipali Singh and Henry Richard who had to return, completed their medical examinations. Dipali Singh, who was a medical doctor came on that mission to conduct some micro-biology experiments. Henry Richards was a new space station maintenance trainee-engineer sent by NASA. Delmira came to take over the experiments being conducted by Takeshi based on a bilateral agreement between Germany and Japan.

In the evening before the day on which their return journey was scheduled, a simple farewell party was organized in the space station. Except Takeshi, remaining two were very enthusiastically talking about their space mission experiences and thanked others for their support. Takeshi remained silent. Noticing it, Emma asked him " Why does my robot alone sit like this?". Suddenly Dipali said with a laugh " Please don't tell us you won't come with us". By that time everyone had come to know about Takeshi's cracy disliking for a return journey. Therefore everybody laughed aloud hearing the comment of Deipali. Takeshi also smiled slightly.

After the party, when all others went for sleep, Emma and Dipali stayed back there for some time. Then Emma told Dipali : "Please take our Robot safely to earth"

 “ It is a negligible medical condition in normal cases. The medical board intimated their anxiety only because this is a return trip from space to earth. Complications are only a very distant theoretical possibility. Please don't worry” -  Dipali replied

Alexey who came back to meet Emma for his regular sharing of worries heard their conversation and asked "What is the issue?". Hearing Alexey's question Emma's face turned purple. Then Dipali said with her usual smile: “Nothing to fear. Medical board expressed some concerns after reviewing the cardiogram of Takeshi. They gave a medical emergency warning on Takeshi during the return trip. Just a theoretical possibility.” Hearing it Alexey became gloomy. Seeing that Dipali said : “Please don't share this thing to Takeshi. If he becomes tensed, it would further complicate things”

At 3.35 Eastern Time, all the three return crew started to wear their space suits. Takeshi was helped by Emma. Though Emma tried to make Takeshi laugh by saying jokes, Takeshi remained like a child who was reluctant to go to school. However before wearing the helmet Takeshi repeated his usual joke to Alexey “ Hi buddie, hope you won't snatch away my lady by saying grandma stories” Hearing it all others, except Emma and Alexey laughed aloud. Suddenly Emma lifted Takeshi up and embraced him hard and said “You are right, if we ever marry, it would be good for us to live in space till death.”

When Alexey and Delmira accompanied the departing friends to the valve exit, Emma floated to the control panel quickly. She examined the preparations to open the valves and to detach Soyuz from the space station repeatedly. Through a brief video conferencing with the Ground Control she reconfirmed things as well. Henry Richards was the Soyuz Commander for the return trip. The departing friends started to enter Soyuz. Emma monitored everything from the control room. After lengthy examinations, Henry signalled to close the valve exit. Then the Valve exits on both sides began to close slowly. After two hours, the robotic arm of the international space station detached Soyuz from it and gently pushed it away to the assigned position. Then Emma wished them a safe return journey once again. After seeing Soyuz floating away from the solar panels of the space station, Emma walked to the glass window and stayed there looking at the spaceship which started to move fast. She pressed her face against the glass window and prayed “ Papa...please take care of my Robot”. Then a tear drop rolled out of her eyes and floated away.
#openfiction