The Luck 7
It’s the year 2120, humans have explored numerous planets and moons using robotic
breakthroughs in the past decade. One of the best creations, Luck 7 landed on the
orange skies of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Luck 7 was human’s greatest creation and
told the history of space exploration. Luck 7’s final exploration was one that answered a
question that’s plagued billions of people throughout time.
Luck 7 captured live feed of Titan’s methane storms, cryovolcanoes, and the unique
landscapes. Suddenly Luck 7 has stumbled across a hidden cave in the northern part of
Titan. The video played back to the scientists on Earth as they wait in anticipation.
Inside was a doorlike structure, numerous domes with complex structures that are in no
way natural. This must be built by a civilization! The scientists back on Earth cheered
with excitement, their first signs of alien engineering.
Suddenly the video turned pitch black and seconds later, scientists found themselves
staring at a large figure with 3 eyes with a frame that must’ve been 3 meters tall.
“Damage to the core 5%, 15%, 55%, 99%, then finally 100%”. The Luck 7 has been
destroyed by the alien. The scientists sat in silence, shocked, this is the first alien
humanity has visual proof of.
3 years later, astronomers created a new telescope that can detect biosignatures on
Titan. The discovery matched what Luck 7 proved. We were never alone.
This time I chose to create a short story for my Unessay that connects to what I’ve
learned in lesson 9 – 12. In lesson 9, we learned about the Europa Clipper that is
heading to Jupiter’s moon. Then we have the Dragonfly that is expected to land on Titan
to search for signs of life in 2028. My short story is a fiction based on what could
possibly occur during the Dragonfly exploration. I utilized what I’ve learned on lesson 10
regarding the geology of the outer solar system which resulted in the description of what
Luck 7 saw during its exploration. The description also includes lesson 11 regarding ice.
The cryovolcanoes on Titan is something that isn’t found on earth. Instead of spitting fire
or lava, cryovolcanoes spits water, or volatiles like methane and ammonia. Finally in
lesson 12, my artifact connects to detecting life beyond Earth.
The short story includes new technology such as the Luck 7 and the telescope that
detected the biosignatures on Titan. The goal is to mimic a realistic way of finding the
alien lifeforms or structures. I synthesized ideas from multiple lessons from robotic
exploration to planet geology. It allowed a better understanding of how each lesson
connects to another and utilized to achieve space exploration goals. The functional
narrative allowed me to explore my creativity and my appreciation of what we learned
throughout the module.