VOYAGE UNLEASHED

"Chandrasekhar!" a robotic voice proclaimed

"Yes, sir!" replied Chandrasekhar.

"Go for undocking!"

In the next five minutes was the perspiring moment for the astronauts. 

"Telecom Go!" proclaimed the speaker.

The Majestic flew over up in a high velocity and pitched up to slow down the Majestic. It landed like a helicopter safely and soundly. The last "Go!" was yelled, and the door fell. Soon, Subramanyam will be the first man to land on Planet Hypatia, maybe the next Earth!

Physicists Raman and Chein-Shiung Wu were on a shuttle revolving Hypatia. Dr Sivan told it was the best place to check on Aries binary stars. They kept the telescope ready, to reason out the anomaly that has driven astrophysicists crazy! 

Wu scoped through the Aries A star and noticed the B star. Raman checked the final image, which has colour codings according to the elements present. The results shocked the scientists. It was nothing but diffusion. The chemical separation of elements solved some of the puzzles of those who assumed all were caused by nuclear reactions, which is true for the plasmas in the cores.

Subramanyam and Chandrasekhar set their feet. It was night. Subramanyam flashed the air. The light kept scattering. 

"Colloids causing Tyndall effect! Have to check them!" 

"Atmosphere consists of phosphine, oxygen, mercury and a minute amount of sulfuric acid," said Chandrasekhar, who checked it.

"Something made mercury into vapour in room temperature!" nodded Subramanyam. He took the machine in his hand a said, "The colloids are 1nm thick and covered with S8."

Something popped on Chandrasekhar's mind.

"Phosphine, S8, sulfuric acid," he mumbled but soon got distracted by an alarm.

Chandrasekhar's last oxygen tank emptied! Chandrasekhar removed his suit as Hypatia's pressure is same as the Earth. Subramanyam realised a problem. He took Chandrasekhar to the Majestic rushing and took blood from him. After centrifugation, he saw what he expected. 

"Mercury!"

 

The voyage unleashed the presence of extraterrestrial living things since the colloids were recognised as microbes covered in sulfur to survive in sulfuric acid. The Majestic was considered a success. Only Subramanyam knew how it felt to see a friend dying on his hand.

 

1. Due to limitation in word count, I was not able to explain some things. Even though the story is complete itself. I am just adding some for clarification.
2. Diffusion in binary stars are a real assumption. (Astronomical Journal, vol. 85, May 1980, p. 589-598. Research supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.)
3. Mercury vapour in room temperature is science fiction.
4. Microbe covered in Sulphur molecule or S8 is a assumption for extraterrestrial life in Venus (https://qollabstudio.blogspot.com/2020/09/life-in-venus-we-forgot-to-check-our.html )
5. Phosphine is produced by organisms which does not need oxygen to live.
6. Subramanyam Chandrasekhar was a Nobel Laurete for Physics.
7. The planet is named after Hypatia, greek astronomer 
8. Chein-Shiung Wu is a famous female nuclear physicist.
9. Raman is named after CV Raman.
10. Dr. Sivan (ISRO chairman) plays a role in the story.